The Curiosa Festival 2004

Aug. 9th, 2004 - Toronto, Canada (Molson Amphitheatre)

Lost, Plainsong, Labyrinth, Fascination Street, The End of the World, Anniversary, Lovesong, InBetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Pictures of You, Lullaby, Before Three, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, alt.end, Disintegration, One Hundred Years, The Promise

Encore: M, Play For Today, A Forest/Forever ("only you can make my dreams come true" is one of the choruses.."dont take it away from me" and "don't take this away from me")

Note: Charlotte Sometimes, The Drowning Man, Faith and Going Nowhere were on the setlist as the last encores, but they were not played.
 
(Thanks to Robert Rice for the setlist)

Photos


Reviews


From Exclaim:

Curiosa
Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto ON - August 9, 2004
By Cam Lindsay
August 30, 2004

Stepping up to fill the summer concert void left by Lollapalooza's cancellation, Curiosa had some extra pressure on its shoulders to deliver the goods. Featuring the Cure and an impressive roster of bands that were obviously drying their eyes to Disintegration in their teenage years, the travelling festival definitely had consistency on its side. Mogwai opened the main stage with what may go down as both the quietest and loudest performance ever played at the huge venue. Choosing a set list filled with their most celebrated songs, the Scots teased the audience with the quiet/loud dynamics of "Hunted By A Freak," "Mogwai Fear Satan" and "Helicon 1," which featured four guitarists. The Rapture made a valiant effort to get people up and moving with their moody disco punk; Luke Jenner showed off his Robert Smith-isms with "Olio," which recalled Smith's unique wail but it was
the more rocking tracks like "Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks" and "Heaven" that got the spectators into the set. Interpol received the most enthusiastic response of all the early bands. Dressed to the nines in black, navy blue, yellow and red, they kicked off things with the pristine "Obstacle 1" before rolling through more cuts from their celebrated debut. Fans were even treated to new ones, such as "Slow Hands" and "Evil," from their forthcoming album Antics. When the Cure came on the stage though, it was as if they were the only band performing that day. Opening with "Lost," from their new self-titled record, they were greeted with undying applause from their fans. When "Plainsong" followed, it began a chain of songs that switched between Disintegration and the new album. As thrilling as that seems, there were many problems with how the music sounded out in the seats of the huge theatre. "Pictures Of You" suffered from a tinny, weak lead guitar, while a muffled "In Between Days" was ruined by Roger
O'Donnell's cheesy synths. Things seemed to go in the wrong direction until they played "Pornography," their heaviest track, which marked a turn towards their older work. The encore proved to be exciting in theory but a failure in execution. "Play For Today" was saturated with O'Donnell's overpowering synths and "A Forest" was a complete mess, only recognisable for its distinct bass line and the trees shown on the giant screen. Unfortunately, the day was not saved by the Cure, but by their stellar choice in support bands. Can you see the irony?

(Thanks Christian)


From Chart Attack:


Curiosa Keeps Cure Fans Happy
Wednesday August 11, 2004 @ 12:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Molson Amphitheatre
Toronto, Ontario
August 9, 2004
by Brian Wong

Although billed as a festival, Robert Smith and Co.’s summer outing turned out to be more of a Cure show with lots of opening acts.

The festival requirements were all there though — two stages, hoards of people walking on the grounds, washroom line-ups, blankets and expensive, non-delicious food.

While festivals are a somewhat inconvenient place to see a show, Curiosa was particularly ridiculous because the second stage was placed in the kids tent portion of Ontario Place. Not only were fans not permitted to bring their overpriced beer to the second stage, but the rush of people had to be funneled through the guarded entrance to the tent — which took longer than the 10 minutes allotted between acts. Unless you sprinted to the second stage after catching Mogwai on the main stage, you would likely miss the first 10 minutes of The Cooper Temple Clause. That’s a lot of time considering most acts were given only 30 minutes on stage.

New York disco-punks The Rapture were the highlight of the late afternoon. It was difficult for the band to get all the skinny hipsters and full-black-clad, gloomy Cure fans on their feet, but their cowbell-manic, pulsing electronics set — and grand saxophone presence — got the kids shouting along to "Sister Saviour," while a smitten female fan near me asked, "Do you have to be cute to be in this band?"

Over at the tent, the boys fell in love with Melissa Auf Der Maur and her surnamed metal band who delved into bone-shattering riffs on "Real, A Lie." Auf Der Maur’s set was surprisingly strong as she proclaimed her pride at being the only Canadian content at "the most romantic festival." Many fled by the time she closed with "Followed The Waves" (no one wanted to miss any of Interpol’s 40-minute set), but the Montrealer stuck around for more than an hour to meet her love struck fans.

Both Interpol and Muse delivered exceptional performances. Always dapperly dressed in dress shirts and ties, Interpol played new tracks from Antics and hits from Turn On The Bright Lights, while turning on simple, primary-coloured lights during "Obstacle 1," "NY" and "PDA." Paul Banks’ angular vocals were frighteningly dictator-ish, a fine contrast to Muse’s Matthew Bellamy who delivered his urgent falsettos during a huge-sounding performance worthy of the main stage. You couldn’t help but think though, that it would’ve all sounded more dramatic in a darkened club rather than in this theme park setting.

By night, our aging headliners had taken the stage — the slightly paunchy Robert Smith staring into the audience behind raccoon eyes as he opened with "Lost" from the band’s latest disc.

The stage was decorated by several arcs of lighting that sometimes beamed blinding lights into the crowd and sometimes sparkled like diamonds in the sky. This faux starry night was perfect for some of The Cure’s classic, romantic-pop nuggets like "In Between Days," "Pictures Of You," "Just Like Heaven" and the new gothic slow dance, "Anniversary," from their new album.

By the second half of the set, the crowd’s enthusiasm had quietly dimmed. The less hardcore Cure fans sat down for new songs "Before Three," "Alt.End" and "The Promise," and older tunes like Wish’s "From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea" and the disco-doom of Pornography’s "One Hundred Years."

The trick to playing a festival is appeasing the general audience. However, those hoping to hear "Friday I’m In Love," "Boys Don’t Cry" or "Close To Me" during the encore were let down as the band pulled out three tracks from their 1980 disc Seventeen Seconds and closed with the rare, unreleased 1982 track "Forever" to the delight of die hard Cure-heads.

As Smith walked off the stage after a polite "Thank you for a very, very excellent day," everyone else just picked up their things, quietly proceeded to the exits and thought that maybe with a more suitable festival venue, a night like this could have been a little bit more excellent.

Check out the Curiosa photo gallery here.

(Thanks cryptic16)



From Music Week:

CURIOSITY THRILLS

There was joy in the dark hearts of the mopey masses at Curiosa on Aug.  9, as Robert Smith and Co. headlined a day of music both dramatic and
romantic. The beautiful noise of Scots Mogwai (ever more washy in the outdoor Molson Amphitheatre) and Auf Der Maur's glamorous-if-unmemorable stoner rock (more listenable in her presence, granted) even made it worth braving daylight.

New Yorkers The Rapture and Interpol represented the new wave of '80s-loving disco-punks that The Cure have spawned, with compelling sets
featuring new material. The Rapture were the most personable, their new tune, "Down for So Long," using the mighty cowbell. Some Interpol
members even wore bright yellow and red for their sunset set of stoic love songs punctuated by gems from their upcoming Antics disc. Blissful.

Then came the sucky part. Due to improvident planning, the second stage was located out of sight of the main venue, the route to which was
overly crowded and controlled through a small gate, then directed through an area open to the Ontario Place public, then another small gate. If the bottleneck rush wasn't bad enough, confused young security made it worse by stopping to check tickets and bags again. (As if stroller and water-wing toters were trying to sneak in to this concert.) With sets scheduled tightly, it was impossible to watch all of Interpol on the main stage and Muse on the side stage. Why you wanna make the mascara-clad cry? Ridiculous.

The choice was clear: skip out on Interpol to witness Muse, who repeated the blistering set they played at the Mod Club last April. The UK trio
roared with lightning precision and metal-like intensity through epic hits like "Time Is Running Out." Please come back!

The Cure's two-hour show (over curfew and all) drew from new, old and older, anchored by a mid-section of Disintegration-era favourites. Smith
-- whose makeup answered the question of when a man should stop wearing lipstick with "never!" -- even made some silly faces during "Lullaby."
Aww. Awe.

RIP Lollapalooza. Long live Curiosa!

(Thanks Tempest)


From the Globe & Mail:

The Cure keeps the passion alive under the big top

By J.D. CONSIDINE
Special to The Globe and Mail
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - Page R3

Curiosa Festival

featuring the Cure

At the Molson Amphitheatre

In Toronto on Monday

Festivals are by nature big-tent events. That was literally the case when the Curiosa Festival -- a mope-rock road show featuring the Cure along with such alt-rock acolytes as Muse, Interpol, Auf der Maur, the Rapture and Mogwai -- set up shop Monday at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre. With the acts split between two stages, fans found themselves traipsing across Ontario Place every 45 minutes or so, as performances alternated between the amphitheatre proper and a permanent tent over by the kiddie playground.

Curiosa was also "big tent" in its breadth. Although each of its acts claims some sort of musical debt to the Cure, the festival itself was hardly a marathon of Cure clones. If anything, it took a fair bit of effort to find Cure references in the sound of Auf der Maur (fronted by former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur), whose beefy roar seemed to owe more to the semi-metal of Kyuss.

Or in Interpol, whose tightly disciplined sound evoked a cross between Joy Division and the Strokes. Or in the synth-assisted snarl of Muse, which suggested a sort of post-industrial Violent Femmes.

There was a similar sense of inclusiveness in the crowd itself. Although there was a sizable contingent of black-clad goth kids, whose pale, pierced and tattooed flesh was occasionally offset by a burst of candy-coloured hair, there was also a far number of fans old enough to have seen the Cure when Boys Don't Cry was the current single (that would have been 1979, for those keeping score at home).

Toss in a generous helping of T-shirt-and-jeans everyfan and a sprinkling of parents with kids, and it was quite clear that the Cure's audience cuts quite a broad swath through society.

A pity, then, that the band made so little effort to appeal to that broad base of support.

That a full third of the Cure's two-hour set was given over to its eponymous new album seemed fair enough.

Sure, this is the band's 25th anniversary, but that doesn't mean they have to live in the past. What was strange, though, was that the rest of the set made only the most cursory nod to the quintet's commercial successes.

Even though the audience was sent into ecstasy by the thrumming, bass-driven Inbetween Days, sang lustily along with Just Like Heaven and clearly adored the sad, sweet perfection of Love Song, that wasn't enough to entice Cure front man Robert Smith and his crew to uncork other hits. So there was no Friday I'm in Love, no High, no Why Can't I Be You.

Instead, the band presented a set that emphasized the old and relatively unknown, drawing heavily on early-eighties albums such as 17 Seconds and Pornography, and ending the show with the ultra-obscure Forever.

This avoidance of the obvious wasn't a bad thing necessarily, as the intensity of the performance clearly benefited from the Cure's we-play-what-we-want focus. True, the sound was typically murky, and feedback from bassist Simon Gallup and guitarist Perry Bamonte sometimes got in the way, as on One Hundred Years, where Gallup's overdriven roar nearly obscured Smith's vocals.

But there was obvious passion in the playing, and the roller-coaster acceleration that capped Forever nearly made up for the fact that almost no one in the packed house knew the song.

(Thanks Brad)


From the Toronto Sun:

The Cure still works
VETERAN BRIT BAND KEEPS GETTIN' BETTER
ROBERT SMITH should know by now you can't quit when you're this far ahead. As founder and lead singer behind British band The Cure, Smith contemplated throwing in the towel after the band's 2000 album Bloodflowers and the ensuing Dream tour.
But the success of that tour has resulted in them continuing with another album and tour. Headlining their own Curiosa Festival, which touched down last night at the nearly sold-out Molson Amphitheatre, The Cure still have a lot left to give.
Wearing just a tad less makeup but still with the teased black hair that came from sticking his finger in a electrical socket, Smith and his mates dazzled the crowd with a mix of hits and lesser favourites from their quarter century of music for nearly two hours beginning with Lost, the leadoff track from their new self-titled album.
Saying little throughout the night, Smith and his four cohorts -- drummer Jason Cooper, keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, bassist Simon Gallup and guitarist Perry Bamonte -- mixed the set up with old diehard favourites such as the lush Plainsong and Fascination Street from 1989's Disintegration album alongside newer tracks such as Labyrinth and alt.end.
Perhaps the band's greatest asset, aside from its stellar musicianship, is that they sound equally strong performing a lengthy song such as The Promise or One Hundred Years with as much charm and pizzazz as they are doing the parade of hits they pulled out in the middle of the show.
"Thank you!" Smith said prior to churning out one radio friendly gem after another. Beginning with Love Song, The Cure kept the fans on their feet and singing along to In Between Days, Just Like Heaven and Lullaby.
Those wanting the longer and heavier, brooding material weren't disappointed either as The Cure tossed out Disintegration and From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea.
The biggest problem the concert had was its 11 p.m. curfew, which The Cure broke anyway with a four-song encore. It included a trio of short catchy pop songs in M, Play For Today and A Forest.
Earlier in the evening, former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur had the crowd onside for a half-hour set on the second stage. Playing material from her self-titled debut album, Auf der Maur's harder metal-like tunes Followed The Wave and Lightning Is My Girl. Auf der Maur also mentioned how Curiosa was the "most romantic tour" she had ever been on.
Six other bands appeared for roughly 30 to 40 minutes each. The result was a seamless set of music that basically went without a hitch thanks to two stages.
Prior to The Cure, Muse headlined on the second stage with a set that was heavy on lighting. Although the group did several songs, most started leaving after the band's signature Time Is Running Out.
Interpol's mechanical brand of Joy Division-ish rock also went over well on the main stage. Another highlight was Scottish band Mogwai. Although second on the bill, the group's guitar instrumentals made for a half-hour of melodic madness.
THE CURE
MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE
'Play for today'

-- JASON MACNEIL, SUN
Sun Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

(Thanks Brian)



From the Toronto Star:

The Cure's joy of cooking

BEN RAYNER
POP MUSIC CRITIC

To be the Cure in 2004 is to be constantly flattered.

Robert Smith has been crediting obsessive fan and producer Russ Robinson with badgering him into reactivating the long-lived mope-rock ensemble he founded back in 1976 for a new album and subsequent tour this summer.

But the current boom in younger bands who wear his fond influence on their sleeves must also have had an effect on the retirement plans he's been floating — and repeatedly scuttling — since the late 1990s.

Surely, anyway, the perpetually and endearingly dishevelled Cure frontman must draw some parental satisfaction from the Cure-indebted collection of acts he's drafted for "Curiosa," the touring mini-festival he led into a nearly full Molson Amphitheatre last night.

There's a lot of Smith's baroque post-punk doom, for instance, lurking beneath the grunge-metal paroxysms of Montreal rock-chick Melissa Auf der Maur's new band. Radiohead-gone-hooligan aficionados Muse wouldn't have come across their most obvious primary influence had Disintegration not paved the way for the mainstream acceptance of The Bends and OK Computer several years later. And the Rapture's Luke Jenner often seems as though he's based his entire repertoire of yelps on diligent study of the Cure's mid-'80s singles "The Walk" and "Let's Go To Bed."

Despite a barrelhouse performance in the penultimate spot on the Curiosa bill by New York's nattily attired Interpol — who rose to the Amphitheatre stage with a taut, fiercely uneasy set that was probably the best they've yet dealt to Toronto — it was, at the end of the day, the Cure's time-tested melodrama that won the day.

Although much is made of Smith's penchant for aggressively morose songwriting, the Cure consistently manages in concert to provoke a approximation of joy with songs that have seethed and roiled in the same grim quagmire for nearly 30 years.

Material from this year's Robinson-produced The Cure presented a contemporary vision satisfyingly back in line with the engulfing psycho-storms of the band's most highly regarded eras, at no point more evident than when the chest-tightening title track from Disintegration — generously represented last night — and a monstrous version of Pornography's "One Hundred Years" segued with little diminishment in black, gnawing intensity into the new "The Promise" late in the set.

The Cure's other recent tunes might not have made as much of a dent as "Just Like Heaven" or "In Between Days," but at least they were still big enough to show the kids who's boss.

(Thanks Peter)


I don't really have much to add to the reviews that have already been written, as everyone else has already given a very good impression of the
show. Like most, I was confused by the whole 2nd stage setup (a security guard I asked early on had no idea there was a 2nd stage, or why so many
people were asking him where it was). Me and my girlfriend flew to Toronto from New Brunswick specifically for this, our first Cure show. Sadly, we
skipped all the 2nd stage bands, just because it was so difficult to get from point A to point B. It worked to our advantage when everyone went to
see Muse, though, as we ended up standing about 10-12 people away from center stage, with a wonderful view.

This had to be the only show of this size that I've ever seen, by the way, where the pit was so nicely behaved. No shoving, no crushing, no fighting -
hardly any jostling!! Maybe I'm a bit bland to enjoy that, but it was really nice to be able to comfortably enjoy such an experience (The Cure have been my favourite band since 1997, and I've always dreamed - literally - of seeing them live). I was quite happy with the setlist, and, yes, I'll admit,
had to fight back tears when I saw the band come on stage (and again a few minutes later when they launched into "Plainsong").

Anyway, what I did want to happily add to all the reviews, was that during "Pictures of You," I turned to my girlfriend of 3 years and asked her to
marry me (and no, I had the sense not to make a "Just Say Yes" reference - blechh!). Luckily for me, she agreed. Like it said in the tour book, this
truly was one of the best days of my life. Many thanks to Chain of Flowers for giving me the info I needed to get tickets, and to The Cure for making
it such a great evening. Thank you.

- Christian LeBlanc


Before the Toronto show we were standing by the live remote set where 102.1 was interviewing some of the bands and suddenly a production
assistant comes up with a piece of paper and says"Here's the setlist"
 
I managed to get the attention of one of the DJs (Allen Cross...really nice guy) and asked to see it. He brought it over and in addition to everything they played (minus Forever) They had included two additional encores. Turns out they must have been possible encores.
  
After the Seventeen Seconds encore they had listed
 
Charlotte Sometimes
The Drowning Man
Faith
 
Going Nowhere
  
Great to hear Forever again, but after getting the SS encore in Mansfield it would have been nice to the Faith.
 
I also asked a few people in security and none of them knew anything about a curfew for the venue, so I was sad when they didn't play all  three listed encores.

- Greg & Kristy


I have to disagree with the earlier review about the show being somewhat disappointing.  I was at the Cuyahoga Falls show as well, where Siamese
Twins, Like Cockatoos, The Drowning Man, and Faith were played, and while those were nice surprises, the Toronto show was infinitely better.  It may get tiresome hearing the hits all the time, but it also helps to have an enthusiastic crowd so that "casual" fans won't talk through ¾ of the set, as they did in Cuyahoga Falls.  Sprinkling the hits throughout makes good sense.  Overall, the band's performance was much better in Toronto as well, and if you thought Robert messed up lyrics in Toronto, it was nothing compared to Wednesday.  Disintegration and One Hundred Years were especially good, with Robert doing some incredible guitar work.  Forever was fantastic, but as to why no one seemed to know the song...why would they?  It's different every time. : ) 
The new songs fit in very well tonight and I thought Before Three sounded pretty decent (I despise it on the record).  Anniversary and The Promise stood out as the best new songs, though.  Standing right by the mixing desk, I did shoot a few nasty looks in the direction of the sound man during the show, with some instruments way too low in the mix at certain points (Robert's six-string bass in Pictures of You being one instance).  I love Roger, but he must pay the sound man off...the keyboards were nice and loud throughout.  It was a really good show, but I'm hoping for even better tomorrow night in Clarkston!

- David Dawson


Got home at 1:00 a.m. and couldn't muster the strength to write this, so here I am this morning (at work, of course)

A couple of comments on the other acts - The Rapture looked like they were having a good time, and I got a kick out of the cowbell thing.  I also caught Interpol and Muse - if you closed your eyes, I could really hear Ian Curtis of Joy Division and Thom Yorke of Radiohead.  I found them to be VERY similar sounding - not a bad thing!  Muse absolutely ROCKS - you have to check them out if you get the chance, but don't give up your pit spot to do so - lol!

On to the main event - The 2004 Disintegration Tour!  Great stuff guys, but you've got so much more to offer than to recycle the same songs over
and over again.  This is my 4th Cure show over the years, and I would love to hear something else live every once in awhile.  From reading the set lists so far off COF, I knew exactly what was coming next each time, which takes some of the excitement away from the event.  Toronto's been very good to you guys over the years - can't you mix it up a bit for us?

Rather than comment on each song, I'll take a macro approach this time....the show was great, but the crowd was very subdued.  I was dead centre of the lawn, and could see a sea of perfectly still heads all the way down.  I should note though that many of the songs played were not really of the danceable variety - just sit back and enjoy.  It was cute to see a young couple beside us had brought their two young kids (each < 3 years old) with them, although by the end they were starting to struggle a bit.

I've heard complaints forever about the band members personality on stage - but they are what they are. You're never gonna get U2 kind of energy from them, so why let it bother you so much?  Robert will always do his cute thing from time to time, Simon plucks the bass down around his knees (never get tired of that), Perry absolutely attacks his guitar from time to time when needed, and Roger stands there like a deer caught in the headlights.  Not sure what Jason's up to, but I'm sure he's all business.  Last night was more of the same - they have a job to do and they do it well - it keeps me listening and coming back!

Technically, I thought it was a great show - just a couple of screw ups that I noticed on JLH and what sounded like some lyrical improvisations from Robert that threw me off - but I can forgive them for that stuff of course - otherwise a solid performance.  Many of the heavier, intense songs were saved for later (100 Years, The Promise, Forever...), so for a bunch of 40+ year olds to still have energy to give is pretty impressive.  I'm 34 and I'm not sure if I could smash drums for 2 hours?

Lastly, Robert said in closing "...and we'll see you again."  I can't recall hearing that comment from the previous stops on this tour - anyone else?  That a big carrot to hang out there if you don't plan on actually coming back - wonder when I'll see them play again?  Even if it is to hear all the Disintegration songs again, I'll be back.

- Brad


Well, I won't go into as much detail for The Cure as others have... we all know it was gonna be good, but seriously - there was no way it could
live up to the Bloodflowers show, which was a dream for me, but I really dug the Forest closer with Forever so I can't complain too much [smirk].
 
Also, one other reviewer commented on them breaking curfew... and I gotta say, the 15 minutes we got were PHENOMENAL... I've been to a
number of shows, and this was the FIRST band ever to violate the 11:00 noise restriction that I'd seen at the Amphitheatre... I'd be curious if
EDGE 102 cut the feed at 11:00, or stuck with it... I'm really hoping they stuck it out. So, while I agree it's a shame they didn't go all out, this was a pretty big step in terms of what any other band has ever done... and I aplaud them for it.
 
As for the "whispering" on stage another reviewer mentioned... I didn't notice it being as pronounced as it was implied, but it did seem a little "last minute", as their playing outlasted the tree footage behind them by a somewhat substantial margin.
 
Another quick comment on the setlist (everyone's already had their 2¢ [smirk]) - but I wanted to add, while it was safe, I was much happier with our Disintegration-heavy set instead of the other singles and whatnot they could have played. I also think this may have been targeted at the "newer" fans all their current marketing is tarketing - since Disintegration is one of those "seminal albums" now (thank GAWD) - it may have been a coy plan to hit that demographic, especially since they were broadcasting the show. Compared to what we COULD have gotten, I'd say we made out like bandits (under the circumstances). Oh, and FTEOTDGS was also a brilliant and excellent surprise, and VERY nicely done.
 
I just wanted to add a few clarifications... the second stage/first stage split was (in my mind VERY clear) - my fiance and I knew where we were going for Head Automatica to open and then back etc (it actually was pretty clearly posted on two big posters near the main entrance). We missed Cooper Temple due to crowding, and decided against trying for Auf Der Maur for the same reason... however, we DID see Muse on the B stage and all I can say is, if you have seats and therefore aren't giving up a great spot to go see them - I HIGHLY recommend it. A true surprise live, and SO much energy. We had bought seated tickets for just this reason... we'd been second row floor in the past and decided we wanted the freedom to come and go, so we went with seats this time.
 
And I assume it goes without saying, but ANYONE who goes to this show and misses Interpol is REALLY missing out. I've seen them three times
now, and their energy level this time was SO high it was staggering. Only 3 (I think) new songs (NARC, Evil and Slow Hands) - but even the older tracks sounded injected with a new energy. A real treat, and one everyone should catch.
 
The other point of interest, to my mind anyways, was the sound. Sound at the Amphitheatre has always been a little spotty in the past... but they did an EXCELLENT job of mixing this time around... granted, we were 5 feet from the soundboard, which helps, but the sound was crystal clear. It was nice to have such good separation on Robert's vocals... they were easy to hear without sounding as distanced from the band as they do on the album. a very nice surprise based on some of the muddier Amphitheatre sound in the past.
 
Anyways - a great day, even if somewhat predictable. I still think the worst Cure show ever will beat almost any other show I've ever seen... so while there has been some griping on this tour about the singles-type approach, it's still a great show, and I hope everyone else enjoys the tour as much as I did.
 
- Industri


Oh WOW. The Toronto Curiosa appearance was amazing.

My father and I arrived a bit late (late start, and traffic problems), and we missed Mogwai, The Cooper Temple Clause, Head Automatica, and
about 1/2 of The Rapture's set. What we did hear was really good.

We headed over to the second stage to watch Melissa Auf Der Maur, but missed the first couple of songs because there were so many people
flooding over there, which created a bit of a jam. Anyway, her music was okay, and she seemed really enthusiastic. She mentioned that she was
going to be handing out cds at the kiddy park, but I didn't head over there, in large part because I didn't know where that was.

My father and I went back to the main stage to see Interpol. I'm only familiar with a few of their songs, but I really enjoyed their set. I also took four pictures. I would have taken more, but couldn't, since security was roving around.

We headed back to the second stage to watch Muse, thankfully not facing quite as much traffic. Their set was amazing. I have every intention of
buying at least one of their albums. Oh, and I took a picture of them, too. :)

We headed again to the Main Stage to watch The Cure. The pit area was packed. Considering how security was during Interpol's set, I figured
that I'd get ten pictures, at best. Nope. I got about 80. No, I'm not exaggerating. It's not every day I get to see my favorite band. :)
Anyway, onto the setlist...

Lost- Wow. I was hoping that they'd play this. Excellent, and very powerful. The whole band was into it, especially Robert.

Plainsong- Good. Robert got so close to the side of the stage that I was at that I could see his eyeshadow. Really cool.

Labyrinth- Another one that I'd wanted to hear, played with a lot of intensity. It was excellent. The spinning images in the background were
almost hypnotizing.

Fascination Street- Good, but nothing special.

The End of the World- It was good, and nice to see it live, but again, nothing special.

Anniversary- Yet another one I wanted to hear live. Very good, and emotional. Robert sounded like he was in pain (the emotional kind) while
he sang. The graphic in the background was the current date.

Love Song- Start of the poppy section. Played well, and fun to listen to.

Inbetween Days- The crowd really got into this, which was no surprise. It was played well.

Just Like Heaven- The band seemed just a bit out of sync during the first several second of the song, but played the rest pretty good. The
crowd was also into this one.

Pictures of You- Still in singles territory, but always nice to hear. This has been my favorite song by anyone since the first time I heard it. It was played well.

Lullaby- Surprisingly good. Robert was very playful during the song, holding his arms out and swaying a bit, and holding them up to his face, and he had this strange expression on his face, similar to the one that he had in the music video.

Before Three- Okay. I don't really like this song, and haven't taken to it as so many other fans have.

 From The Edge of the Deep Green Sea- This was a disappointment. The band seemed to be really off. I couldn't tell if it was just their sound, or if they simply weren't really into it. I think that it was a combination of both. The song didn't have as much energy as it did when they played it during their Dream Tour stop in Toronto. On the bright side, the last minute or two of the song was pretty strong.

alt.end- Not bad, but I was hoping for something else.

Disintegration- When I heard this start, I thought that it was going to be the last song in the main set. It was pretty good, and probably better than when they played it as an encore during the Dream Tour.

One Hundred Years- Very strong and intense. The band was really, really into this. The imagery in the background was mostly of violence and death.

The Promise- Wow. Very, very nice. This is an excellent song to play live. Robert wailed on his guitar during a solo, and received a strong ovation from the audience in the pit area when he was done.

--------------------

After 'The Promise', the band left the stage for a few minutes, while roadies and techs adjusted the equipment. I wasn't sure what encores to expect but when they came back on, they started out with...

M- Pretty good. The background was a giant red M.

Play For Today- Solid, but nothing special. The crowd seemed into it.

A Forest- No intro, and was about as long as the studio version, maybe a little longer. Very well played.

Forever- Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for this. I was caught totally off guard when, instead of ending 'A Forest' with the usual Simon solo, walking off the stage and doing another encore a few minutes later, they segued into 'Forever'. I've heard about three or four versions of this song, and none had the level of intensity that tonight's performance did. It was played really hard. I never thought that The Cure could rock like this. If they put this up against bands twenty years their junior, they'd leave them in the dust, and considering early retirement. Just amazing.

After they were done with their set, Robert said his usual goodbyes, and added, "Thank you for an extremely excellent day. We'll see you again
sometime" ("extremely" may have been "very"). When he was done, he walked slowly to the right end of the stage (the right of the audience),
lingered a bit while gazing at the stage and the fans, looking like he was just soaking up the moment, then he finished walking off, and the lights came on.

After going up the stairs, I walked around a bit, and found myself at the only booth left. In it were people from the Homer Watson Gallery (I think), in Kitchener, Ontario. They were selling copies of a book which talked about the Porl Thompson art collection titled '100% Sky', one of which I bought when I was at the exhibition last year. They had one of the smallest works from that collection on display. It was titled 'Automatic Eye'. The woman wanted to sell it to me and was willing to discount the price, but I was almost totally broke, since I'd bought three t-shirts as one of the stands a few hours before that. I told her that I really wished that I could buy it, but couldn't, and thanked her for her time. Ah, if only I could have afforded it. That would have been the second layer of icing on the cake.

Shortly thereafter, I found my father, We walked out of the venue, and headed back to the US. It was a very, very excellent evening.

Just to make note of it, the most of the t-shirts were between $40 to $45 Canadian, the programs $25, and they were offering a 20% exchange rate on American money, again (that's not a good rate). At least I was prepared for it this time.

Thank you father, for taking me to Curiosa. Thank you Molson Amphitheatre security personnel, for letting me take so many pictures of my favorite band. Last, but most certainly not least, thank you all of the bands that performed at Curiosa, and Robert, Simon, Perry, Roger, and Jason, for providing an extremely memorable experience.

- Shawn


I just read the 2 posted reviews of the Toronto show and I don't feel they accurately describe last nights events.  The entire day and night was beautiful and unforgettable.  I arrived at the venue at 1:30pm hoping to stroll around and take in the energy that usually accompanies a Cure show but I was surprised too see a line had already begun.  I happily took my place in the front of the line and waited anxiously. I knew the doors weren't opening until 4pm so I just remained there, on my ass, for what seemed like an eternity.  But then the doors opened and we all bolted to the next line... the security check! I knew they would take my camera so into my underwear it went where it just made it through the check.  I rushed down to the pit where I was lucky enough to find a spot right at the fence (eventually where Simon and Perry would be). 
So its 4pm and I'm standing at the fence thinking "Oh my God, I have to stand here for over 7 more hours!"... what was I thinking, definitely worth it! 
I won't go into too much detail about the other bands because I only saw the main stage acts (I'll catch the others in Detroit tomorrow!) but I must say that the show ran like clockwork with just 5 minute intervals  between sets.  Great work! 
Mogwai sounded unbelievable, so much passion in their playing... I still cant believe they all didn't break every string on those guitars.  Very impressive!
The Rapture were great, lots of fun and its really great to see 2 vocalists who compliment each other so well.
Interpol were a bit of a let down.  I really love their music and listen to their albums quite regularly but their sound just doesn't translate well when it
comes to a large venue like this.  But there were a ton of Interpol fans and they seemed to love it so good on them.
The clock has just struck 9pm and my heart started pounding uncontrollably.  Not even my killing aching back was going to stop me from having the time of my life.  I knew they weren't scheduled to hit the stage until about 9:15 so for those 15 minutes I just reminisced about their last Toronto show on the DreamTour and how remarkable that night was... could it be topped??
As Heather the buzzard pointed out, the band, starting with Robert came out one by one before taking the stage.  I could see them laughing and drinking behind the curtains and knew they were in a good mood.  Then the lights go out and hysteria ensues.  The Molson Amphitheatre was packed solid and we all gave the band a huge ovation. 
Lost is my favourite track on the new album and was really hoping to hear it live and knew I was going too when I didn't hear the opening bells of Plainsong.
Lost was fantastic, Robert stumbled on a few notes but no one cared because he delivered the passion heard on the album.  Great opener... I have already lost my voice!
Being right on the fence in the pit I was also really hoping for Plainsong knowing that Robert likes to walk around and take in the venue and fans.  He immediately came right over to my side of the stage and he was directly in front of me.  I waved and said thank you and he nodded and smiled right at me and I swear this 26 year old man almost started crying. After that moment with Robert the night could have ended there and I would have been deliriously happy but on the show went with a powerful Labyrinth and a killer Fascination Street. 
"Go, if you want to" came next and the place jumped.  It was great to see everyone into the new songs and especially The End Of The World.  Performed flawlessly with both ewwww-eee-ewwww's!
Anniversary followed and was beautiful, Robert appeared to really be into this song.  It was to be the slow jam before the hits parade!
Lovesong, In Between Days and Just Like Heaven back to back to back...c'mon! I had no vocal chords left and the energy coming from the stage was pure joy. (and yes, I do think JLH started with the chords of IBD...i thought maybe it was an encore :)
My friend and I were hoping to hear Pictures of You and when Simon headed over to Robert I knew it was about to happen.  It too was played flawlessly, one of the best versions I've heard.  Thanks guys!
Lullaby was a treat and Robert got a little animated during the song.  Before 3 sounded really tight and I actually like it better live without the "whispering dreaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmmssssssss"... i think its called a falsetto but I may be way off..
Edge of the Deep Green Sea is by far the best live song period! It gets better every time and you can tell that they have no intention to ever stop playing it.. unbelievable!
Alt. End sounded really tight as well and was really happy to hear it... Disintegration was spine tingling and honestly by this point I was physically dead! Myback was toast, my head was blurry from not eating or drinking (couldn't give up the pit spot I had) and my feet were tired but Robert was just getting started. Disintegration was the starting of an all-out assault on the senses! His energy doubled and the band just got louder and louder! Simon took over on 100 years and The Promise left everyone speechless.  Those must be the 3 hardest songs to play in a row with that much power! Even Robert was gasping for air after The Promise.  "Thank Q" and off they went. 
I had a strange feeling that we were going to get the 17 seconds encore because a small group of people in the pit behind me were singing Play for Today right from the start of the concert and I'm sure the band heard it! So out they came with the opening lines of "M" and I turned around to say nice work!  M was perfect and Play for Today rocked and everyone sang along with them.  A Forest followed and when I noticed they were playing the short version I prepared myself for the second encore but to everyones surprise, when Simon finished his dum-dum bass lines Robert picked it
right back up and went into an improv version of Forever.  I couldn't take any more and just closed my eyes and listened.  I'm soo glad this show was aired live on the radio for all to hear and also that it was filmed.  Cameras were everywhere and I'm sure its why Robert was so into the songs and not saying anything during the set.  Can't wait to see the show again!
Okay, I'm off to the Detroit show tomorrow and hope its as magical as last night.  I heard every song I was hoping to hear and now if the band would just play Charlotte Sometimes tomorrow I can die in peace... i'm so over dramatic.
Many thanks to the band for an unforgettable night!
See you again soon in Toronto I hope!

- John Manley


Ok.  I just got home and it's 1am, I'm tired, my ears are ringing, my feet are aching and my knees are sore and my back is about to fall apart.  And, I have to accompany a violin exam in the morning.  But, I have to take these few moments to post my thoughts on the Toronto Curiosa show.

First off, the tickets said "doors open 330".  The doors actually opened at 4:05, and the schedule posted inside said 'doors open 400'.  Oops.

It was VERY slow getting in, security searched EVERYONE, and our camera was found and removed.  Oh well, it was worth a try.

We made our way into the pit -- this being my first pit experience, I wasn't sure what to expect.  5pm came and went, we wondered about the crews still working on the lights, and the paucity of the crowd -- were they THAT slow letting folks in?   5:15... they wouldn't be THIS late starting.  5:20... the realization... the first set is at the second stage.  Duh.  Hey, that was CLEARLY INDICATED for everyone, wasn't it?  Hardly.  I mean, *I* should have known, *I* knew that Head Automatica was a second stage band.  But I've been obsessively following the news of this tour since it was announced.  Most people wouldn't know that.  I think.

Anyway, so we missed Head Automatica.  But the upside of that was, we got awesome location for Mogwai.  Previous reviewers have said "wall of
noise", and that about sums it up.  Glorious, brilliant, I can see why Robert loves them.

Off to the second stage for Cooper Temple Clause.  A very time-consuming journey, requiring our tickets to be checked -- again!? -- and punched,
and the crowd funneled through a tiny gate, so that even though we were fast out of the main stage and boogied as quick as we could, with no real serious delays along the way... the band had already started well before we got there.   Anyway, they were ok... not my cup of tea, but my partner liked them, and it was nice to sit on some boulders while we had a chance.

Back to mainstage for Rapture.  I almost didn't bother -- from the reviews I'd read so far, I expected them to be the band I'd be least interested in.  I'm glad I decided to check them out, though!  I'd say this was the surprise of the night.  High energy, lots of fun, fun, fun, and now I understand all this cowbell stuff.   The drummer had some problems with his earpiece it seems, and kept getting duct-taped together by the roadies.  Weird.....

Rapture told us that it was Sam (the drummer) from Interpols' birthday today, and to make sure to wish him happy birthday from them.  Teehee!

At this point, we had prime real estate in the pit, and didn't want to give it up.  So we skipped Auf der Maur and camped out.  Next up was Interpol -- another band that's not 'my thing' but was fun to watch.  Too bad so many of the band members smoke onstage.

Actually, that was my biggest beef about the pit.  Not the crowding (they were mostly very polite), not the heat (there was a lovely cool breeze off the water), not the noise (come on, what do you expect?), but the smoking.  Tobacco AND other substances.  Other STINKY substances.  Honestly, I don't know how folks can smoke that stuff.   And kill your own brain cells all you want, it's annoying when you inflict it on everyone else around you.  Anyway.

Next was Muse on 2nd stage, which I REALLY WANTED to see, but could not dream of giving up my spot, since the Cure was next.  Sigh.  The
sacrifices we make.  I had to ask myself -- did we spend $200 to see as many bands as we could, or to see The Cure as close up as we could?   I
had my priorities.

Ok.  We get to the good stuff now.   There were 4 guitars for Robert - -3 UltraCure's and one 12-string acoustic.

Like I said, we had prime real estate.  6th 'row' in the pit, dead in front of Robert's mike.  My partner and I are both very, very tall (anyone there probably noticed us), we felt bad for the folks stuck behind us (reading the first posted review -- he was NOT the tall bastard in your case, my fellow didn't sing along, but he danced a bit and raised his hands and cheered a lot... noone asked him to move... and I certainly never left him!!).   We saw the band members offstage at about 9:13, Robert first, talking to a techie, then Simon joined them, then everyone... then they ALL came out on stage.  Shoot, I'd been hoping for Plainsong, which I think makes a better opener.   Oh well.  We did get Lost and Plainsong anyway.

Lost -- Poor Robert.  You know, ol' buddy, when you write songs with repetitive lyrics, it's much harder to keep them straight.  Try to remember that for the next album.

Plainsong -- beatiful.  Robert did his checking-out-the-crowd bit.  Someone threw a tshirt at him, he sorta hopped over it, laughed and did a funny little shake at them.  Then on his way back to centre stage, he almost walked right into the light scaffolding!  He laughed again and mimed a big deal out of it.

Labyrinth -- you know, I think I like it better on the CD.  Something was missing, the cool bendy bass line just didn't sound as cool, though it was still exciting and passionate.  Again with the mixed up repetitive lyrics.  There's a lesson here, Robert!

Fascination St -- always fun.  Nuff said.

TEOTW -- a bit jarring coming right after Fascination St!  I was suprised that more people sang along with the "oooeeeooo"s more than anything else so far.  Go figure.

Anniversary -- nicely done.  Easier to catch the rhythm from the beginning than on the CD.    At this point, I've noticed that every song so far has been from The Cure or Disintegration.

Lovesong -- yup, more Disintegration.  Nothing much to say, we all love the song, it sounded as good as always, nothing more or less.  It's great but I'm starting to worry that we won't get the special 'treats' like Faith or Siamese Twins, the way this set list is going.

In Between Days -- Aha, the first song from a different album!  And we're into the 'pop hits' portion of the set.  And Dancing Idiot makes his appearance... some numnut in a beige suede jacket behind us is dancing up a storm, crashing into people and shoving and being a right old jacka**.  We ignored him as best we could, and he did go away.  For the time being...

Just Like Heaven -- was it just me, or was there a glitch starting this song?  At first it sounded to me like IBD again.   Roger seemed to be laughing at himself over something... maybe he goofed?  I dunno.  Anyway, same performance as usualy, nothing exciting to report.  Oh, it was nice to see Roger smiling and grooving a bit to the poppier tunes, he was so stiff at the start.  My partner just kept thinking "Christopher Walken".

Pictures of You -- I missed the start of this song, because the Suede Dancing Idiot was back, and worse than before.  Several of us were getting pushed, all of us looking at each other, like "what do we do about this?" and "can you believe this guy"?  Finally, when I got pushed AGAIN, I pushed back.  I'm normally very pacifistic, not to mention shy... but in truth, I have bad knees and was worried about getting hurt.  He said "sorry" but I glared at him, he said the guy beside HIM had pushed him; the guy beside him glared... I glared more and told him to GET BACK and thumbed the general direction... he still insisted innocence but those of us in the area closed ranks and he was forced back.  Some girl nearby gave me an "all right, nice job" sign, which I thought was kind of cool.

Oh yeah, the band's playing.  Instead of 'bigger, brighter, wider than the snow" it sounded like he said bigger and sweeter.  Otherwise, same old.  And -- Disintegration again.

Lullaby -- Um, again, Disintegration.  So far, 11 songs, only 2 not from The Cure or Disintegration.  Robert has a BLAST with this one, playing with his hair and wiggling his arms and just being really, really cute.  As great as that was to see though, I'm really starting to despair for the set list.

Before 3 -- Um, again, from The Cure.  And again, those darn repetitive lyrics.  Has he got this one right yet?  The words "whispering dreams" occur too often in the correct version, and even more so in the make-it-up-live version.   It's a very pretty song, pity that the words suck.

TEOTDGS -- ok, we now have 3 songs out of 13 from 'every other album'.  This song ROCKS and rocks hard.  Most of the pit put their hands in the
sky.   A good job by the boys.

alt.end -- making 11/14 from those 2 albums.  I agree this song is better live than on the CD, it's still not one of my favourites.  At least tonight he doesn't *speak* the 'big bright beautiful world out there' part, he sings it.  That part bugs me.

Disintegration -- normally I wouldn't complain.  It's my #1 favourite song.  And they did a great job, I think he got more lyrics right than he usually does, and I was jumping and screaming... but, that's now 12/15 from those 2 albums.

100 Years -- following right after Disintegration!  Awesome.  Seemed to me I couldn't hear the guitar as much as I'd have liked.   And hey -- it's not from Disintegration or The Cure!  12/16.

The Promise -- ending of the first set.  And I now understand -- it is true, this song only really lives up to its 'promise' live.  And having heard Mogwai, I can now hear a serious Mogwai influence to this.  Final tally:  13/17 from 2 albums.  6 from Disintegration, 7 from The Cure, 4 from everything else.  I'm guessing they did it that way for all the broadcasting this show will be getting... but still, man, that's wonky.  Main set ended at 10:50.

So at this point I'm really, really hoping for something more INTERESTING in the encore.  I love all the songs they played, but I wanted something more.

So it was nice to hear them start with M.  At least it's not from Disintegration.  Very pretty.  Then Play for Today -- yippee!  Everyone in my area was singing along... in fact, I'm not even sure if the BAND was playing that riff, all I could hear was the audience participation.

A Forest -- always fun live.  At 11:07, it's winding down, but instead of doing the do-do--do-do--do-do--- bass ending, Simon just drops out, Robert keeps playing... hmm... what's he up to... improvising a different sort of ending?  No, that sounds like a particular, familiar chord progression... coincidence?  No, they're all getting into it now... Yes, it IS!  It was indeed Forever, which many folk seemed not to know at all.

It was BLISTERING.  I dare say the best performance of the night.  He repeated "only you can make my dreams come true" getting softer and
softer, it almost died altogether... it sounded like the song was coming to an end... then BAM they burst back into full volume and start the accellerando section.  Again, I hear Mogwai at work, even the way Robert is chewing at his guitar reminds me of Mogwai.  There were a couple
girls a bit ahead of us who'd been holding up a sign during the main set, one side said "Faith" and the other, "Forever".  I bet they were very, very happy.

Through the whole concert, Robert says NOTHING.  The occasional "Q", the occasional "Thank You", and after Plainsong he said "Thank you and
hello".  That was IT.  At the very end, he said "Thank you for making this Very, Very Excellent, see you again".  Interesting the 'very very' instead of his usual, more colourful closing comments.  I wanted to hear him talk more.

Concert ended at 11:14 by my watch.

So anyway... a disappointing setlist (with Forever being the one saving grace) but an excellent performance, certainly worth the money.  To cap it off, I *almost* got Robert's setlist after the show... my hand was within a few inches of it but the techie gave it to a hand beside mine.   Even still, just the thought of being that close to getting it, never mind ACTUALLY getting it, would have been inconceivable to me not long ago.  This was just my 2nd cure concert (after 15 years of devotion), the first being the Dream Tour in the same venue.  Back then I had 300 section seats.  The pit was much, much nicer.  Though now I am much, much sorer.

Oh yeah -- the place wasn't sold out, but had to be darn close.  The 2 back 'corner' sections were pretty much empty, but everything else was
packed.

Ahh!  I've written a novel.  Oh well.  It was a special night, it deserves a lot of words.

- heather the buzzard


I arrived really late since I was feeling sick and my brother who had to drive from 2 hours away came late. We took our time, had dinner, then arrived at stage 1 in time for Interpol, which was the last stage 1 act before The Cure.  They were incredibly close to how they sounded on their first CD;  I didn't like the new songs, but I'm not an Interpol fan and the songs off the first album took a while for me to like them, too. The pit was only a fifth full, though.  Then Muse was playing at the 2nd stage, but my brother seemed really intent on reserving our close space to The Cure, so we waited.  I didn't make a fuss.  Too bad though;  these tickets cost me $200 Canadian. 

We ended up being maybe 20 feet from Simon and Robert. It was great to see their expressions.  Only Robert seemed happy at times with Roger lightening up for asmile toward the end, but I was focussing on Robert for the most part.  Roger, at times, closed his eyes and looked up like he was feeling the emotion of the songs.  Based on interview footage, I think he'd be the nicest to meet;  such a gentleman.  The others seemed to not really look at the crowd, except Simon from time to time, and really adopted the grimaces they felt they needed to play the music.  The sound was a bit loud for my taste, but not for my older brother's.

The audience is hard to gauge since this was my first concert ever, but, except for a few people (and I mean less than 20 of the hundreds I could see), no one seemed familiar with the new material or harder stuff from the past or was willing to put their arms in the air or dance.  A very stoney crowd, including one really tall cocksucker, to quote President Richard M. Nixon, who barged in front of me, never lipsynched, never applauded, never danced, and NEVER SEEMED WILLING TO BREAK HIS "COOL" EXTERIOR BY SEEMING THE SLIGHTEST BIT HAPPY.  Even his girl-friend left him when he refused to budge just a little, when my older brother asked him, so I could be next to him.  Did I mention he slowly moved IN FRONT OF ME.   I mean, he wasn't even a Cure fan.  (Anyway, I hope that gets it out of my system.)

Here's the typical hits-heavy setlist, and the boys sounded pretty tight, but I have no frame of reference aside from my Trilogy DVD.   I much prefer how they play the songs nowadays instead of the improvisational timing of Paris and Show.

Lost, Plainsong, Labyrinth, Fascination Street, (I'm sure about that order)

Then, I think:  TEOTW, Anniversary (I was so happy to hear this one!)

Then, I'm not sure about the order:  Just Like Heaven, Pictures of You, Lullaby, alt.end (this one sounds better due to more overdrive or is it called reverb, but I still don't like it and don't think I ever will)

Then and I'm sure of this order:  FTEOTDGS, Disintegration, One Hundred Years, The Promise;  The Promise is way more intense than on the CD, much better in concert.  Just for the record, no one seemed to give a damn about these songs, except for the very few of us hardcore fans, and that was in the pit!

17 Seconds encore:  M (which sounded better and harder than on the 30-second sample I've heard), Play for Today (only a few of us did the Ohhh, Ohh-Ohh... part with hands waving) Then a short version of A Forest, but Robert kept playing on and went up to Simon's ear to say something, after which Simon explained something to Perry.  They then proceeded to play a song I've never heard of, but I only own Three Imaginary Boys,
Pornography, Join the Dots, and Head On the Door onward in album form.  However, I've listened to 30 second samples (still waiting for those digital
remasters with baited breath!), and have never heard this song.  This one very nice woman -- who, along with her friend, was very kind to us during the concert -- said that she thought it was improvisational. But why would Robert do such a thing.  Maybe it was one of the 5 missing mystery songs involving Porl, or maybe new material they were testing out.   It was pretty hard and repetitive, and didn't sound all that great, to be honest.  Then again, I get the impression I wouldn't have appreciated the concert performances if I'd never heard them on CD first;  then again, I like M.

According to my watch, The Cure entered stage 1 at about 9:18 or 9:20 pm and left at 11:15.  I was hoping they'd REALLY break curfew and play a Faith encore of the Drowing Man and Faith, but the audience didn't seem very receptive.

Too bad Toronto sucks.  My former home of Montreal, my brother was telling me, is way more excited and receptive.  Robert, come back to Montreal.

- Iqbal


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