The Cult's Hidden City Tour 2016

At the end of our recent trip to the Grand Canyon, we decided to drive to the corner of Nevada to see The Cult in concert.  It was my husband's idea and it sounded like fun.  The Cult was one of those bands that I first encountered as a freshman in college.   I remember there was something exciting and new about "She Sells Sanctuary"  and Love quickly became one of my favorite albums.

I am not the biggest fan of aged rock stars doing the casino circuit and I realize that this can be unfair.   But many groups just really need to be done.   However, this was not the case with The Cult.

It was a beautiful and desolate drive to Primm, Nevada-- a company town where towering casinos seem to grow abruptly out of the desert.   It was a surreal and perfect location for the final show on The Cult's Hidden City tour.

The hotel/casino/venue was a dive (in a cool and weird way), much like an aged rock star itself and a really great place to see a show.  

I would hate to think its because Billy and Ian are getting old, but the show started on the dot at 8 p.m. with no opening act.  I think late arrivers were surprised, and they really missed out on the powerful opener of Wildflower followed by Rain.  The Cult came out of the gates rocking and didn't let up for almost an hour and a half.  This has always been high energy music and Ian and Billy were in perfect form.  I can't imagine them being any better even in their early days.   Songs off of Love sounded as fresh today as must have 30 years ago.

I am definitely a fan of Love and Electric --far more than their mid-career turn to arena-style rock.   But honestly even the cheesiest hard rock anthems are infinitely cooler coming from British rockers like The Cult.

I appreciate that Ian Astbury has always been obsessed with Native American spirituality and Tibetan Buddhist mysticism and he likes to incorporate their imagery into the band both lyrically and artistically.   I have always felt that this gave the band a different depth and a kind of magic that many other 80's bands did not possess. 

They played the perfect mix of old hits and new album music.   I must say that since I returned home from our trip I have been listening to their tenth and newest album Hidden City and it is really good.   The show and the album have rid me of the idea that their better days are behind them.     You can listen to the entire album on Amazon Prime music for free.

The Cult's Hidden City Tour