The Cult @ Planet Music,Vienna, Austria, (26/06/07)

Wed 27th Jun, 2007 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

There was plenty of long hair, denim and tattoos packed into Planet Music, a dark and dirty sweatbox of a venue in Vienna, Austria. Billed as the “home of rock” in that part of the world, there’d be no arguments from myself nor the 500 other punters assembled to see The Cult play that this was any deviation from the truth.

During recent times The Cult have spent more time apart than as a functioning unit. The core nucleus of the band for the past 20 years has centred around singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, two diametrically different personalities that when fused together in the form of a rock band have given The Cult a characteristic sound that has constantly evolved since their debut album released back in 1984.

As the band emerged on stage, Astbury and Duffy joined by Mike Dimkitch (guitar), Chris Wyse (bass) and John Tempesta (drums) launched into Horse Nation to start what was to be a solid, fan pleasing, greatest hits set. The sound throughout proved to be excellent, as much a reflection on the tightness of the band as it was on the acoustics within the venue.

And while there wasn’t much banter on stage from Astbury or Duffy, the dynamic between them looking at times ambivolent, the level of respect each has for the other is evident as they go about doing what they do best.

Rain, a song which judging from the crowd reaction did a lot more in the charts in Europe than it did in Australia, was greeted with much jumping and arm waving. The only new song played on the night I Assasin also received nods of approval and solid applause from many who would have been hearing it for the first time.

The set came home strongly with Rise and Love Removal Machine followed by a brief wait for the predictable but worthy encore of She Sells Sanctuary, which received an almighty roar as Duffy effortlessly launched into the instantly recognizable echoing riff on his trademark white Gretsch Falcon.

When a band like The Cult has such a large back catalogue to draw upon, the hardened fan is always going to have some point of contention about the choice of setlist. For myself it was the lack of anything from 1994’s self-titled album but this is really only a trivial criticism – there is only so much you can fit into a 90 minute set. With a new album set for release in September, let’s hope that the boys can keep it together long enough to return to Australia for the first time since 1995.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.