The Cult Concert Review
THE CULT OPEN MINDS IN WARSAW
Show Date: August 12, 2010
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Venue: Stodola Club
Reviewer: Fat Peter
Band Websites: thecult.us – www.myspace.com/thecult
Some people believe that three days of live music are better than one, while others may argue that it depends on the musicians involved. But when you have a band like The Cult headlining the festival it doesn’t really matter.
The Open Mind Festival was originally scheduled to be held at Open Air, but due to undisclosed reasons it was moved into the renowned Polish Stodola Club who had hosted bands like Megadeth in the past. The funny thing was, that even though The Cult were the festival headliners, they played on the very first day (of a total of three days).
Not that it mattered much. What mattered is that a band like The Cult can really set the roof on fire during a gig — and so they did.
The show started with a few classics. “Lil’ Devil” was the first to be served up and it made the people crazy from the very beginning. The setlist was very diverse, it wasn’t only one album like the band’s last ‘Love Live’ tour in which they promoted the 25th anniversary of the classic album.
The set had anthemic classics like the previously mentioned “Lil’ Devil”, “Fire Woman” and “She Sells Sanctuary”, as well as lesser known tracks from the past like “Nirvana” and “Electric Ocean” mixed with newer songs like “Rise” from 2001’s ‘Beyond Good And Evil’ and “Dirty Little Rockstar” and “I Assassin” from the band’s latest LP release ‘Born Into This’. They even included their latest, and at the time unreleased, song “Every Man And Woman Is A Star” — and that really was a standout in The Cult‘s set, proving that they are not content on being a vintage nostalgia act that only plays their old hits. Nor do they cut themselves away from their past and only play new material. Mixing the new with the classics makes you feel like The Cult are band that is healthy, alive and kicking, while not forgetting about their past.
That, and the awesome energy the group brings to the show, makes me wonder how they are doing this? Some rock bands, in their 50’s, are really putting the younger acts to shame in terms of the energy they put out onstage. The cult is a fine example of such an act. These guys may have matured in terms of their looks, but as far as their stage show goes some of the young punk acts could take lessons from them.
The gig was terrific, the fans loved it and so did the band. Upon leaving I almost forgot that it was just the first day of the festival — talk about a warm up act!
