By Andrew Bansal
September 7th 2013, The Wiltern, Los Angeles CA: Veteran rock band The Cult have been on the Electric 13 North American tour since late July and last night they began a grand closing weekend for this tour with the first of two back-to-back shows in Los Angeles, this one at the Wiltern Theatre in downtown LA and the next show at the House of Blues Sunset Strip tonight. As the name of the tour suggests, the band has been performing their classic third studio album ‘Electric’ in its entirety every night, followed by a second set full of songs from other albums old and new. Naturally, fans walking into the venue were expecting a special treat. The Cult has been a band I’ve always wanted to see but never got a chance to do so, and last night I was finally able to change that. With the current incarnation of The Cult being a combination of the British forefront of Ian Astbury on vocals, Billy Duffy on lead guitar and James Stevenson on rhythm guitar, and an American rhythm section of Chris Wyse on bass and John Tempesta on drums, I was curious to hear and see how they pulled off this material live.
But before all that, the doors opened at around 7 PM, the fans flocked in through the gates and while most people decided to socialize and drink in the lobby, some of them were ready for the opening act, New York-based trio White Hills who hit the stage at 8:10. Knowing nothing about the band beforehand, I was keeping a completely open mind towards their performance but unfortunately they didn’t quite impress. Their music was a little too repetitive for mine or anyone else’ liking. I moved my eyes from one member to the next in order to observe what they were doing, and the only thing I was able to see was each one doing the same pattern for several minutes. They have a good foundation and a solid tone coming out of their instruments, but they aren’t doing nearly enough with their actual material. As a result, the few people who cared to check them out started trickling out from the concert hall to the lobby and restrooms. Not such a great opening act, and it was clear that our headliners would have to make all the effort to entertain this crowd.
The Cult were supposed to begin their set at 9:15. and the clock went well past this scheduled time but there was no sign of the band. Finally at 9:50, the lights dimmed down and the band appeared one by one. I think I speak for everyone in attendance here by saying that the band made up for their late arrival, and then some. Their 110-minute performance was all about the music, and even though Ian Astbury addressed the crowd a few times, he didn’t waste any time or slow down the momentum of the show by any means. It was a swift, smooth and very professional musical exhibition put on by these seasoned veterans.
Of course, the first set consisted of the entire Electric album, with one exception. The ‘Born To Be Wild’ cover was replaced by the b-side song ‘Zap City’, and I’m certainly glad they did so because it was the highlight of the Electric set for me. But aside from that one, each tune off of Electric was truly brought to life by the combined efforts of the musicians up on that stage, and I couldn’t imagine them doing any better job of performing those songs than the manner in which they did it last night. Billy Duffy’s guitar sound was as clean and pristine as anything I’d ever heard in a live setting, and the tone emanating from his Gibson Les Paul had the no-bullshit, classic Angus Young feel to it. While his partner in crime James Stevenson held down the rhythm guitar parts, Duffy ripped into his leads and solos with an effortless touch of class.
They took a very brief intermission after the Electric set, during which they projected a short movie by on the stage backdrop screen. They returned for the second set, Billy Duffy switched from the Les Paul to a Gretsch hollow-body, and the band dived into the rest of their catalog to pull out some real gems. ‘Sweet Soul Sister’ was enjoyable in particular, and following that was ‘Lucifer’ which Ian Astbury dedicated to Gerry Harrington. ‘Nirvana’ from the debut album was also one of the shining moments of the entire evening. In general, The Cult played more of a relaxed, smooth and laid back style of hard rock in this show, something you could gently nod or sway your head along with rather than furiously headbang or mosh to. But that’s what separated them from the plethora of rock acts I’ve seen in the past, the fact that they made such an impact even with such a simple, organic approach.
There’s no denying that Astbury modified the manner in which he sang some of the tunes, but he still sounded great and gave those old tunes a different flavor which was more fitting to his present-day voice. Besides Astbury, bassist Chris Wyse made a great contribution with his backing vocals and was solid on the bass. Having previously only seen him front his band Owl in small stages like that of the Viper Room, it was my first time seeing him with The Cult and he carried himself just as equally well on the big Wiltern stage. On the drumkit, John Tempesta did a fantastic job and The Cult’s music definitely seemed to come more naturally to him than any other band he’s performed with. Together, the five members of The Cult put on what I would describe as a rock clinic, showing those younger than them how it should be done.
But alas, as great as the show was, the crowd’s response was nowhere near strong enough to justify the band’s performance. Ian Astbury seemed surprised and agitated at the lack of cheers from this crowd and the guy tried more than his level best to get the people shouting. Depsite being packed with people, the place was nearly dead right until the band was nearing the end of the set. One or two of the ‘poppy’ tunes got a reaction from the people. Perhaps those were the only songs the crowd was familiar with. I’m seeing this more and more at shows now, and it’s a bit sad. It seems like people attend shows just to socialize with their buddies, drink overpriced alcohol, and overall just do everything other than watching the actual show. I lost count of the number of times people would walk out during The Cult’s set. The way I see it, paying money for a ticket is not enough, it’s not ‘job done’. It’s a fan’s responsibility to acknowledge the band’s efforts by a cheer or clap at the end of songs, but apparently a large majority of this crowd wasn’t bothered to do so.
Only those who truly appreciated what The Cult did last night would realize the magnitude of what they had seen, because it sure was an wholehearted exhibition of hard rock, the kind of exhibition only The Cult could have pulled off.
Related – Interview: The Cult Bassist Chris Wyse Discusses ‘Electric 13’ Tour
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Set List:
Wild Flower
Peace Dog
Lil’ Devil
Aphrodisiac Jacket
Electric Ocean
Bad Fun
King Contrary Man
Love Removal Machine
Zap City
Outlaw
Memphis Hip Shake
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Rain
Honey From a Knife
Sweet Soul Sister
Lucifer
Embers
The Phoenix
Rise
She Sells Sanctuary
Spiritwalker
Nirvana
Sun King