Most of us will have memories of gigs that “imprinted” us to the Cure. For
me, the period that “sucked me in” was the Faith Tour – Carnage Visors and
all. Seeing the band at their bleakest best in smallish 1,000 seater halls
in dismal UK provincial towns. Songs that hit you in the heart and a band
that rarely said anything, or, in fact, needed to say anything – the setlists
said it all.
So here I am 26 years later in New York at Radio City Hall in the foyer surrounded
by fans from all backgrounds – some in cocktail dresses (respect to you guys),
ready to see my favourite band in the king of all music venues. No (official)
TV cameras tonight. Anticipation is high for a different set to last night
(at MSG) and high hopes for a bit more of what made me fall in love with
this band.
So was I disappointed or not? As is usual with Mr Smith and Co, the answer
to that is not clear-cut. In fact, the whole set was somewhat schizophrenic
– it seemed that they wanted to do something different but were unable to
stray too far away from the old classics.
The start was excellent – three songs relating to the potential ending of
something – Out of this World, Want, alt-end – is it the end of the tour
of something else I ask myself? Of the three ‘Want’ was excellent, sung with
a passion that foretold of things to come later.
A Letter to Elise was also a pleasant surprise followed by The Big Hand,
which was brilliant. Just Like Heaven and Pictures of You were real crowd
pleasers and Push (a personal favourite) was somewhat affected by Robert
having guitar problems – it still sounded fantastic.
My personal request for early songs came in the form of Other Voices, the
Hanging Garden and Charlotte Sometimes. Of the three the only one which really
hit home was Charlotte Sometimes. Somehow, the warmth of the stage lighting
and the sparce mix made the other two seem weak in comparison to some of
the newer, more highly produced songs. It didn’t stop me, or my companions,
singing along.
100 years and Bloodflowers finished off an excellent main set…I was waiting
for more – something special?
So the first encore starts and it’s Freakshow – just like last night – except
Robert is running up and down the mezzanine stairs to the circle – like he
is Robbie Williams or something. Bizarre and not something I would ever have
expected him to have ever done back on the Faith Tour!!! I spent most of
this section watching the rest of the band perform their duties on stage
while Robert went off on one.
So, I wasn’t very hopeful, the guys came back for the second encore and jumped
straight into Boy’s Don’t Cry – just like last night!! Jumping Someone else’s
Train and Grinding Halt were excellent and by now the whole hall was rocking
– but it wasn’t Faith…..
Final encore….I was expectant…but the sounds of A Forest start up and I suspect
that we are going to get the 17 seconds encore – at least we’ll get Play
for Today and M – but no chance of hearing Faith on this tour for me.
But a Forest is curtailed by Simon (who usually likes to spin out the end)
and Robert starts to mess around on his guitar – like he does at the end
of lots of songs before launching into FOREVER. Now this was the song they
ended virtually all sets on the Faith Tour and Robert always used to make
it last and make up lots of lyrics to reflect his dark mood of the day. He
didn’t disappoint this time – it took me back – just like I wanted. It was
close but we got there in the end.
- Darren
I've been both excited for and dreading this show for months. Excited
cuz Radio City is a great size for the Cure and I figured it'd be one of
the best shows on the tour. Dreading the day cuz it meant the end of an
amazing tour, with no relief from my Cureless existence in sight.
Sigh. This is prolly the hardest review I've had to write. I don't even
know where to start.
Let's start with the positive--MAJOR surprises throughout the setlist.
Gems they've played relatively rarely on the tour and that I've managed
to miss thus far: Big Hand (an absolute first for me I think), Other Voices,
Catch, Bloodflowers...and then...FOREVER?! Nice. Niiiice. But the icing
on the cake for me was Want, which was never a favorite til they played
it live on the Dream Tour. You haven't heard that song til you've heard
it live. It's just UNBELIEVABLE. It was the one song I've been dying to
hear all season, and there it was, at long last. Overall, they seemed to
really make an effort to surprise us tonight, and I appreciated it.
Aside from some small tech glitches (Porl's guitar went out at one point,
for example, but he was given a new one quickly and it wasn't a big deal),
the band was strong and energetic. The lighting, which has looked great
for the whole tour, looked 1000 times better at Radio City. It was just
breathtaking the entire night through. I was torn between giving in to my
usual closed-eyes rapture and watching the gorgeous colors unfold.
On the negative end, I guess there's a point at which roadweariness
can set in even as a fan. If I hear End of the World one more time I'm
going to stab myself in the eye. It's just.not.good. Worse, though, was
the Out of this World intro. It was just wretched. Adagio for Strings is
so gorgeous and intense...I'm on the edge of my seat (yeah, seat...I'll
get to that later)...I'm ready for the roller coaster to start...we're almost
at the top of the first drop...I'm holding my breath...HERE IT COMES!!!...it's...it's...
Sadly, it's a slow leak in the balloon.
Oof.
This set a crappy, lackluster tone in the audience that lasted for the
next hour and a half at least. The people sitting...yes, sitting...in the
first balcony were the most boring bunch of fans I've been stuck near in
years. And I've seen me some crappy fans over the years. But holy crap.
It was excrutiating. Because I don't like to bother anyone with my dancing,
I quickly exchanged my 3rd-row tickets with a couple in the back row. This
worked like a charm for a few songs...until the party in front of us stood
up--not to dance, but to pass beers around and yell to one another about
anything but the show. For the Entire Show. I asked them very nicely to
quiet down once, and they did...for 30 seconds. Besides that brief respite,
they were absolutely RELENTLESS.
Dear jerkoffs in the 1st Mezz, sec. 6, row K, seats 1-7: Burn.In.Hell.
After the main set ended, I took off to find empty seats far from Chatty
Cathys and the Fratboys, only to stupidly settle in on the far left aisle
of the balcony, forgetting Robert's propensity for climbing the edges of
RCMH. So I was happy for half a song, 'til all the idiots who hadn't had
the energy to get off their lazy arses all night suddenly rushed the edges
of the balcony to get near dear 'ole Rob. Kill.me.now.
So I don't really know how to review the show. The highlights were incredibly
high. The lowlights, both in terms of the setlist and the audience, were
dreadfully low. All I can say is that I hate that that was the last show.
Both because it was the last show (naturally) and because it didn't end
the tour on a good note for me.
They're just gonna have to come back soon so I can get rid of this
taste in my mouth.
- Angel
Well geeks... Here's my review of the Radio City Music Hall show
in NYC.
I expect some people will call me names (lol) for saying this but I left
RCMH certainly moved but also shaken and disappointed. Before you
crucify me, please read me! I know my review is too long, but I felt it
needed to be in order to fully express the wide range of emotions I felt
throughout the show and up until now, two days later.
First, let me state that it was a great show. It was an intense show. But
as it was happening, right after it was over and even now looking back after
a couple days, I can't say anything else but that this simply was not the
show I was expecting... Here's why.
I'm sorry but it needs to be said: in my opinion, this was one of the worst
musical performance I've seen Robert Smith give in the 6 times I saw The
Cure live first and foremost, but also from the many, many live shows I've
heard and seen over the years. I'm surprised I've seen no mention of this
from someone else (albeit I haven't read everything on COF yet). That was
most highlighted when he screwed the guitar on Hanging Garden, when he kept
forgetting words throughout the night (some will say this happens every night
- granted, but imho, it usually doesn't take the proportions it took at RCMH)
and most of all, from his screwing up and break down during Bloodflowers!
This set the stage for a weird set of encores that in my opinion saw him
retreat in his persona to try and get this over with...
Don't get me wrong, it was fun and wild and exciting to see him go up the
sides of RCMH and please the screaming mob, but I disagree with other reports
that this crowd was made of "die-hard" Cure MUSIC fans. The reactions were
still MUCH stronger when songs like JLH were played than any other "darker"
song and considering the non-stop and constant moving around I saw in the
entire theatre, I can't help but wonder what at least 50% of these people
were even doing there! I mean... Here's a sample: the guy to my right left
during Charlotte Sometimes, never to return and the couple in front of me
had better rent a room than be there at all! They didn't stop talking and
feeling each other the entire fucking time! It was reported to me that there
was a line-up in BOTH the men and women's lounges during The Perfect Boy
(which means it must have been a similar thing throughout the show)... "Die-hard"
fans? Oh! That's cause Bruce Willis was in attendance! Now I get it!...
*No comment*
Back to the show itself... Right from the start, I was crushed (and it's
no small word) to see I wouldn't hear UTS on that night. Honestly, I had
to refrain myself from crying. Not that I don't like OOTW mind you and I
soon got over it (for a while at least) and tried to enjoy what I was being
given. It was apparent that they were still adjusting the sound for the first
three songs because Robert gestured to the side of the stage at least twice
during and after OOTW. IMO, the vocals were too low and his voice was lost
in the mix for most of OOTW. The guitars in Want got better but started feebly.
It was mentioned in the live reports that Robert seemed to have been impatient
with technical issues and he had reason to be! It wasn't all that and it
got bad later on... But let's take a look at each song:
Adagio For Strings (Intro) - Such an emotional song. I'm a war-movie buff
and this music obviously reminds me of Platoon and maybe it didn't help
in getting me overly emotional. I was sooooo disappointed I wouldn't get
to hear UTS that I had to collect myself and fight tears! But then came
the band and the inevitable excitement of a Cure show! "It's The Cure for
fuck sake! Get over it you dumb-ass!" And so I did...
Out of This World
- Like I said before, the volume of OOTS was really low but it did get better
as the song went on. People in the crowd screamed when the band got on
stage but had very little reaction to the first song. A lot of people were
still either coming in or settling in at this point (which is something
I'll never understand).
Want - Better reaction
but still lots of people making it to their seats and moving around. The
band were still settling in at this point and I didn't feel Robert was
singing this with the intensity I heard from previous shows. A great song
still that kinda set an energetic mood.
alt.end - That song
basically kicked things off. It works well on stage if you ask me, a lot
better than on "The Cure". People finally seemed to have some sort of excitement
for the music.
The Baby Screams -
First "surprise" of the show. I loved the guitar. Good reaction from the
crowd but nothing major. Some people needed time to stop talking I guess...
while others wouldn't!
The End of the World
- In Montreal, that one didn't do anything for me. I remember the crowd
didn't seem to react too well to it either. But it was better this time
around and the song was solid. The crowd reacted well too.
Lovesong - Huge crowd
reaction to this one! First time the crowd sang along and the energy really
picked up! Great delivery. It was funny to see people hugging! This
continued as the show went on...
A Letter to Elise
- Wow! That one continued the great vibe and it's always been a personal
favourite of mine. It sounded brilliantly and the crowd reacted very well
to it. I don't remember anything other than the music as I simply closed
my eyes and sang along!
The Big Hand - Fewer
people reacted but the few that reacted, reacted a lot! Obvious fan favourite
in the sense that some people knew this isn't played often. The song itself
was good, solid.
Pictures of You -
Amazing reaction from the crowd, perhaps second only to Just Like Heaven
or maybe third if you consider Close To Me... Singing-along continued and
that song was the first real highlight of the show for me. I've always loved
that song. To me, it's the one song that bridges both extremes in Cure music;
both the melancholy and pop sides of The Cure blended into 4
minutes of perfect balance between musical lines. Loved it!
Lullaby - Final song
of what would be the last we'd be given from Disintegration. Robert played
the keyboard part on his guitar better than he had in Montreal so I enjoyed
that version a lot more than I did in Montreal. The crowd was still really
into it and that series of 5 songs from Disintegration showed just how
special this album and era seems to be for Cure fans, "die-hard" or not.
It really is the one album that people seem to react the most to.
Catch - Different
beginning to this one. It rocked more than the studio version but you still
had the same lightness about it. Great song, great version and a good reaction
from the crowd.
The Perfect Boy -
That song really grew on me because the first time I heard it, I didn't
quite notice it. I enjoyed it better this time around. It's quite lovely
actually. I would have expected this to be one of the singles off Mix 13...
Kyoto Song - A song
I don't particularly care for because of the silly keyboard line and sound
on the album. But you know what? Without keyboards, I loved it! At this
point, the crowd was really moving around. The couple in front of me were
kissing and hugging like crazy. For all I know, it could have been a Britney
Spears concert in front of them! God! Get a room!!! Why fucking pay to even
be there to a Cure concert if what you're interested in is the curves of
the lady next to you? I don't get it and never will...
Other Voices - Slow
reaction to this one. I guess people were wondering what it was. I so much
love when the guitar picks up on that song... It's brilliant! Loved it
but I didn't feel the crowd was as much into it as for the Disintegration
songs.
The Only One - I personally
love that one and the band did a solid job with it again. Robert's voice
was good once again and he played with it at the end, as usual by now.
Hot Hot Hot!!! - Got
the crowd back into it! I love how Porl injected new life into it. HHH
rocks now! But first real sign of a shaky Robert Smith as he completely
screwed up the end couplet of the song. After, he looked at Simon as if
saying "fuck I really screwed that one!"
Sleep When I'm Dead
- Whereas I felt Freakshow was the weaker of the new songs played in Montreal,
at RCMH, SWID was it. And I really think it sorta slowed the excitement
in the crowd. Again, lots of moving around, lots of people in the aisle.
I still don't get this and never will...
Doing the Unstuck
- Again, got the crowd back into it! A lot of singing-along again! Fun song!
Energy was always higher on pop songs.
Push - God... I LOVE
Push. I absolutely LOVE that they played it on most nights during the tour
because they ROCK when they play it! But Robert started playing the guitar,
walked to come closer to people and something unplugged! FUCK! Robert changed
guitar, some tech-guy walked on stage to try and fix things but Robert
barely made it to his mic to sing "Go Go Go"! He seemed to lose his focus
but managed to salvage the rest of the song. But it killed the magic for
me on this song. Bummer.
Inbetween Days - Another
crowd favourite! Great energy from it. Simon was bouncing around on this
one. Great delivery. They seemed to be having fun!
Just Like Heaven -
Well... What can I say? The one song that created the bigger buzz once
again. Solid, regular delivery from the band again. Singing-along at its
loudest and most intense... Perhaps second to Close To Me later on but
then again, it was more screaming than anything at that point! More on
this later...
Charlotte Sometimes
- Yes! Loved that one. I don't remember anything from the crowd or actual
performance as my eyes were closed for most of it. Sorry! I just enjoyed
this one, kinda like I A Letter to Elise...
The Hanging Garden
- By now, I started wondering about Robert Smith... He seemed unfocused
on Push and HHH but on HG, he screwed up his guitar part like I've never
heard him screw up! He was lost during the song. I'm surprised no one mentioned
this... He was trying to pick it back up and play his part but didn't seem
to be able to. Weird. Really weird.
One Hundred Years
- In Montreal, my girl Steph and her friend, both newcomers to The Cure,
both said that this song was the high point of the show. Well not this time...
Robert didn't seem into it as much as he was in Montreal. Actually, it
was no contest! He seemed to be troubled and emotional to a point where
he was having trouble delivering his vocals. Again, I'm surprised I saw
no mention of this anywhere...
Bloodflowers - When
Adagio started, I thought "OK, so I won't hear UTS but at least it means
I'll hear Bloodflowers again"! Well what do you know... Robert fucked it
up! He screwed the lyrics and his vocals lost a lot of intensity, it wasn't
even funny. By then, I was convinced he was emotional to a point where
he wondered how to conclude this show. Before BF, Robert, Porl and Simon
gathered on Porl's side with Robert turned to the crowd and it seemed like
they were trying to comfort him! It was weird indeed...
So there was the main
set. A lot of people got up, walked around or started talking like nothing
happened but I personally sat down and was surprised to hear Steph tell
me that she felt Robert Smith didn't seem well! I told her I felt
the exact same way. I told her I felt like he was breaking apart. The way
it seemed and felt to me was that he found it too hard to be singing anything
in which he was emotionally too involved. So when they came back and started
the encores, it was no surprise to me that they went back to playing pop
stuff.
I was starting to
finally understand I would not hear anything like Faith or other songs off
Disintegration. To me, Robert Smith gave the crowd what it wanted: screams
and fun. It was also what he could give. It was a comfort zones of sorts.
And even though I can understand why reviewers would say it was awkward
to see Robert Smith go up the sides of RCMH and dance and fool around, fuck
'em! lol It was all brilliantly fun!
Having said that,
this definitely wasn't the show I had expected... I had expected a show
of musical gems. I had expected UTS, the Faith Encore, The Figurehead, The
Same Deep Water as You, musical gems... I didn't expect Robert Smith, the
pop Icon, fooling around to please a screaming mob. There's always been
that side of Robert Smith but I always thought he was in music videos, in
TV shows and interviews. Rarely had I seen that persona used in that way
so intensely, so deliberately, as if to hide the rest of what Robert
Smith and The Cure are. And seeing The Holy Hour was sound-checked, I can't
help but feel it wasn't meant to be that way. I am convinced, and only Robert
Smith himself could convince me otherwise, that the intention was to play
more "darker" songs. The supposedly "die-hard" fans and crowd favourites...
Songs off Faith, Pornography and Disintegration... But it was not to be...
But then came Forever...
When Robert Smith
continued playing after A Forest (whose end was cut short by Simon) and
the others remained on stage, I said to myself "it can't be that they'll
play Forever???" and fuck me straight to hell, heaven and back to reality,
they DID!!! Why they played it, I'm not sure... Robert Smith was clearly
crying throughout and at the end when he difficulty repeated he had to go
but didn't want to... It was fucking heartbreaking. I was crushed inside
and hated myself for being disappointed at the start of Adagio, during the
show and after the show! I hated myself for selfishly wishing they'd have
done a different, more intense set-list and set of encores!!!
What I understood
then and do now more than ever is that Robert Smith is a fucking brilliant
HUMAN BEING. Like Steph keeps telling me, his emotional intelligence is
unusually high and he was never afraid to display both the exuberance and
gloom of our nature throughout his career. It was no different at RCMH.
It's why I've loved The Cure for as long as I can remember and always will
listen to their music. It's why so many of us fans and geeks are incredibly
involved and passionate about this band... It's true. It's real. It's human.
So this was a memorable
show to me. But by no means was this the show I was expecting and wanted
to see. I still feel privileged to have been there and having
witnessed a human being that keeps being true to his art, to his fans and
most important of all, to himself. Thank you The Cure. Thank you Robert
Smith. Thank you for reminding me it's OK not to be perfect. You truly are
perfect in that way...
- Fantac
Ok well it is a very dull ride back to Pittsburgh so I will throw
in whatever I can remember...
Robert was indeed exceedingly jubilant last night. He first went up the
rail on the left side during one of the first songs, baby screams maybe?
When freakshow started he went over to simon and danced in front of him
for a while, blocking his view of the audience. It was the most adorable
thing. Thenm he started climbing up to the mezzanine, but he stopped to look
down very closely at the floor, and waved his arms around, pretending like
he was about to fall over. The people right underneath all put up their hands
as if to catch him. He also leaned back against the curtains at one point
as if he was about to try and hide behind them. During close to me he bounded
back across the stage, shaking hands and giving high-fives, and then went
up to the left mezzanine during wciby. Obviously you can see all that during
the video but I also glanced at porl and simon and they were LOLing at him
a lot. Simon got on his knees to rock out for a while. Afterward RS said
something along the lines of, "you know, being up there and looking at all
of you, it's really good, to see what we've done."
Other random notes:
At one point, I think before DTU maybe, RS played a part of some goofy
song.
During IBD Porl and Si really danced their pants/PHTs off. I had a total
fangirl moment because simon's belt kept slipping down to the middle of
his butt, which created quite a fetching effect with the bandana as he shook
his derriere. He looked at his amp pictures at least 6 times (yes, I counted)
but he really seemed like he was having fun. RS made some joke about him
and his hands, couldn't really hear though.
And well, the actual songs... Only one of the songs that I really wanted
got played (other voices) but I really cannot complain. The beginning of
Catch sounded so different, I thought it was a new song until RS started
singing. It also sounded slower at the beginning. There were a lot of tweaked
lyrics on other songs, and RS really sang them to show off his voice more
than they do on the record. And then of course... Forever. So unexpected
but very very welcome. The lyrics toward the end seemed to be about a break-up
where the woman is begging him to stay but he has to resist. Robert was
definitely crying, and so was I...
As an overview, Eric summed up the show perfectly. I just thought I'd
provide some little details that weren't covered in other people's notes.
- Annie
It's the morning after the night before and what a night it was !!
I only managed to get three hours' sleep but I am still buzzing from the
excitement. It was a very good show with a very good setlist.
Thanks to the band for changing things around like that from one night to
the next.
There were many highlights during the night for me. Out of this
World was a good opening track and brought me all the way back to the last
night of the US leg of the Bloodflowers tour, which I also attended.
The first big surprise was hearing The Big Hand, which I may never
have heard live before. It was also good to hear Catch and Kyoto
Song, two songs I have always liked.
Even though we didn't get to hear the full "Faith encore", we did get
to hear Other Voices during the main part of the set. Truly magical...
It was also good to hear Hanging Garden. However, the biggest surprise
came right at the end of the show with a powerful version of Forever, a
song which hardly ever gets played and didn't even appear on the official setlist.
Bruce Willis was in the audience and came to the edge of the stage during
two songs (Lovesong and Charlotte Sometimes, I think). Robert was
in adventurous mood, climbing up the stairs on either side of the hall during
two songs (Freakshow and Why Can't I be You, I think).
At the end of the show I waited outside with a few other people and managed
to see Porl and Jason. We waited in vain for Simon and Robert, but
I think they had managed to escape... Anyway, I am running out of
time in this internet cafe. Until next time, thanks again to Robert
& Co for a wonderful tour...
- Fab G
Maybe there has been a better Cure show.
Maybe back in the day, when you could count multiple Cure references
(often derogatory to be sure and usually about hair, but still…) in every
issue of Rolling Stone magazine, when Robert Smith was young and great looking
by everyone's standards, when youthful passions and genuine rage flared
up onstage, there was a better Cure show.
Maybe.
I spent a lot of time as a kid searching out Cure bootlegs in the
pre-internet age, and I've been going to shows and watching setlists since'89,
and I haven't seen or heard about one.
Setlists are important. But
not as important as things like where the band is playing, what they are
feeling onstage, and what the crowd is like. Radio City
Music Hall was gorgeous. The curtains, cloth seats, carpeting,
and acoustically engineered paneling created a deep, rich sound devoid
of that tinny noise one hears at almost every big arena. There
were no fences with burly security guards separating the band from the
stage. When Robert came forward to the crowd he was right
there with us, touching fists with the guys and flashing that patented bashful
grin to the girls.
The screams were louder in Montreal and the dancing was wilder
at Madison Square Garden. The crowd here was mesmerized
and enchanted. We experienced the exceedingly rare occasion
of having ultra high expectations being met. It was a
Hail Mary pass floating for three hours in the air before being caught in
the end zone to win the Super Bowl.
The arsenal of songs that the band has at their disposal is stunning.
Is there another band in existence that can play such a powerful
best-of-the-best set while at the same time leaving out something like fifteen
of their most popular songs because they had been played the night before?
I don't think so. The fact that this band has
not already been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is an appalling
disgrace and needs to be rectified immediately.
One of our favorite posters, Clockwise Cat, memorably said that
"vulgar hyperbole" was the only appropriate way to describe a great Cure
show. Well fuck me sideways, The Cure kick ass on a scale
never before seen in the history of this planet!
-
Eric Joachim
