The Cult at The Wellmont

original article from The Aquarian

MONTCLAIR, NJ- I remember first buying the album Love by The Cult. It wasn’t 1985, but I probably did have too much hairspray and eyeliner on at the time. I knew a couple of their hits and liked Ian Astbury’s ruffled shirts, so I figured it’d be a good filler record to have in my collection. Instead of lumping it with the rest of the fillers that made few trips to my turntable, it ended up getting listened to repeatedly. So when I saw that The Cult was playing their entire Love album at The Wellmont Theatre, I was curious to see what these guys sound like after forming 26 years ago.

No opening band? Awesome! Starting the show close to an hour and a half late? Eh! I wished there was an opening band instead of hearing the same five songs on loop over the speakers. I did however enjoy listening to the grandpa Goths talk about seeing Southern Death Cult “back in the day.” It sucks being born around three decades too late.

They did a great job playing through Love. “Hollow Man” sounded enormous and the crowd roared once “She Sells Sanctuary” started. Pleasing fans with other hits such as “Fire Woman” and “Wild Flower, The Cult played a solid set of guitar howls, crooning vocals, and sultry bass lines. Ian Astbury looked like “L.A. Women” era Jim Morrison with his grizzly beard, but his vocals haven’t aged a bit. Even though he looks nothing like he did in the ‘80s, he did have on leather gloves and a raccoon tail hanging by his hip. Guitarist Duffy blew me away with his echoed solos and white holy body guitar that looked bigger than he was.
Though I was expecting Astbury’s infamous tribal hip shakes, instead he complained about how the concrete stage was giving him pain from his recent hip surgery and commanding the Wellmont to use the stage lights instead of the spotlight. What a rock star! The psychedelic video in the backdrop of nature, people, and trippy effects made the show better and livened up the lack of movement from the band. By the end of the show, Astbury threw the tambourine he was playing into the crowd, Duffy threw a bunch of picks, and the overpriced beer fueled crowd went nuts over them. Let’s hear it for big hair, leather, and combat boots!

According to Ian Astbury, there are rumors of The Cult going into the studio soon, so hopefully they’ll have a new album out within the next year or two.

FOR VIDEOS OF THE SHOW.... CLICK HERE!!!!

Psychedelic Furs at the Wellmont

Alright, so I was REALLY pissed when I walked into the Wellmont and they put seats in the standing area. Huh??? I understood that it was an "older" crowd, but that doesn't mean that they can't stand. Stand up, you're at a show! I was really happy we found seats and were able to stand up against the stage, but please Wellmont don't do that again... It's silly.

The opening band wasn't too impressive. Drum machines, side parts, bass and snare drum kit, slide guitar, long greasy hair, synths. They offered dance beats that got some people bopping, but eh... I dunno. None of the songs stuck with me or gave me that "damn" feeling. Sorry boys!

So this would be my second time seeing the furs live and while I did think that it might be a little repetitive, it wasn't at all. Though Richard Butler had a few shaky moments with his vocals and admitted to sounding like a "train wreck" (it seemed he was having trouble with his ear piece), all and all it was a good show.

I can't help but say the word CUTE when it comes to seeing these guys live. They're super smiley and with Richard Butler's jumping and hip shaking and swirls, you can't go wrong. The saxophone player, Mars Williams, was AMAZING. They didn't have him play when I saw them back in 2005(i think?). This guy may be a little short, but he has a lot of energy to belt out the solos that he did. I was a little upset not to see guitarist John Ashton, but the new guitar player was great. The keyboardist wasn't really needed on most songs in my opinion, I'm sure she's awesome and really sweet! Tim Butler will always be cool with his shades and bass lines. It was also cool to see drummer, Paul Garisto, who toured with them in the mid '80s.(thanks Anna at D16 sorry for the fuck up)

Here's a clip of them playing "Heaven", where you'll see Richard Butler doing his signature praying spin at 0:33..haha

I liked the set list a lot more last time I saw them, but this show's set was good too. Alright so I have the set list all jumbled in my mind... So here's just the songs they played in no order. I think I might've missed some!

Goodbye, I Just Wanna Sleep With You, She is Mine, It Goes On, Heartbeat, Dumb Waiters, Heaven, So Run Down, Like a Stranger, I Don't Want to be Your Shadow, All of This and Nothing, No Tears, My Time, Pretty in Pink, Ghost in You, Love My Way..

It was a fun show, some of the crowd was really sweet, while others were yelling "play stuff we know" and "pretty in pink" from the beginning of the show.... lame.

The Furs have supposedly been working on new material. I'm curious to hear what it sounds like. Hopefully it'll be good!

Photos by: Ray Schwartz
Video by http://www.youtube.com/user/ashydave

Morrissey at the Wellmont

above photo by Sean Salmon

original article in the montclarion

Usually people show up to a concert an hour or two early to feel their idol's sweat drops on them, but at the Wellmont Theatre on Monday, March 16, fans of Morrissey started to line up at 11 a.m. for his sold-out 8 p.m. show. As the line wrapped around onto Bloomfield Avenue, the doors opened, and the pastel-colored theatre was quickly filled with excited fans.

Red Cortez opened the show with explosive drum beats, smooth jangly guitar riffs echoed by the soulful voice of frontman Harley Prechtel. With Prechtel not wearing any shoes and the rest of the band in a Bohemian style, one would think that this was just another boring indie rock band, but Red Cortez fueled Morrissey fans with their upbeat songs and howling lyrics.

Shortly after Red Cortez's set, a mix of videos played on a white sheet that covered the awaited set. This mix included videos from '60s band Shocking Blue, Vince Taylor dancing the twist, the drunken "The 12 Daze of Christmas" and of course the infamous video of David Johansen of the New York Dolls smoking a "marijuana cigarette," which was the cue that the show was about to start.

As the white sheet dropped, five musicians, identically dressed in denim, started to play, and Morrissey came out to a vibrating uproar from the audience.

"I'm working on a dream," sang Morrissey, and then he quickly stopped and said, "No, I'm not."

Why was Morrissey tastefully mocking the chorus of Bruce Springsteen's recent single? It was his way of welcoming New Jersey, and it shows that after all these years, Morrissey's still as sharp as ever.

With a set list that ranged from songs of The Smiths to his most recent album, Years of Refusal, Morrissey didn't disappoint long-time fans waiting for that Smiths B-side, like "I Keep Mine Hidden," to be played.

While most solo artists' music tends to get dry and die out after time, Morrissey's new album is very loud and energetic. With songs like "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris," Morrissey demonstrates how his age hasn't given him any grief in his career.

After stripping off a number of button-down shirts and teasing the crowd with his bare chest, Morrissey threw them into the audience, causing havoc among fans.

A memorable image of the night was when a heart-shaped sweat mark formed on his back, showing that Morrissey really does sing his heart out to his fans when he plays.

After hilarious remarks from Morrissey in between songs, saying that all he knows about Montclair is there's a Whole Foods and asking what one does in the town, the crowd laughed at his witty gentleman-like humor.

Once the show was coming to an end, fans started to make their way to the stage doing whatever they could to get a hug from Morrissey, which is typical at his shows. One fan made it onto the stage, past the security guards and the large gap in between them and the audience. People pushed so hard that the barricades were going forward, causing a security guard to take the stage and tell everyone to move back before the encore.

Finishing his set with, "First of the Gang to Die," Morrissey left the stage, leaving fans mesmerized by his charm, gratitude and, of course, his music.

all other photos by o.J. Lopena