Ever wary of a show at the Rock and Roll Hotel, I came into the Cults show with the sneaky suspicion that it would be packed with underage creeps. What I was not prepared for was the opening band's oozing concert fog filling the crowded space. It did not give me the ethereal feeling it was likely supposed to evoke, in fact it kind of pissed me off. That stuff burns your eyes, man! Especially if they are particularly dry from other activities of the evening (wink).
That aside, when Cults finally hit the stage, I was glad I made the trek over to H Street. This young duo (backed by several other youngsters) comprised of Brian Oblivion (great name!) and Madeline Follin are seriously talented. They sound like they just popped off an Austin Powers movie set, like we are supposed to believe we are in the 60's enjoying catchy dance party guitar riffs all the while knowing the lyrics suggest a more modern world view.
They played almost all of their recently released hit album "Cults", winning the young crowd over with their fun and laid back style. Brian Oblivion has a rare talent that allows him to both lead the band on guitar and vocals, yet manage to slip into the background and sing seamless duos with Follin. It probably helps that their obvious chemistry onstage is based on their real relationship off stage. I know, how annoying... actually, only because it trickles of stage and standing next to a ridiculously drunk couple who thought swing dancing in the middle of a sold out crowd would be cute.
P.S. It is not. Someone else's hair on me is gross. And not only does the band have a lot of hair (see below), but the drunk dancing chick's blonde locks whipped me more than I would like to admit.
But other than a few elbows and a lot, and I mean a lot, of long flowing hair, Cults is a band I expect good things to come from in the future. For now, add them to your party mix and play when you have friends over, it'll make everybody happy.
