Shortly before Cradle of Filth took to the stage, The Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)” was playing over the PA. Then people started singing along. I was slightly amused that fans of a band responsible for such songs as “Lustmord and Wargasm (The Lick of Carnivorous Winds)” and “Absinthe with Faust” would take to the Beastie’s simple ode to the inalienable right to party, but hey, in their own way, Cradle of Filth are all about partying (or at least the kind of party that Richmond Avenal would be into) and really, who doesn’t like The Beastie Boys?
A couple of songs in, the band played “Cruelty Brought Thee Orchids” off of 1998’s Cruelty And The Beast. Frankly, I could have gone home happy enough after that since that was the last album by them I really paid much attention to, but that would have made for a significantly shorter review.
I’ll admit I’ve never been the hugest fan of Cradle Of Filth, but they’re definitely a seminal and influential band for many and they do put on a fun show. Dramatic, cheesy, and somewhat over the top, but fun. Vocalist Dani Filth seemed in pretty good spirits, dedicating “Blackest Magick in Practice” to Toronto on the occasion of the city’s 182nd birthday and later dedicating the song “Right Wing of the Garden Triptych” to those in the audience who may or may not have been about to start a pit, a not so subtle way of telling the crowd that he wanted them to start a pit. And though he likely wasn’t talking about that kind of right wing in the song, it did get me wondering whether the band has been following the U.S. political debates and if so, which right wing candidate might they possibly support if they were forced to choose? Possibly Ted Cruz, since he would obviously look the best in corpse paint.
Dani also noted how great it was to be back in Toronto, which he referred to as the “land of the moose.” Or maybe the “land of the noose” – I couldn’t hear him that clearly from where I was standing and while the latter seems more thematically appropriate for Cradle, the former makes more sense, I suppose … even though there are no moose in the city as far as I know. And while we’re on the subject of Toronto, this was practically a hometown show for singer/keyboardist Lindsay Schoolcraft, originally from Oshawa. Did she tell him about the moose? Are there moose in Oshawa? Do they hang out at the Oshawa Centre? Do moose like sushi? Maybe we’ll never truly know.