The biggest disappointment of this odd bill was that Lenny Kravitz was relegated to the typical 45-minute set of an opening act. The members of the Cult apparently didn’t learn any sympathy for opening acts when they were stuck in front of Metallica a couple of years back; the biggest cheer they received then was when roadies struck their banner after their set was over.

The bearded and dreadlocked Kravitz apparently thought his most popular single to date, “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over,” didn’t jive with the tight pacing required for such a short set; it was omitted, as was “Stand By My Woman,” an equally appealing ballad from his Mama Said LP. What was presented, though, was done so in a soulful, groovy sorta way. Backed by a band of equally retro-minded musicians (Kravitz’ own lime-green polyester bell-bottoms set the tone), Kravitz nailed “Stop Draggin’ Around” and “Always On the Run.” “Mr. Taxi Driver,” from his first album, earned an appropriately big response, but the audience was absurdly rowdy during the closer, a slowed-down “Let Love Rule” (some folks actually attempted to climb onstage). Even when a sweatshirt tossed from the crowd completely covered Kravitz’ head in mid-verse, he remained cool and in his own little groove.

Unfortunately, a groove is something the Cult never found. Once a mildly interesting dance band, the group has turned to standard hard rock on recent albums. They’ve attempted to drape Native American spirituality over their typical AOR bombast on the latest, Ceremony, to no avail. “Peace Dog,” from Electric, scored points, but was neutralized when “Lil Devil” dragged. A sloppy version of “Sanctuary,” the biggest hit from the dance band days, side-stepped what could have been an energizing point in the show. Vocalist Ian Astbury berated the audience, complaining that the band’s last show before New Orleans was in Los Angeles, where the crowd was really into it. In New Orleans, Lenny had left them with nothing.