The Cult
Enmore Theatre
Sydney, AUS
November 25, 2016
It has been more than three decades years since The Cult settled on their current moniker. What started off inspired and spawned by the wake of punk rock as a psychedelic goth band, met morphed and broke mainstream in the late 1980s with a good ole fashioned Rick Rubin infused hard rock tinge, survived myriad of line-up changes and a few hiatuses and recently culminated in stadium scale tours alongside Guns ’n Roses, has not only become a staple in the canon of rock music but it has created a genre of its own.
Fronted by the remaining original members, charismatic and cosmically inclined front man Ian Astbury, and his lead guitarist Billy Duffy and touring in support of their tenth album Hidden City, The Cult proved that they are relevant as ever, powering through an energetic set list that did not rest on the laurels of the past but incorporated songs from each stage of their longstanding career with highlights from their Electric and Love albums.
The intentionally simplistic stage set up focused the attention on what The Cult does best: ignoring fashions and trends, concentrating on earthy riffs and hard-rocking songs and creating a vibe.
Duffy’s haunting riffage emitted from his signature Les Pauls was complemented by Astbury’s spiritual, focal point, and zenned out yet strong vocal performance, tambourine in hand conjuring his alchemy.
The chemistry between both was palpable and served as the foundation for their musical dialogue with Duffy’s accentuating and reparteeing with his guitar to the cues from Astbury’s verve.
Much to the delight of the largely middle-aged crowd, whose fist pumping and reveling in the exuberance of their youth and the fact that no song went unappreciated showed that they are longtime followers.
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Photos by KAVV
