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| Ian Astbury of The Cult |
September 3, 2012 – The Cult returned to Toronto for a high energy, powerhouse show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre on August 31st. The band is on tour supporting their new album Choice of Weapon, their 9th studio album of their 20 year career. You can read our review of that CD here and our Ian Astbury interview here.
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| Billy Duffy of The Cult |
While they they may no longer be selling out arenas as they were in their mid-80’s heyday, they’re still selling out large venues like the Phoenix. There was a very wide demographic of fans at the Phoenix. Some were there to hear the 80’s mega-hits, while younger fans were clearly there for Choice of Weapon and calling out for songs like Lucifer, which they played and had the fans singing along.
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| The Cult |
Astbury’s vocals were as powerful as ever and Billy Duffy’s distinctive guitar sound is immediately identifiable as The Cult. Astbury had an ongoing dialogue with the crowd but most of it was indecipherable. Astbury had an apparent unlimited supply of tambourines which he’d use for about half a song before they were tossed into the rowdy, capacity crowd, making for cool souvenirs for some lucky fans.
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| Billy Duffy of The Cult |
The band played all their biggest hits, leading off the show with Lil Devil followed by Rain and played Fire Woman mid-way through the show. Wild Flower and She Sells Sanctuary closed the show before they came back for and encore of Love Removal Machine.
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| Ian Astbury of The Cult |
Also on the bill were L.A.’s goth rockers Murder of Crows and Nova Scotia rockers Gloryhound.
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| Murder of Crows |
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| Murder of Crows |
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| Murder of Crows |
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| Gloryhound |
Verdict: The hard rock veterans can still rock out with the best of them and did just that at the Phoenix.
Review and photos by Steve Mallinson
