Music Hall, Austin, Texas
The acoustics were incredible, best sound I have ever heard at a show. Thick bass,
Billy was sharp he even smiled a few times. Ian did not have 1/2 the energy of
San Antonio thanks to the wonderful (dawn of the dead Austinites) crowd. 95% of them
were dressed like they were on the way to a Frat party. No crowd movement, 4 man mosh
pit. I started out in the back, a few people were singing to Nirvana and I
thought "cool". It's always cool to see back row people get into it, but then I looked
ahead and I saw several maybe dozens of people carrying on conversations, talking as if
they were at a football game. I got really pissed and felt it was my duty to push my
way through to as close to the front. No crowd energy, one fight (girlfriend hitting
boyfriend). This show had the potential but thanks to the Austin crowd we got a short
rushed show. Some girl actually said this in between one of the songs (to Ian) "make
them stop pushing". Ian replied, "OK, everybody stop this, stop having a good time,
everbody stop pushing and having a good time please" than in a more condescending
tone, "If you can't handle it go to the back with girls, if they're too rough go to the
back, go on". Then they bust open with In The Clouds. The place picked up a
little more energy after that. Best version of Coming Down. I know it sounds
like I'm complaining but I still had a good time and I still love Austin but they need
to get rid of their slogan "Music capitol..of the world?"
Mike MacLelland - Z_maclellanm@titan.sfasu.edu
By the time The Cult took the stage at The Austin Music Hall on March 8, it was as long
overdue as their recording a decent album.
The Cult, composed of Ian Astbury (lead vocals), Billy Duffy (lead guitar), Craig Adams
(bass) and Scott Garrett (drums), is currently on tour in support of its latest album,
The Cult.
It's been a long time since the band rock `n' rolled. Excluding its 1991 Ceremony
disaster, The Cult hasn't really rocked since its Sonic Temple tour in 1989.
The band came out strong, playing one of its new songs while Astbury came out prissing
around and banging on his tambourine. The band then went straight into an Electric
favorite, Lil' Devil, and the crowd got happy.
Astbury left the stage, lost the hat, sunglasses, pullover and came back out wearing a
satin fuchsia shirt, skin-tight black pants and sporting his new short hairdo. Can you
say, "Jim Morrison, `The Lizard King' wanna-be?"
The Cult played many of the new songs off its latest album, including Star, which
Astbury dubbed as his "favorite song," and Black Sun, a song that deals with the
sexual abuse that Astbury suffered as a pre-teen.
The band also played crowd pleasers like Edie (Ciao Baby), Fire Woman and
Sun King, all of which are on one of the group's most successful albums, Sonic
Temple.
The band was really jamming and seemed to be having a good time. The only wet blanket of
the bunch was Astbury, who kept bitching at the guards, spitting everywhere and prissing
about with either his tambourine or maracas.
Thinking back on it all, I had reservations about going to this show because I'm a big
fan of the band's old material. Much to my surprise, the new stuff wasn't bad, but it did
sound like something from a totally different band. The Cult seems to have gone through an
evolution - kind of like what U2 did with Actung Baby.
All in all, The Cult gave a good performance and seems to be back on the road to success.
Amy Kincheloe - Star Staff
The road I had been following for close to decade came to an end in Austin, Texas.
This was the last time I would ever see The Cult play, though I had more in store
for me in the future as I would finally meet Ian Astbury a little over a year later.
I was still mentally hung over from the San Antonio show and apparently The Cult
were too.The Cult banged out a quick set, seemed uninspired, then split. They sounded
flat to me and the crowd made it worse. Without a doubt, In the Clouds was
the best song they played. The set list was exactly the same one they played at the
San Antonio show. Ian even referred to the crowd as San Antonio at one point during
the concert. I have got to agree with Mike MacLelland's review of the show ... the
crowd blew and this had a negative effect on the show.
Chuck Welhausen - cwelhaus@ix.netcom.com