The Cult of Corporate Cannabis
There’s a smell in air – of change.
As we all know, as of October 17, 2018, our legislators will jump on the cannabis bus to cash in on some sweet, pungent tax revenue. Yes, we Canadians will join the Dutch in not getting arrested for possession of a plant, and there is MONEY MONEY MONEY to be invested and … um, harvested.
Aurora Cannabis, the apparent flagship in this new business frontier, has embarked on what must be a ridiculously expensive PR campaign with its Illumination Series – 20 free concerts across Canada, featuring some of popular music’s biggest draws in small venues. Tickets aren’t sold. They are applied for – and winners receive pretty sweet treatment, including free booze and promotional swag for the VIPs.
It’s obviously well promoted, as the Union Hall was packed to capacity on a stormy Friday the 13th night for the legendary British rock band The Cult.
This was definitely a much more relaxed vibe in the room than your standard booze-sponsored show. Yes, the alcohol flowed, but everything from the security to the attendees was just shockingly … mellow. No one was aggressive. The Aurora Cannabis people were very accommodating; their logo was everywhere. And while a lot of people smoked weed outside, as is typical with any rock concert, special signs inside indicated that toking at this event was strictly prohibited.
After a pleasant enough opening set of country folk songs from Mike McDonald of Jr. Gone Wild, playing solo, The Cult took the starkly-dressed stage just after 9:30 pm, with zero fanfare. These guys came to play their AC/DC meets The Doors brand of hard rock, and the packed room of mostly 40- to 50-year-olds in the crowd ate up every second. The band opened strong, with a spirited take on the classic Wild Flower, and proceeded to hit the fans with a well balanced set of material from the current release (Hidden City), classic rock radio staples and deep cuts.
Frontman-spiritual preacher Ian Astbury delivered the material with his trademark baritone in fantastic form, never straying far from his mic stand, moving with the groove and adding some extra tambourine (which he accidentally dropped into the audience, to a woman’s delight; there’s a nice show souvenir) while partner-in-crime Billy Duffy delivered those iconic guitar riffs, grooves and solos effortlessly, while maintaining that gunslinger swagger.
These two definitely have worn the years well, as the swooning squeals of delight from the approaching middle-age women (and face it, men, too) whenever Ian or Billy made eye contact was proof that a refined rocker can still bring the sex appeal without being embarrassing.
The rest of the band was a watertight addition to these British icons, with veteran metal drummer John Tempesta holding down the trademark Cult groove … the word being GROOVE. It’s tough to make that type of four-on-the-floor breathe with swagger, and along with bassist Grant Fitzpatrick, the pocket was in fine hands. Extra guitars, vocals and keyboards were handled by the multi-talented Damon Fox.
Equipment issues began to plague the stage after a sombre take on the song Edie. Duffy’s guitar went down halfway through Sweet Soul Sister, showcasing the band’s ability to vamp on the fly while the techs scrambled furiously to fix the issues: A tasty keyboard solo from Mr. Fox, and Astbury’s impromptu addition of The Doors classic When the Music’s Over covered the lack of guitar nicely. Then they had problems with the monitors. They couldn’t hear each other, so there were lots of cues being yelled, eye contact and nodding heads – just showing what pros these seasoned veterans of rock really are.
For the encore after Love Removal Machine, instead of leaving the stage to “talk about you guys for a bit,” the band just kicked into the classic closer, She Sells Sanctuary, capping the night off perfectly. For what was, in essence, a “paycheck gig” for the band, they sold the show with pure professionalism and class.
Aurora Cannabis clearly has a lot of money to throw at this promotional concert series. It costs around $25,000 to hire the Cult. The series also included Kings of Leon in Calgary last week and the Sam Roberts Band upcoming in Whitehorse. Considering Aurora didn’t sell a single gram of product at the show, it was a very illuminating event – for marijuana marketing.
