The Cult!

 My last concert before the pandemic was Cher because dammit, Cher is a fucking legend. So its been over 3 years since I have seen a concert and well over that for my preferred type of concert which is rock n roll (though Cher's Abba medley was rockin!).

The Cult has new album and the songs are just as good as anything they've ever done but lets face it, the 50-65 year old dudes that made up 90% of the crowd wanted She Sells Sanctuary and Fire Woman. The concert was at an old social hall in South Omaha renamed the Admiral and remodeled to resemble well an old social hall. I'd seen various bands there in the distant past (Collective Soul, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mazzy Star) and to be quite honest I was a helluva lot younger then, The place has no parking, no seats, and no fucks left to give. Its small, you have to stand and 75% of the clientele is drunken dudes out for the night and ready to raise hell. I don't really drink anymore so my horror of being around drunks when you aren't drunk phobia kicked in real fast. The place quite frankly looked like they were having a biker convention. Lots of head scarves, tats, leather vests, shaved heads, goatees hey wait a minute this must have been what it was like at the Capitol on January 6th. Look I'm no 60 something lookin white guy in a polo and a $200 haircut , my look is a cross between old hippie and homeless vet , but I have no tats, Im not drunk, no leather, no head scarf I'm just here to listen to the Cult, probably my favorite rock band from the 80's.

The opener I actually felt sorry for. King Woman, a woman fronted band playing a sort of dirge death rock. Shoe gazers, minimal movement, slow mournful music, the sound blew chunks, and the lead singer seemed a bit pissed after the last song throwing down the mike and walking off stage. They did 10 songs though honestly it may have been one loooong song for all I know. Nobody wanted to hear it. I did pull them up on Spotify later and liked them so I apologize for hating them at the time.

The Cult came on at about 9:45 way past my bed time.  Opening with Rise it was apparent from the start that lead singer Ian Astbury could still sing his ass off and had the whole front man shtick still intact. I was close enough to snap pictures and they continued on with 80's hits like Sun King, Sweet Soul Sister, Edie, Wild Flower, Peace Dog, Aphrodisiac Jacket, Fire Woman. The old dudes loved it, phones were raised, they were high fiving and fist bumping me like crazy at the start of every recognizable song. It was wonderful as us old geezers bonded for a legendary band playing a small social hall on a Sunday in Omaha.

Astbury has always had a sort of Jim Morrison vibe, some would say an obsession, in his dress and his stage presence. In fact, during an instrumental break during Peace Dog, he began a 2 minute medley of Doors music like Riders, Break on Through, and The End. But Astbury is and has always been one of the most underrated front men of rock history and his voice is phenomenal still. They sound great and Billy Duffy can play the guitar with any of the greats.

She Sells Sanctuary's opening notes started and the place went nuts. A whole new level of old man energy. Unfortunately for me, standing for this long is difficult because my back is old and I'm fat. My back was on fire during one of the greatest songs of all time so I slowly moved towards the door as the audience went crazy. As soon as the last note was played and they pretended to leave for good before the encore I was out the door and struggling up a hill to get to my car. Damn getting old is a bitch.

Lessons learned

1) The Cult is still worth seeing. There is no slowing down with these guys. They rock

2) I need a seat at concerts. My back is shot. Standing is not an option any longer. 

The End