wenda alford: Cults Wrap U.S. Tour With Sold-Out Show

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Cults Wrap U.S. Tour With Sold-Out Show

Concert's stunning visuals help create a piece of modern art.
By Vaughn Trudeau Schoonmaker

Madeline Follin of Cults
Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Cults ended the brief final leg of their U.S. tour on Thursday night, drawing in a sold-out crowd at New York City's Webster Hall.

The band, led by singer Madeline Follin and guitarist Brian Oblivion, jammed their way through a solid set that brought the crowd from mesmerized silence during the softer, almost trance-driven songs to screaming cheers for Madeline's impressive high notes scattered throughout the fast-paced pop songs.

The matching long-haired duo, who remain the only act on British superstar Lily Allen's record label, In The Name Of, are already known for their edgy music videos. "Abducted" and "Go Outside" have both been lauded by critics, and fans eagerly await their upcoming video for "You Know What I Mean." All three were performed true to the album versions during the 70-minute set.

As the band translated their beautifully pop-heavy and catchy music to a live venue, videos blasted on a multiplex-sized screen behind them throughout the show. Synchronized swimmers, owls, footage from Jonestown and frightening monkey-faced men emerged from a TV static as Madeline's live image juxtaposed throughout the entire set. The show felt more like a piece of modern art than a concert, in that the band not only put on a solid set of infectious music, but were also accompanied by a series of stunning visuals paced to their beat, transforming Webster Hall into a modern art gallery. They even threw in an inspired and seldom-played cover of Leonard Cohen's 1988 classic "Everybody Knows," as well as an encore for the remix of "Bad Things," accompanied by up-and-coming hip-hop star Freddie Gibbs.

Cults head to Australia and Asia in February.

Have you seen Cults live? Tell us what you think of the band in the comments section below!

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