4Tour World Tour 2007 - 08
August 8th, 2007 - Brisbane,
Australia (Brisbane Entertainment
Centre)
Tape (intro), Open, alt.end, A Night Like This, The Walk, The End of the World,
Lovesong, Pictures of You, Lullaby, Catch, Hot Hot Hot, Push, Inbetween
Days, Friday I'm In Love, Just Like Heaven, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Never
Enough, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, A StrangeDay, Wrong Number, One
Hundred Years, Shiver and Shake, End
1st Encore: Let's Go To Bed, Close To Me, Why Can't I Be You?
2nd Encore: At Night, M, Play For Today, A Forest
3rd Encore: Three Imaginary Boys, Fire In Cairo, Boys Don't
Cry, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Grinding Halt, 10:15 Saturday Night,
Killing An Arab
(Thanks to Peter & Carolyn for the ticket scan and
to Mark for the setlist)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre: 08.08.07
Anyone who was expecting an army of Goths marching upon Boondall is probably
feeling disappointed as a large but relatively nondescript crowd gathers
to celebrate the return of veteran UK institution The Cure. Forgoing a support
act in favour of an epic set befitting their 30-plus-year career, they take
the stage to some atmospheric backing music and lurch into ‘alt.end’, quickly
following with ‘A Night Like This’ - two musically upbeat but
lyrically depressing numbers which set the tone for the rest of the night.
From a distance, the familiarly shaggy and non-threatening silhouette of
frontman Robert Smith could be ageless, and his powerful voice sounds as
strong as ever as they run through a selection of songs spanning their whole
glorious career.
Yet as they segue into ‘The Walk’, it’s clear that the current line-up of
the Cure (sans keyboards) is going to battle to capture the full effect of
some of their staple tunes (which are engrained in the psyches of most present)
and that guitar effects aren’t going to fully compensate, but this
is a small gripe as the quartet play with passion and intensity that puts
bands half their age to shame. The rhythm section of Simon Gallup and Jason
Cooper are impressively tight throughout the night, although at times the
guitars of Smith and on again/off again guitarist (and Smith’s
brother-in-law) Porl Thompson seem compromised by the mix.
A trio of songs from 1989 album Disintegration (‘Lovesong’, ‘Pictures Of
You’ and ‘Lullaby’) get the crowd moving and the tempo lifts with ‘Hot Hot
Hot!!!’ and ‘Push’, but it’s not until the familiar strains of ‘In Between
Days’ and ‘Friday I’m In Love’ hit (followed by an excellent version of
‘Just Like Heaven’) that the place really explodes. There seem to be two
distinct camps in the crowd - those who like the ‘radio songs’
and those
who like the whole shebang - and the latter are next sated as
they play a relatively sedate version of old classic ‘Primary’. They use
limited
lighting and theatrics, but the dark atmospherics and dim surrounds suit
these morbid dance anthems far better anyway, even when Smith sheds his
guitar and treats the crowd to a funny little dance during ‘Never Enough’.
They round out the first set with a clutch of great tracks, but no one is
fooled for a second that the show is over as they wander offstage after the
building crescendo of ‘End’.
The pop lovers are given a treat during the first encore, which offers ‘Let’s
Go To Bed’, ‘Close To Me’ and ‘Why Can’t I Be You’ (although these
again feel a tad off without their familiar keyboard-driven melody lines).
The trainspotters are indulged during the second encore as they play a
quartet of songs from their second album Seventeen Seconds (1980), all rousing
tribal beats (‘Play For Today’) and thumping rhythms (‘A Forest’)
underpinning Smith’s eternally lovelorn muse, the latter song disintegrating
purposefully until only Gallup’s bass is left feeding back.
This could have been the end of a great night, but the Cure return for a
third - and even longer - encore of songs from their
first releases in
the late 70s, the brilliant ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’
(complete with awesome visuals), ‘Grinding Halt’, ‘10:15 Saturday Night’
and ‘Killing An Arab’ finishing a scintillating night of live entertainment
from a band who have given it their all for three incredible hours. Moody,
dense and bloody brilliant.
- Steve Bell (Time Off Brisbane Street Press)
BEC - Wednesday August 8
The Cure are one of the few bands with members well into their middle age
that still attract a whole heap of teenagers to their shows. Tonight marks
one of the most diverse age-group audiences I’ve seen at a gig, with everyone
from grannies to kids ready and willing to take three hours worth
of music from these goth-rock titans.
Now down to a four-piece, with the group’s haystack-haired figurehead Robert
Smith joined by guitarist Porl Thompson, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer
Jason Cooper, the most immediately noticeable aspect missing from the group’s
sound is the keyboards. Although it takes some adjusting listening to
Lullaby without that luscious string-synth refrain, the group mostly compensates,
with the likes of In Between Days and Just Like Heaven working just fine with
guitars replacing keyboard atmospherics.
Then there’s that set list: like the Bowie performance here a few years
back, The Cure conjure up an artful mix of pop hits with cult favourites.
With a new double studio album on the way, the group choose not to preview
a bunch of tracks from it, instead dipping into their long, distinguished
back catalogue. Starting with the aptly-named Open, the group mix the gloomy
and the euphoric. Epically bleak compositions like Pornography’s One Hundred
Years and A Strange Day share space with pop-funk concoction Let’s Go To Bed
and gothabilly clap-along Close To Me.
It’s a much more crowd-pleasing set than their controversial sparse-on-hits
performance at Livid a few years back (which I still loved, by the way!).
During the best moments, the four-piece manage to channel their energies
into dark, dramatic and powerful guitar rock, Head On The Door album track
Push a particular highlight, with its big central riff and some impressive
Keith Moon-esque drumming from Cooper, while they also manage to
considerably beef up classic 1981 single Primary.But it’s in the last two
out of three encores that the group reaches their peak. Encore Number Two
is a revisit of highlights from 1980’s Seventeen Seconds, with Play For Today
and the inevitable A Forest getting a rousing reception. Then for the final
encore, we revisit 1979 debut Three Imaginary Boys, including barnstorming
versions of the title track, Fire In Cairo, Grinding Halt, Boys Don’t Cry,
10:15 Saturday Night and big finale Killing An Arab.
Throughout the gig, Smith is mostly amiable (though he grumbles about the
sound on a couple of occasions), even shuffling to the sides of the stage
to
acknowledge the fans in the balconies. He’s also in soaring voice throughout.
This might sound funny when referring to the band that perhaps most encapsulates
the idea of doomy rock & roll, but I walked out of this gig with a big
goofy grin on my face. Me and several thousand people.
- Matt Thrower (Rave Street Press magazine)
The 3rd Australian show, what a treat it was .
This is the 16th time i have seen the band, must have been the 1st time i
have seen them they didn't play "fascination st". It was great to hear "catch"
as well, that was a suprise. The crowd really got into this gig, even more
so then Perth and Adelaide i felt.
It seemed like there was even more merchandise there then the last couple
of nights too. There is a total of 7 t shirts, 1 long sleeve, a pack of
badges, a kids top, a military style cap, programme, beer cooler and bag.
I feel sorry for the Perth fans missing out on all this great merchandise.
Robert seemed to have a problem with the lead on his Guild 12 string. He
called it "a fucking stupid lead" before "friday I'm in love".
A great selection of songs for the set. Similar to the last couple of shows,
but unique.
I was at Brisbane airport about 8am waiting to board my flight to Sydney.
I was really hoping i would get to Red Eye in time for a secret show ticket.
This wasn't the case. I don't think anyone that was in Brisbane would have
been able to get a ticket, as its impossible to have been there that early.
I have met heaps of great fellow Aussie fans at the shows i have been to
so far. Look foward to Sydney, Melbourne and NZ.
- Aaron
In regards to BRISBANE - and please note that
these comments bear no reflection what-so-ever on the band or the show.
i've experienced quite a few cure shows, including the last 3 in a row.
- at no other venue were we patted down by security guards and not allowed
to bring in cameras, backpacks, studded belts, motorcycle helmets etc...
'apparently' under the band's instructions. in fact perth and adelaide security
said the band's only stipulation was no large cameras or video cameras.
- the SOUND WAS AWFUL in brisbane, very 'muddy' - esp the drums (which
sounded like hearing drums when you are outside a venue).. this is my biggest
criticism as this had a big impact on my enjoyment of the show...
this, i believe had everything to do with the acoustics of the venue. not
sure how the sound was in the floor area. i spoke to several people after
the gig who said that the sound was always bad in the brisbane entertainment
centre.
- unlike the other shows, i was not on the floor near the front but
in a-reserve seating on the side. a-reserve? hmmmm.... i was so far away
it was not funny! (makes me wonder why they didn't go for 1/2 house set-up
like in other cities.)...
- the seated crowd near me was no fun! not much singing or
enthusiasm at all... just occasional polite clapping and a few cheers ...
the whole experience was like being totally removed from the whole cure show
happening in front of me. i'd rather be at the back of the standing section
than in seats if i got the opportunity to go again. this one might be a reflection
of my comment above.... either that or a lot of them weren't cure fans and
didn't know the songs?
the cure is top of my list of bands i'd travel the country for. if the
opportunity arises i'd definitely not be returning to see a show at the
brisbane entertainment centre.
overall , i'd probabably rate the 4-tour shows in perth and adelaide as
2 of the best i've seen, and brisbane the hands-down worst. again, not because
of the band. i'll wipe that one from my memory :)
- Brad
Oh my God! I have been a Cure fan for over 20
years and yet this was my first live experience. And what an experience
it was... As the anxious
anticipation of Tape segued into Open, we knew we were in for a
evening of raw emotion and power.
Robert always manages to look as if he really doesn’t know what he is
doing here, especially during the wonderful intro to Push. He could see the
crowd was absolutely loving it and he smiled bemusedly as if to say, “I
don’t get it, but I think it is sweet of you all to come and see us.” Robert
was in fine voice. Simon was Simon- he clearly loves what he does. The man
never stands still and is always a joy to watch and hear. Both Robert and
Porl seem to have some technical hitches along the way but nothing was going
to stop the sheer locomotive power of this fine 4.
I was surprised at the absence of Fascination Street and a little worried
that we were in for a truncated outing (as is a common phenomenon for Brisbane
events.) When the second encore struck up the opening to At Night, I was
very pleased. Did this mean we would get to hear M, Play for Today and maybe
even A Forest??? Oh yes!
As Robert came to the microphone for the third encore the crowd shouted
“’ello!” He laughed and apologised for his awkwardness, remarking that
even after all these years he would feel much more comfortable in front
of 50 people rather than a huge crowd. “This is from when I was really awkward,”
he said, as they broken into the by now traditional Three Imaginary Boys
set.
After over twenty years of anticipation, I did expect to be slightly
disappointed... could any band reach the expectations built up over that
time? Damn right they could and the band is called “The Cure.”
- Simon
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