Review: The Cults at The Independent, San Francisco CA 4.14.11
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 8:00AM
It's with great pleasure that I introduce Melissa, our first west coast contributor all the way from San Francisco. Visible Voice is, and will always be, all about local live music - "local" just now extends beyond Boston and New England!
By Melissa Blaustein
How can you describe a live concert with psychedelic dream pop duo The Cults? Well, to quote the band in question - "Oh. My. God".
A friend of mine once told me his sister puts on their debut single,“Go Outside” every morning before she gets into the shower. Ya, they’re just that kind of band. The kind of music that you can not only wake up to, but that will wake you up. Their combination of 50’s teen pop infused with 80’s retro makes it hard to not sing along, or at the very least crack a smile.
The pair is made up of two kids from San Diego California, Madeline Folli and Brian Oblivion, who were just messing around making music in their garage when they put some of it on band camp and realized a lot of people, (myself included) liked it.
When the friend I’d been planning to meet at the show bailed on me at the last minute, I considered skipping it. But unwilling to miss out on a band that had successfully put me in a good mood at least ten times in the last two weeks - I hopped a cab to the Independent and counted on the Cults to come through for that 11th time. I really didn’t want this to be another blog band that couldn’t cut it on a live stage.
The show did not disappoint.
To start things off two erupted in their latest release, “Abducted” and the hand clapping, bell ringing, finger snapping, hair flipping energy was contagious. I didn’t see a single person that wasn’t tapping their feet or swaying their hips. (Yes, that allusion to a 50’s concert hall was intentional).
That energy persisted through favorites like “Most Wanted,” and the mellower “You Know What I Mean” where Madeline assured us that she was turning the lights down because she was “gonna slow things down.”
Madeline is like Peggy Lee meets Jenny Lewis. She channels the sultry sound of Lee’s 50’s favorite “fever” and popy rilo kiley ballads like “breaking up” to create irresistible jams like “The Curse” and “Oh My God.” Brian and Madeline are a great match. Brian’s key work, guitar skills and baritone-esque vocals pair perfectly with Madeline’s retro style. When the two of them waved their hip length long hair in unison while rocking out, it only further solidified my belief that these two could successfully re-coin the term “blast from the past”
My only qualm with the show was its length. The band’s album is set to debut sometime in May 2011, so until then, they’ve only got about seven songs. But damn, can they ever play them.
When the show ended everyone in the audience waited for an encore, but Madeline assured us that the encore would be in July when they go back on tour – don’t miss it.
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