“Open the sky, and let her come down, here comes the rain”... These lyrics by THE CULT could not of been more appropriate, as just minutes before the band was to take to the stage at the Fremont Street Summer Concert Series Stage, the skies in Las Vegas let loose with a monsoon season downpour. Along with the rain was lighting, and a loud clap of thunder directly overhead that brought on a loud cheer from the crowd of approximately 10,000 fans as they waited it out for the band to take the stage. It took 20 minutes or so for the desert storm to move on, and quickly the Fremont Street staff took to the stage sweeping the water off the stage so that the concert should get underway. While Billy Duffy played the opening chords to "Wildflower", Ian Astbury and the band (Damon Fox/keyboards, Grant Fitzpatrick/bass guitar, John Tempesta/drums) took to the stage to deliver a memorable and energized performance, as the wet but excited crowd let out a roar as their idols were finally here. After their opening "Wildflower", Ian thanked the crowd for sticking it out, and promised them a great show, and THE CULT continued with "Rain" which was ironic and also and fun way to laugh off the showers and get the show really rocking. After a couple more classic songs such as "Lil Devil" and "Nirvana" The Cult did a very different slow version of "Edie (Ciao Baby)". The show was winding down when Billy Duffy rocked the opening of the song "Rise", which to me is their best hard rock song and got the crowd riled up again.
The final song of the set was the favorite of any Cult fan as the band played "Love Removal Machine", while the crowd screamed for more, the band thanked the huge crowd and waved as they exited the stage but teased that if they wanted another song to let them hear it. That brought out more screams, and in a few minutes the band returned to the stage and performed another Cult favorite "She Sells Sanctuary". As the last sounds echoed through downtown the band came out front and tossed out drumsticks, setlists and a handful of picks.
The CULT Setlist Las Vegas
Wild Flower
Rain
Dark Energy
Lil' Devil
Elemental Light
Nirvana
The Witch
Edie (Ciao Baby)
Sweet Soul Sister
G O A T
Rise
The Phoenix
Fire Woman
Love Removal Machine
Encore:
She Sells Sanctuary
The Cult Photos from Harold Mountain / JustAFanPhotos