PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC
It had started to snow heavily just before security opened the doors at 6pm. The people
at the front of the line had been there since 10am that morning. I had only been there
since 3:30, but I'd had my fill of standing outside. I guess that's one of the drawbacks
to a general admission venue.
Being there for so long had it's bonuses though, because when I finally got in, I found
myself front and center on the floor in front of the stage. I sat in nervous anticipation
for over an hour on the floor, and was then tortured for another 45 minutes by the horrible
opening band, Big Chief. (Where did they find these guys?)
All of my earlier sacrifices paid off however, when The Cult hit the stage. They opened
wth Nirvana and continued to drive the crowd of about 3000 people into a total
frenzy for the next hour and a half.
As song after song was played, more and more of Ian's clothes came off. A few tamborines
were broken, a sweaty towel was thrown into the crowd and torn into about 15 pieces. The
crowd was wild and I know this because of the severe beating I took being right at the front.
I think about a thousand pairs of steel-toed boots hit me in the back of the head as people
body surfed over me into the security area between the fencing and the stage.
Ian belted his way in superb form through classics such as Lil' Devil, Love,
Edie (Ciao Baby), Rain, Fire Woman, Wild Flower and Sun
King. I also had no complaints as he and Billy gave an enthralled audience incredible
versions of some slightly newer material such as Coming Down, Star, and Black
Sun.
The highlights of the show came in the last half hour of the evening. The second to last
song on the setlist was Love Removal Machine. The Cult were joined onstage by
Vancouver-based producer and personal frind Bob Rock who joined in on guitar. (Might I
add that this was when Jon arrived, due to the now vast amounts of snow outside. One
car accident later and a few trips around the building until he found the entrance and he
wants to say that counted as seeing The Cult four times and not three...) The Cult finished
their set with a mesmerising version of Sacred Life before making their first of two
exits.
An encore brought the four of them back onstage for an electrifying version of She Sells
Sanctuary (which brings me to the old cliche: If it ain't broke, don't fix it). That
song is even better now than it was 10 years ago. The final song of the evening was Earth
Mofo. The audience knew this was to be the last song, and it got more frantic than ever
on the floor. Ian fed off this energy and being the entertainer that he is, he proceeded to
run and throw himself right into the crowd and body surf around himself for a bit. At one
point he was actually standing straight up on people's hands and shoulders, still managing to
somewhat be singing. By the time he made his way back to the stage however, he discovered
that there was no more cord on the end of the microphone, forcing him to get another one. He
then crashed directly through the drum set, forcing Scott Garrett to play as it lay in pieces
on the floor. The song ended, and as the rest of the band was leaving the stage, Ian managed
to knock over almost the entire tower of speakers on both sides of the stage. He then picked
up the remaining few small ones at the front and threw them onto the floor in the security pit.
He ran to the back of the stage, picking up a guitar on the way and sat with his back to the
crowd and jammed for the next minute or so by himself.
As he stood up finally, and walked casually off the stage, all that could be heard was the
sound of the guitar he had just put down, reverberating off the walls, and I'm sure, in many
of our heads for days to come.
Heidi Bergen - heidi@coastnet.com
Well, the snow was the case for us too. My band actually rehearsed that night, I got a ride
in my guitarists Hotrod car, which is absolutely useless in snow. Anyways, we go into the
studio at 5pm, not a snow flake in sight, but when we came out..there was like 6 inches! I
freak, what the hell are we going to do, because my guitarists car will never make it! These
guys at the studio heard our predicament, and said...hey, you can get a ride with us! We are
going too. Well, lo and behold, it was Rhymes with Orange! They said "our ride will be here
in 5 minutes."
Then, a green Grand Cherokee with tinted windows roled up. We all pilled in, my guitarist and
I being the beggars had to ride in the far back....In the passanger seat my friend....was Ian
himself! I later found out they were friends with Orange, and had worked it all out. Cool eh!
And not a word of a lie!
Vince Warry - rsintraining@yahoo.com
Setlist:
Nirvana
Lil' Devil
Coming Down
The Witch
Love
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Rain
Black Sun
Fire Woman
Star
Wild Flower
Sun King
Love Removal Machine
Sacred Life
Encore
She Sells Sanctuary
Earth Mofo