The Tabernacle, Atlanta, Georgia

Opening bands: Bif Naked, New American Shame

What better place for The Cult to preach their fiery sermon than an old converted Southern Baptist Church! The boys had the congregation of sinners in a frenzy from the opening music. They ran through the regular set list and were very tight. Ian was all over playing to the crowd in front and to the balcony as well. His voice has not sounded better. Billy plainly put is just amazing. Again, as with the last Cult show in Atlanta, Ian told the crowd how much playing in Atlanta meant to him because his father passed away one night while he was performing here. He thanked the crowd and put his hands together and bowed to the audience. Ian also mentioned they would have an album out and if we liked that one they would put out another one and if we like that one they would put another one out. Good news for all!!! The only stain on the perfect night was a rebel flag hung from the balcony and a beer bottle thrown at Matt Sorum almost splitting his skull during the encore. The stand-out songs, if you had to choose, were In The Clouds, The Witch, She Sells Sanctuary ("the song that started it all"), and Peace Dog. Everything was amazing, can't wait to see all the shows in LA.

Adam Garcia - latinochrome@hotmail.com


One of the best rock shows I have ever seen! I saw Ian and the guys back in '87 in New Orleans... and this show topped it! There was such a great vibe, felt like a religious experience for me. The crowd was wound up, but controllable. At any moment, I felt like the crowd could go nuts and tear the place up, but the collective aggression of the audience just rocked! Ian fed off the crowd, even threw his tambourine (semed spontaneous) up into the rafters!!! The Cult rocks!!! MUST SEE SHOW!!!

Jay - jay.ory@turner.com


After seeing this band during all of their major tours, this show was the best yet. Perfect band, perfect venue, perfect crowd. Ian and Billy weren't strung out, and their bandmates rocked. The Tabernacle is a wonderful three level theatre in downtown Atlanta that had the vibe of a vampire's castle. It was the perfect venue to see the Cult. Literally, this is one of the best live shows I have ever seen.

Scott - scott.lordmichaels@home.com


Well, what can I say about the show that hasn't already been said!? It was phenomenal!!! No one should miss this show! Let's see, my girlfriend and I arrived at the show about an hour and a half before it was to begin because we definitely did not want to miss a thing. When we were finally let in the Tabernacle we headed straight for the stage, positioning ourselves somewhere between the center stage microphone(Ian's) and the left stage microphone (Billy's). Not too long after that, Bif Naked came on stage to warm everybody up. I'd say that they did a fairly good job. The lead singer so much reminded me of Gwen Stefani of No Doubt in the way that she moved about on stage and her hand gestures. Bif Naked did announce that this was their last show on the Cult tour. Well, they finished and about 15 min. later New American Shame came out. They really weren't that bad, yet, they really weren't that good, either. The singer was trying to be way more cool than he actually is. Next, the Cult!!!!! What can I say, they came out and ripped us all brand new assholes!!!! The one thing that I took notice of and thought was really cool was that Ian is not into the whole violence thing at shows. Anytime the crowd would start slam-dancing during the songs, Ian would carefully keep his eye on the area to make sure that no one was getting hurt. He also had a few choice words to say to some people in the crowd about throwing elbows and pushing other people. All-in-all it was fabulous!! Don't miss it!! I did catch one of Billy's picks, but it's not anything fancy, just a regular pick. I even managed to get all six of their albums autographed by Billy and Ian, and I had my picture taken with both of them!!!!!!!!

C.C. Fixx - goatboy@sprintmail.com


Atlanta was treated to a half-ass Cult show Saturday night. Before you guys start e-mailing me to tell me what a asshole I am, let me finish. I love the Cult more than anything and have religously bought up every item they have put out and have managed to see them live five times. I am not bashing the Cult in any way. But, if you have ever seen the Cult before, you know the energy Ian expells on stage. This was not the case Saturday. Ian (and the rest of the band, for that matter) seemed very tired and very bored. They sounded great, no one would argue that. But, their energy on stage was pretty ho-hum. Ian even said how "conservative" we Southern audiences were. Well, Ian, it's hard to get too worked up when the band doesn't even appear to give a shit. I don't argue with the fans that say this was the best show they have ever seen (maybe it was). This is just one man's opinion. Rock on Cult! P.S. To the reviewer who got their feelings hurt by the "rebel flag" in the balcony. That was my flag and it was a Georgia state flag, not the stars and bars.

Kirk aka 'BroWolf' - strange@bellsouth.net

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