The Cult live at Portsmouth Guildhall (1.11.2024) with Jonathan Hultén supporting.
Despite seeing Southern Death Cult in the early days – forty odd years back – it wasn’t until 2001, when The Cult, with a more conventional hard rock sound, and having reformed after a four-year break, that I saw Ian Asbury live again, then with guitarist Billy Duffy on board, at Reading Festival. The Cult had another four-year break prior to 2006, since when they have continued. Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy remain the long-term core, although drummer John Tempesta has had an 18-year stint.
Yes, I did see the more recent special Death Cult tour (Bournemouth Death Cult blog link) but an indoor Cult gig has been a long time coming for me….so here we are, having been driven from Poole by my rediscovered mate Graham, who I went to gigs with around early 80s London.
This is The Cult’s 40th anniversary tour.
Portsmouth Guildhall is one of those semi-regular trips for me – about as far as I want to go for night out these days, without a stopover. More venue details in my Portsmouth Guildhall venue blog.
We are perched on the front row, centre, of the balcony. First time I’ve noticed the warning for the first two rows there, not to stand up. Ahh my legs have an excuse.
Support act tonight is Jonathan Hultén, a Swedish guitarist. An extraordinary visual image, while the music is not as weird as I was expecting.
Vaguely haunting music that sounds folky, maybe medieval. Something to relax to with a jug if mead. He sings as well as plays guitar and captures the audience. The eyes of the room are on him certainly.
The Cult live tonight
A good varied selection in the setlist tonight with three tracks being the most from any one album – both Sonic Temple (1989) and Love (1985) get three songs aired.
Ian Astbury skips around the stage and I have to admire his fitness as the set progresses. He’s a year older than me and I’d be in a heap after a few songs. At one point he sinks to his knees around the mic stand and I’m thinking, that would be me done and how is he going to get up…up he bounces.
Billy Duffy studiously gets on with his guitar playing and adopts a less energetic role, bringing that wonderful Cult sound to the room.
Not long before the tambourine is out and juggled by Astbury as he skips and sings. He has to tape up an early tambourine flipping induced finger injury, without halting the proceedings.
It’s loud and the sound is great but I don’t know the earlier songs in the set as well as I might – maybe the audience don’t as it’s quite restrained down there in front of me. Single, Resurrection Joe gets things moving.
I was wondering if the band had one eye on the big London dates that round off the tour at The Royal Albert Hall and The Roundhouse – do bands pace themselves at this stage of their careers? It is a special one to get them down here in Portsmouth, and not so long since the Death Cult Bournemouth gig last year.
Ian and Billy take a seat for a quieter acoustic Edie (Ciao Baby), the first of the three from the 1989 Sonic Temple album, picking up the pace with Sweet Soul Sister.
I’m quite impressed when Ian Astbury whizzes a tambourine in the direction of a young woman on someone’s shoulders, who catches it with one hand…and joins in on beat. I notice a few being waved in the audience, still in a bag – they must be on the merch stand.
The place is buzzing now. Mosh pits shrink with the age of us all off course, but it’s off and running now. I wonder if I can work myself up for one of those again. Some more gig training required, I think.
It is, inevitably, the classics that win out – Rain and Spiritwalker (links to my YouTube clips). What fantastic songs they are. Real stompers, with the Duffy echoing guitar riffs and a howling Astbury. Another unmissable one from the Love album ends the show – She Sells Sanctuary (YouTube clip), played after they return to the stage for Brother Wolf, Sister Moon. Songs like these are worth a ticket alone and I am so pleased to see these big songs to end to the set – I’ve waited so long for my proper Cult gig and I left very happy, with ears ringing (I just had to take my ear plugs out for a lot of this one.)
Gigs with Ivan 