The Cult - "Love/Live" House of Blues, Boston, September 12, 2009

The Cult
House of Blues, Boston, MA
Saturday, September 12, 2009

Support - Living Things

When I read a few months ago that The Cult were going to tour with the intent to perform "Love", a record that is easily a top 10 record of all time with me, I couldn't pass up the chance. After a quick few emails I had three other like minded friends, who also find the record in at least their top 20, well it was easy.

Saturday was rainy and cold but we made our way in to the city. It was the first time for all of us at the new House of Blues in Boston, and it wasn't too bad. We mulled around a bit then Living Things took the stage. They were not terrible, but they were not great either.

After what seemed like ages the guys arrived on stage. Granted it is not 1985 any more, but the Cult was on stage. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy are the two tenured guys and they didn't fail to deliver.

The Love record was played in full. I've been lucky to see the band live before, but I had not heard some of these tunes live before. That was a plus.


Ian was darkly silhouetted all night it seemed. He has a bushy hair style these days and was in leather. He even had leather gloves on. He was channeling Jim Morrison from time to time I felt. He'd saunter around the stage, and of course he teased a Doors tune as well. (Yes I know he toured as a member of the Doors of the 21st Century or whatever it was called). The Love set moved far to fast and before we knew it they were already on "She Sells Sanctuary". Still to this day one of, if not the greatest rock song ever. Never get sick of it. They closed out with "Black Angel" and took a break for 2-3 minutes.

The second "set" was more like and extended encore. My friend John said at one point "They could have just done Love and I'd be happy, so these extra tunes are just a bonus". They didn't dig too deep, giving us "Wildflower" and "Electric Ocean". The audience seemed to be having a grand time with this abridged "best of" set.

The full set list was

Nirvana
Big Neon Glitter
Love
Brother Wolf, Sister Moon
Rain
The Phoenix
Hollow Man
Revolution
She Sells Sanctuary
Black Angel
*break*
Electric Ocean
Wildflower
Sun King
Rise
Dirty Little Rockstar
Firewoman
Love Removal Machine

Ian has lost some of his vocal range. I have grown to accept it but I do miss it. (read my review from a past show here). Billy Duffy still slings the guitar off to the side and down low and is just a monster. He plays his roll, and just lets it rip. The other guys have been on the road (and studio) with them for a bit. John Tempesta did a great job on drums, Mike Dimkich filled in guitar riffs for Billy to give it a full sound. Bassist Chris Wyse kept the rhythm going all night and tossed out some backing vocals as well.

The merchandise was pretty good. The shirts had everything from Love to Sonic Temple logos. One cool thing they are doing on some of the shows is they are recording them and allowing you to buy a limited edition USB drive with the show on it. We grabbed one (split it 4 ways). Its pretty slick, its that show and the it looks like a military dog tag. Its engraved with "Cult Love Love MMIX". A very cool keepsake. I hope even more bands do this. Check out their site here.

The band is in great form. If you have even passing interest see them do this record and then you get the hits after. Touring for an old record and playing it in its entirety is a cool, albeit niche market. As long as you get other stuff with it I'll be there.