State Fair Of Texas, Dallas, Texas
Opening Band: Lenny Kravitz
Fastfoward two years after my debut Cult concert at Reunion Arena, and we see the
band playing a significantly smaller venue in a seedier part of Dallas,Texas.
Ceremony was a dissapointment to the public at large after the expectations Sonic
Temple had given them, and The Cult we're in a downward trend. I may not have wanted
to admit it at the time, but you could sense it. They were just playing a very similar
show 24 months later in the same city without that obvious commercial base. They had
lost them. I tell you what though, as far as collective participation goes, we ALL made
the most of that night! That was the best crowd, the most fun crowd I've ever been in,
and Ian must have picked up on it. The image that sticks out in my mind still is his
smiling face. More than any other experience I've been exposed to with him, he was
having as much fun as I've seen him have - very carefree and animated. He leaped,
bounded from one part of the stage to the other, smiled and gestured at certain crowd
members wildly (I was one of them!) For some reason, more than the other audience members
it seemed, I kept constantly getting passed around (the surf circuit as I call it) and
Ian finally couldn't resist noticing and acknowledging it. I stood out anyways with my
flamboyant Native American wool jacket on which I kept trying to give to him. I was just
so excited man, like a puppy who hasn't seen his owner all day! And that crowd so
naturally kept gliding me up to the front to my great enjoyment. Even security was
effected by that vibe! They'd gently bring me back around and into the crowd again like
a caring parent with their wayward child who knows no better. And then I'd easily work
my way upfront again and they'd do the same thing! Around and around and around we go!
Man, that crowd was just so harmonious. For some reason, out of the setlist Hollow
Man still stands out most, not the encore. They were just really into it, you know..
a very soaring rendition. But I believe my friend and I were surprised at just how late
we were showing up. Not only had we missed Lenny Kravitz (yeah, Lenny!) we missed the
opening too! We walked in and there was Ian headbanging like a shaman in trance to rock
for the solo of American Horse! Man, that was raw. Okay, so if they didn't have
that THX sound thing going like on the Sonic Temple tour, they had more of that earthy
hard rock sound going our way.
Justin Lozoff - jlozoff@mindspring.com