As I enter the wonderfully air conditioned venue I'm delighted to swap the stifling heat and humidity of the balmy Florida sunshine for the designer chic of the House Of Blues for tonight's rock 'n' roll show.

As the emo kids in their hoodies cling to the crash barrier (and each other) the much talked about alt rockers Against Me! amble on to the vast stage and strike up their angst ridden, emo friendly, and slightly folky tunes to screams and college jock whoops as they proceed to satisfy the masses with their music, and appear to be going down rather well for most. The room is full to bursting and it would seem that many in attendance are here to see the support band doing their thang!

Now I must admit I'm not too familiar with the music of Against Me! but I've read about them recently and managed to check out a few tunes and won't admit to being blown away nor horrified at what I heard, but whilst I might be in the minority here they kinda just passed over my head as each song sort of drifted into the next with only the odd song here and there standing out, like the impressive 'I Was A Teenage Anarchist'. If you've never heard of them then picture this - facial hair (apart from singer), short back and sides or floppy fringe, skinny jeans, and cut off black t-shirts; oh, and all the band mime the words in an over exaggerated manner whilst the singer does the singing (annoying). The set seemed to go on forever but in fact it was a support slot-busting 60 minutes. Personally I thought they were alright, nothing too memorable, but decent enough for a support band. Oh and front person Laura Jane Grace has an uncanny resemblance to Tom Robinson. Before the band had left the stage hundreds of emo kids were last seen heading for a group hug near the lake where the state troopers were on high alert.

Right, onto the reason why I find myself over four thousand miles from home: off the back of an excellent new album, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and shaman, from England, UK - The Cult!

Having seen them play dozens of times since the eighties with varying degrees of quality, from the awe inspiring 'Love' era through the cock rock stadium busting 'Sonic Temple' via 'Electric', all the way past the marquee show for 'Ceremony' and as recently as last year's jaunt across the UK, The Cult have always caused a reaction when playing live but tonight there was an air of expectancy and, by bringing out Against Me! and giving them a decent length of time on stage, The Cult must have been confident in their ability to deliver the goods.

It didn't take long for Astbury and Duffy to show all those in attendance who the daddies were tonight and whilst Against Me! might have had the blood and thunder The Cult had the swagger and the class to flex their musical muscle and, depending on the set list, they had the potential to blow away the House of Blues. 

Kicking off with 'Lil Devil', Astbury wearing a fetching jacket with a huge furry collar and his hair swept back and perma shades, and the crowd went wild. It was straight into the new album and the excellent 'Honey From A Knife' which sounded brutal. In the opening twenty minutes of the set we had 'Rain' and 'Nirvana', as well as 'Lucifer' and 'Embers' - it was obvious this wasn't going to be a best of set but had they blown it by knocking out some of their biggest hits at the top of the show?
 
It was strange being in an audience with such mixed ages from old rockers to young kids all looking for a fix of rock and seemingly knowing all the words to the old and the new songs, and I believe this didn't go unnoticed from the stage either as Astbury interacted and even got a lighthearted "Hey Ho" moment going with the crowd before asking them to say Bon Jovi! I think this exchange was lost on 99.9% of the crowd but I knew he was having some fun at our expense, but by this point he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand and by the time they played 'Fire Woman' it was like the noughties had never happened and we were in some arena or stadium such was the enthusiasm of the crowd. We had a decent mix of songs both old and new and as the clock ticked past half eleven the band left the stage only to return and ratchet the ante up a notch or two with the superb inclusion of 'Horse Nation' and 'Spiritwalker', and to close this mightily impressive set out we were treated to a blistering 'Love Removal Machine' before the curtain fell on a triumphant night of loud rock 'n' roll.
 
If tonight were a boxing match then the headliners would have won by a most convincing TKO and they showed that no matter what their critics say they have a mightily impressive back catalogue and when they mix it up they are definitely amongst the elite: anyone who has any doubts about attending any of the up and coming UK dates should relax because if the set is anything close to this evening's one then it will be money very well spent. 

Form is temporary but class is permanent and tonight there was no doubt about it, The Cult were indeed class! Roll on the UK leg of this tour - I'll see you down the front!