The Cult @ Thebarton Theatre,Adelaide (10/05/10)

Tue 11th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

The last time The Cult played Adelaide was back in 1995 for the Big Day Out. Who can remember 15 years ago? I think I was wearing Stussy pants and a Cantebury Ugly top – hard to believe really. Since then the band have only released two rather lacklustre albums compared to the output they were pumping out in the 80’s and early 90’s. Tonight’s show they delve back 25 years to play their second album, Love, in its entirety. That’s the one with She Sells Sanctuary on it…now you remember.

Although hitting the stage 20 minutes late, it was soon forgotten with the opening chords of Nirvana, the opening track from the aforementioned album. The mainly older and balder crowd warmed slowly to band that only includes two original members, whom to rumours, don’t like each other. Billy Duffy and the beautiful sounds of his trademark White Gretsch guitar that made The Cult so popular back in the day, and the now rather portly(!) Ian Astbury looking much like the late Jim Morrison of The Doors which is ironic as he was lead singer in an updated version of The Doors, with original members Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, that played under the banner of The Doors of the 21st Century in the mid 2000s.

While the crowd went a little crazy for the classic hits like Rain, Revolution and the biggie She Sells Sanctuary, some of the lesser known tracks were not as warmly received. Brother Wolf, Sister Moon and Black Angel sounded quite outdated and looking around left the crowd a little disinterested – many using them as an opportunity to grab a replacement beverage.

The band exited the stage for a quick break before the promised second set of “greatest hits”. So many to choose from in so little time, they pulled out some big crowd favourites like Lil Devil, Sweet Soul Sister, Wildflower, and the surprise hit from 2007 Dirty Little Rock Star. It’s amazing that Astbury’s voice is still sounding like it did in the 80s; you’d expect it to have less impact after hundreds of soul screeching concerts, but to his credit it has never sounded better.

Two lucky teenage twins found themselves on stage for the huge rendition of Fire Woman. Clearly they were Billy Duffy fans as they gravitated quickly over to the guitarist (much to Astbury’s dislike) and jumped about like kids on red cordial.

They finished the second set off with a balls-out version of Love Removal Machine. At this stage it seemed the night was over and half the crowd left as the house lights came on. However the lucky punters who hung around for another five minutes were treated to a third and final encore with a blistering performance of Spiritwalker off the underrated Dreamtime album from 1984.

Is the Love album relevant anymore? In my opinion, no. Having only released two mediocre albums in the last 15 years to little fanfare, the band is far from the creative brilliance of the Electric and Sonic Temple albums. They are a fantastic live act, but stick to playing the singles from now on.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.