Veteran rockers The Cult made a stop on its “We Own the Night” tour at The Anthem in Washington, DC, bringing along Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Zola Jesus to play to the mostly Generation X crowd.
Kicking off the night was Nika Roza Danilova, who goes by the stage name Zola Jesus. Her latest album Arkhon, was released just last month; the album explores heavy themes brought about by the current state of the world. In a 30-minute set, Zola Jesus introduced the still-assembling Anthem crowd to this music, appropriately wrapped in an industrial and goth sound and bathed solely in red light (the latter making for a frustrating photographic shoot, especially from the soundboard). There are elements of classical music in her songs as well as underscored by the presence of a violinist in her backing band.
After a quick turnover, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club took the stage. The setlist spanned most of B.R.M.C.’s albums, but leaned mostly on songs from earlier LPs, like “Spread Your Love” and “Red Eyes and Tears” from the band’s first album, B.R.M.C (2001), and lasted an entire hour, rather unusual for a support act. While well-performed, the band’s vibe was also distinctly mellow, somewhat flying in the face of their garage rock sound. Nevertheless, including B.R.M.C on the “We Own the Night” tour was a good choice. The band’s catalog complements that of The Cult, and provides aural lubrication for the crowd, prepping them for the headliner.
It was 10:20PM when The Cult finally took the stage. In 2022, The Cult consists of two original members, Ian Astbury (vocals) and Billy Duffy (guitar), as well as John Tempesta (drums), Charlie Jones (bass), and Mike Mangan (keyboards). They launched into a setlist of fan favorites, which included all the songs you’d hope for, “Sun King,” “Edie (Ciao Baby),” and of course, “Fire Woman” and “She Sells Sanctuary.”
As a member of Generation X, these songs were part of the soundtrack of my teen years, and it was clear I wasn’t alone in that regard Tuesday night. They hold up, too—kick ass rock songs that have stood the test of time. The Cult does have a new album, Under the Midnight Sun, which is due for release in October. “Give Me Mercy” is the first single from that album. Performed live, it sounded fantastic sandwiched in between The Cult’s older work. The Cult is bringing their A-game on this tour—Duffy sounds like a monster on guitar and Astbury’s voice is as good as ever.
As was reported elsewhere, late in the band’s set, Ian Astbury leaped off the stage to break up an argument between two fans near the stage, whereby one fan had another in a chokehold. There are few things in this world as territorial as a grown adult standing at the rail of a general admission show; it appears that the argument had something to do with the height of one man standing at the rail obscuring the view of another standing behind him. In any event, Astbury broke up the tussle, hugged the guy who got choked out, and then got back on stage and proceeded to scold the other guy in front of the entire crowd. Good times.
The “We Own the Night” tour continues through July 30 in Rama, Ontario and then picks back up in Vancouver, in mid-September.
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
ZOLA JESUS
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB SETLIST
Beat the Devil’s Tattoo
Red Eyes and Tears
Awake
Six Barrel Shotgun
American X
Stop
Shuffle Your Feet
Berlin
Hate the Taste
Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘n’ Roll (Punk Song)
Spread Your Love
THE CULT SETLIST
Rise
Sun King
Automatic Blues
Sweet Soul Sister
Soul Asylum
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Give Me Mercy
Wild Flower
Fire Woman
Revolution
Rain
She Sells Sanctuary
Love Removal Machine
