CULTS at LARIMER LOUNGE | 8/1/11
In a lot of ways, last night's fast and furious set from Cults at the Larimer Lounge was the best show possible for a band with a short discography. They played the hits and sounded good doing it, and when they left the stage less than an hour later, nobody was disappointed. Everyone, it seemed, just wanted to get out. It was crazy hot in there.
Cults opened with "Abducted." Madeline Follin swayed back and forth from behind the microphone, her voice sounding just as alternately sweet and smoky as the album. "I feel like it's raining in here," she said after the song, indicating the humidity in the small, sold-out room.
The second song was "The Curse," a relatively older track for the band formed in 2010. While the jazzy, soulful song opened strongly and atmospherically, it fizzled out at the end, which could be why is wasn't included on Cults's self-titled album.
Aside from the heat, there were some sound issues. The sound out of the speakers was tinny, and the drums, especially the snare, sounded shrill. Opener Guards played a solid opening set that was marred by feedback most of the way through. The five-piece, featuring Richie Follin, brother of Cults lead woman-slash-heartthrob Madeline Follin, didn't get to sound-check.
The set continued with the occasional "it is really hot" remark from Brian Oblivion, the other half of Cults. Follin and Oblivion steadily worked through their album, backed by three guys covering guitar, percussion and bass. Sound issues aside, they sounded tight and without frills. The crowd remained relatively still -- making the occasional exception for the band's hits like "You Know What I Mean" and "Go Outside."The show ended without an encore. "We all know it's hot in here, so here's our last song," Oblivion said before launching into "Oh My God." Then it was all over, and the crowd knew it. They quickly flooded out.
Personal Bias: Before I got the album in June, I didn't want to like Cults because of the incessant buzz, but the album's '60s pop-meets-'80s rock sensibilities proved too charming to resist. It has been on my iTunes Top 25 Most Played list for a couple of months. Random Details: It was the sound guy's first night on the job, according to Guards. By the Way: The band left Denver shortly after the set for a show in Kansas City tonight.
More photos from last night's Cults show are on the next page.
