The Cult at Webster Theater, 11/11/06

Yes, even though The Cult have absolutely no product whatsoever to promote, they are touring, and I caught them on Saturday night.

Although there were definitely less people at the show than when I last saw them (on the Good and Evil tour), there was enough folk so the band didn't simply give up. Ian Astbury is still short haired (sorry to all you ladies who dug his long locks), and still doesn't sing as well as he does on the albums, but he did a decent job all the same. Sporting a purple hoodie with a white "The Cult" iron-on transfer (it looked like the letters were purchased from a cheap sewing store), he bantered with the audience, did his dance-y Ian shuffle, and threw a couple of tambourines out as souvenirs.

Billy Duffy was in good form, belting out the large guitar riffs through Gibson Les Pauls or his fancy Gretsch White Falcon through a wall of Marshall 4x12 stacks. Thankfully the guitar volume was damned loud (so loud that Billy kept complaining that he couldn't hear himself through his monitors), which isn't always the case at concerts these days. He was definitely on fire, with his soloing for Love's "The Phoenix" being a noodling high point. He threw out about a billion picks at the end of the show, so thankfully I was able to snag a few.

Seems that on their official web site people are complaining about the sound, but it's probably because they were too far away from the stage (losers). Up front things sounded good (even though Billy was definitely upset over the mix he was hearing on stage).

And unlike Iron Maiden, The Cult played the hits, so if you came for "Love Removal Machine" and "She Sells Sanctuary", you got it.

Set List:

Lil' Devil
Sweet Soul Sister
Electric Ocean
The Witch
Spiritwalker
Revolution
Rain
The Phoenix
Star (acoustic)
Edie (acoustic)
Fire Woman
Wonderland
Peace Dog
Rise
Wild Flower
Love Removal Machine

Encore:
Nirvana
She Sells Sanctuary