I want to start out by saying I am not the word's biggest Cult fan, but I really liked the Electric Album back in the day...loud, goofy riff rock. I still break the album out on occasion when no one is home and I can play it LOUD.
That said I am getting a bit cranky in my old age. Winter Kill opened with an 80 minute (are you fucking kidding me) set of distorted, wah wah stoner bullshit. Far too long and most of the crowd seemed disinterested. My son and a friend were there and he commented it was the worst live set he has ever seen.
The Cult hit the stage around 10 and kicked right into Wildflower. Billy Duffy was a riffing machine and the band sounded great, that is until Ian Astbury started to sing. Well sing is a word that does not exactly describe it...more like shouting along with some woops. I had forgotten what an asshole he can be and this behavior was in full effect last night. He kept yelling it was a rock & roll show and to stop with the cell phones, making bad jokes in some kind of NYC accent, generally being a putz.
After running through the Electric album there was some kind of short film and then the band returned to play a couple of hits and some newer material. Ian seemed to be more into this section and it's pretty clear he finds the Electric material boring. My question is why bother in the first place?
For me this was a nostalgia night 25 years on. Hard rock hasn't been my cup of tea in a very long time and it is unlikely I will see this kind of show again in the future. I especially hate ballroom shows at 51. I'm more the small theater, tiny club or outdoor festival type of person. Knowing all of this in advance doesn't squash the feeling that I was ripped off last night...