It’s been over a decade since I saw The Cult live and they impressed me to no end, so here we are on the second of their third sold out Sydney shows, each at different venues. Tonight at the amazing Enmore Theatre we are in for a treat as the band are here celebrating their 40th anniversary on their 8424 tour. This is gonna be a real rockin’ celebration and I am ready. Lights out and here we go.
‘Rise of the Valkyries’ plays as the band take to the stage and immediately into ‘In The Clouds’ and can I just bow to Billy Duffy’s chunky guitar tone straight away. Wow. This is an amazing way to start the show and Ian Astbury sounds as good as ever. As it finishes that riff for ‘Rise’ kicks in and you just know tonight is going to be something else, what a way to start a show. A quick welcome and Billy takes us into ‘Wildflower’ and the crowd are into this one yelling it back to the stage as they are finally settled and this one is definitely a crowd favourite. A broken tambourine later and ‘Star’ is next. What I have to say about The Cult is that this band has a sound and it’s an awesome one. The bass booms and it’s time for ‘The Witch’ and we’ve upgraded to maracas from the tambourine. What a track, but the hook of ‘Mirror’ was awesome and the crowd lapped it up. ‘War (The Process)’ has another chunky riff and what this band does as a four piece is pretty amazing. Damn that one was a stand out and the crowd are letting them know. ‘Resurrection Joe’ gets the crowd clapping along and some amazing drum work sets this one apart.
Two stools make their way to the front as Billy throws on an acoustic and he and Ian get a rousing cheer as ‘Edie (Ciao Baby)’ begins and a sea of phones rise to capture it. That was really cool and to hear it this way tonight was outstanding. What a song. The rest of the band return and here’s another big one in ‘Sweet Soul Sister’ and that bass groove is thumping once again. What a song, with an extended middle and outro they know how big this one is and they delivered it. ‘Lucifer’ bathes the stage in red and they keep things rockin’. Ian shares his love of the track, but it’s the next one that kicks things into high gear… Billy hits it and here’s ‘Fire Woman’ man I love this song. Of course it gets the biggest reaction of the night and they lap it up. This is one of the first songs I remember hearing from The Cult so hearing it live tonight was amazing. ‘Rain’ keeps the set rollin’ and it’s hard to fault how good this band is. Without taking a breath it’s straight into ‘Spiritwalker’ which was awesome but ‘Love Removal Machine’ takes it above and beyond. Can I just say… Billy Duffy ladies and gentlemen! Damn he’s good. What a song and what a way to close out the set. The band rock it up before leaving the stage and show us how it’s done.
A quick break before the band returns for ‘Brother Wolf, Sister Moon’ and this groove is smooth and bluesy and an excellent lead in for the final track of the night as they close with ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ and it’s truly the only way they could finish tonight. Perfect song for a perfect set. The Cult now 40 years in showing everyone they can still do it… and do it better than many. This band is impressive.
Essential Information
Venue: The Enmore Theatre – Sydney
Date: December 2, 2024
Website: www.thecult.us
Set list:
In the Clouds
Rise
Wild Flower
Star
The Witch
Mirror
War (The Process)
Ressurection Joe
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Sweet Soul Sister
Lucifer
Fire Woman
Rain
Spiritwalker
Love Removal Machine
Brother Wolf, Sister Moon
She Sells Sanctuary
