Roseland Theatre, Portland, Oregon
Opening bands: Bif Naked, New American Shame
I went to the show at the Roseland Theatre with my fiancee
(now my wife) Tracy. This was her first Cult show, and my sixth.
We arrived at the Roseland about an hour before the doors were
supposed to open. I thought this was a good idea because I
wanted to see Bif Naked and was dissapointed that I had missed
her the night before.
We got in the venue, got right up front, and Bif Naked came on
about 10 minutes later. There were very few people in the
venue at this time, but Bif put on a great show. She started
with a solo song, then finished with 5 other great rocking
tunes. If she's playing you're venue, you should try to catch
her, she's good. What really amazed me, is that if I was to catch
Bif Naked in Canada, it would be jammed packed and insane, but
to see her in the US, it's totally quiet. Quite a cool
experience.
After they cleaned up Bif's stuff, New American Shame came on.
They were entertaining but nothing exceptional. I think the
most interesting part of the set was the two girls in the
plastic dresses dancing beside us flirting with the guitarist.
I think one was his girlfriend or something.
After they cleared up the stuff from New American Shame, The
Cult came on. They started with the musical introduction, all
members with their backs to the audience, then kicked into Lil'
Devil. This night, Ian started off with his sunglasses on -
classic. After a couple songs he kicked off the sunglasses
and got right into it. A lot less talking than the previous
night in Seattle, but this show was much better because I ended
up right in the front in front of Billy Duffy. They played
the same setlist as the previous night - up until the encore.
The first encore song was The Phoenix! Wow! The crowd went
nuts. The closer was Love Removal Machine. Billy played a
bit of it right up close in front of us, man he can move his
hands.
Again, the band looked great. Everyone smiling and having a
good time. Billy broke a guitar string during Fire Woman,
causing a small disruption, but it was OK. Ian broke one
of his maracas and had to go on with only one. This was
my favorite show that I've been to so far, exceptional in
every way.
Jon Taylor - jtaylor@coastnet.com
After waiting months for this night, I left the show quite satisfied. It was a
several hour drive to the venue, but I made it just in time for the opening act
"New American Shame." They started a bit after 9pm and finished their set around
10pm. They were very intense and into their music so it was a decent opening act.
Besides, they showed up (Big Chief anyone?). After an anxious wait of nearly 40
minutes, the Cult came on at ~10:45pm and only played until ~12:05pm. There are
two things the Cult don't do well: (1) make music videos, and (2) play long sets.
It was fun while it lasted though. Opening with the John Williams Episode 1
orchestral tune, the band members sauntered onstage one by one facing away from the
audience.....then they broke into Lil' Devil. Expecting the usual opening
song, Nirvana, I was quite surprised by the omission. They were very tight
and Matt Sorum was especially impressive. Not only did he appear to be in the best
shape of his life, his drumming brought an intensity which was only heightened by
Ian and Billy. Everyone in the band seemed to be in great spirits as they were all
smiling and joking with each other (and the crowd) all night long. I was most
taken by the simplest addition to the Cult's evolutionary process: a microphone for
each band member. No longer was it just Ian and a DAT backup tape. Matt, Martyn,
Mike, and Billy all sung backup for Ian and it was noticeably much more powerful
than previous shows I had experienced. The tour could have been call "Sonic Temple
Revisited" rather than the "Cult Rising." Besides mad versions of In The Clouds
and The Witch, it was strictly Sonic Temple and earlier material. Sweet
Soul Sister and New York City were great surprises which I had never
seen them perform live before. An incident during Fire Woman worth mentioning:
Billy broke a string mid way through the song and attempted to tear it out so that
he could continue, but the string wouldn't cooperate so he left the stage. At this
point Ian seemed to notice the lack of a lead guitar riff and as he glanced across
the stage with a worried look, Billy returned with a new guitar.....just in time to
hit his big solo. A huge grin covered Ian's face. Awesome! My only real complaint
with the show (besides the brevity of it) was when Ian introduced In The Clouds
as "a song that you probably aren't familiar with." Being a long-time fan, I think I
can speak for everyone who visits this site when I say, "Yeah, right."
Steve Colucci - scolucci@vsc.maximgroup.com
Setlist
Lil' Devil
Sun King
Rain
In The Clouds
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Fire Woman
The Witch
Peace Dog
New York City
Revolution
Sweet Soul Sister
Wild Flower
She Sells Sanctuary
Encore
Phoenix
Love Removal Machine