Seattle, Washington, The Showbox
Opening Band: The Cliks
It's been a few years since we were blessed with the Cult in the Jet City. I don't think they passed
through for the this town for the Beyond Good & Evil tour. So, Seattlites were so starved for the band
that tickets to last night's show were gobbled up in like, 48 hours.
We didn't care that we had to stand around in the cold, waiting for the Showbox to let us in later than
7. Or that the show took an eternity to start. And once it did, the setlist was almost identical to
Portland's setlist the night before. Or that Ian's voice wasn't in the best shape.
None of that stuff mattered. We were there to get our rocks off. And get 'em off we did.
For starters, Ian dedicated the show to the late great Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone fame. (MLB
morphed into Pearl Jam after Andrew succumbed to heroin addiction.) That was unexpected. And
bittersweet. All of us natives, who remember those days 15 to 20 years ago, have grown up/cleaned
up/lost our hair/had kids/changed/lived/died/etc. since then.
So it was good to see that the Cult is still kickin' ass. Older with lines of character in their
faces, but still rockin'! Centerstage Ian banged his tambourine with the music, shoutin' out the
lyrics (skippin' some high notes here & there), and wondered aloud if we knew any of the latest stuff.
Always the agitator. Billy postured & picked on stage right, diggin' his own rock god riffs. It may
take 2nd guitarist to help round out Billy's sound, but that only improves the quality of the live show
I say.
Er, I think. Y'know, I couldn't hear anything the guy played. Was he turned down? When Ian introduced
the band, he paused before he said the guy's name (Mike Dimkitch?), like he was debating whether to do it.
That was odd enough that even my wife noticed it.
Anyhow, Chris Wyse on bass & John Tempesta on drums were excellent. Those guys definitely deserve full on
props because they play with the same edgy intensity & professionalism that Billy & Ian demand. They're a
rhythm section to hold on to.
The show ended before 11pm. That's late enough to a geezer like me. Shit, I even wore ear plugs! God
I'm old!
But at least the guys in the Cult haven't lamed out like I have. I look forward to their next visit.
Paul Selig
The showbox is a great place to see a show. Plenty of good viewing lines and lots of bar space to get
your show face on. Ian even commented on how he liked it. The guitar tech didnt spend much time tuning
the guitars and I dont know if that contributed to the problem but Billy's guitars were missing their
usual spirit and lifefulness. Billy was disappointed and I will agree with him. To say the show was
not good would be misleading but in comparison to the portland show the nite before and the SF show
in December, this was a little off. Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed the show immensely. I met up with a
couple who had seen the show in portland the nite before and were so impressed they made the
unpleasant drive from portland to see them at the showbox. After all my years of going to different
shows I finally got a Duffy guitar pick! I would have loved to follow the show on into BC but had to
be elswhere the next day. My only consolation was that I got to hear a dance mix of She Sells
Sanctuary on my Delta flight (yes, that right - the song is on a "80's Dance mix" channel on some
Delta flights) and then again the next nite I heard Love Removal Machine on the sound system at the
Applebee's in Homestead Florida. This only reinforces that their music is timeless and always
timely. What a coincidence...maybe the music ended up "following" me...
Ralph
Setlist:
Spiritwalker
Rain
Electric Ocean
I Assassin
The Witch
Savages
The Phoenix
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Sweet Soul Sister
Wild Flower
Horse Nation
Rise
Dirty Little Rockstar
She Sells Sanctuary
Encore:
Illuminated
Fire Woman
Love Removal Machine