THUNDER BAY – The Cult never quite made it to the upper echelon of the music world.
But rising out of the ashes of the punk revolution of the late ‘70s and the new wave arrival in the ‘80s, the English rockers came close, releasing a string of hits that made them rock radio darlings and the staple of party mix tapes throughout their heyday.
Led by Ian Astbury, an English-born howler who grew up idolizing Jim Morrison and the Doors – going so far as to play the part of the Lizard King alongside Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger from 2002 to 2007 – the Cult are still going strong 41 years after their 1983 debut.
On Tuesday night they made a triumphant return to the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, and though Astbury’s voice has lost a little of its power at 62, the man still knows how to belt out a song.
Joined by original guitarist Billy Duffy, longtime drummer John Tempesta, bassist Charlie Jones and keyboardist Mike Mangan, the Cult put on a 90-minute spectacle, rolling through hit after hit, while sprinkling a taste of newer material, like 2022’s Mirror, throughout the 17-song set.
“We’ve actually made music continuously,” Astbury barked at the crowd before ripping through The Witch, the band’s sixth song of the night, originally produced by the legendary Rick Rubin.
Perhaps annoyed by an hour delay to the incense-laden show, sparked by the late arrival of opening act Culture Wars, themselves a victim of flight delays that saw them touchdown in Thunder Bay about a half an hour after they were supposed to be on stage, Astbury took a couple of songs to warm up to the half-filled Auditorium crowd.
“Thank you. Merci beaucoup. Good evening,” he said, welcoming the crowd to leave their seats and flock to the front of the stage.
“Please feel free to join us down here. There’s plenty of space. This is a very big space.”
Dozens obliged, and with that, the Cult launched into Wild Flower, from 1987’s Electric, a song that hit No. 5 in New Zealand.
Astbury, who raised his fist in the air in salute to First Nations, a short time later in the show reminded the crowd of his Thunder Bay roots.
“I love Thunder Bay,” he said. “I used to come up here with my father when I was young, when we lived in Hamilton. This is a special place here.”
Nine songs in, Astbury and Duffy took the stage alone, the singer seated on a stool for Edie (Cia Baby), a criminally underappreciated song from Sonic Temple. The audience whooped in appreciation, then stayed on their feet as the quintet rolled into Sweet Soul Sister, the final single off the same album.
Lucifer, Fire Woman, Rain and Love Removal Machine followed, Astbury shaking his tambourine throughout the night, leaving the heavy musical lifting to the band behind him.
A three-song encore closed the concert, the Auditorium lit up by the glow of recording cell phones as the Cult finished with She Sells Sanctuary, their biggest Canadian hit, still a banger some 39 years after it was first released.
The delay was a little disappointing to some, but in the end, the crowd got what it came for and it was well worth the wait.
