4Tour World Tour 2007 - 08
I was looking forward to the last night of the
European Tour with the exception that it was at Wembley. The place is getting
a little too old school now and I think the O2 would have been a much better
venue for a gig of this size. So, we trundled up the metropolitan line to
find massive queues outside – I suspect everyone knew that that band were
due on stage at 8pm. The usual mix of 40 somethings – still in work attire
– and the younger fans, some of whom had at least made an effort to don
their make up and party dresses. So after being ripped off for a programme
and beer in hand we made our way to a comfortable watching distance somewhere
close to the front – not too close, those days are over for me now. I was
with three avid Cure fans and two guys who had never seen the band before
(but well versed with the ‘hits’). The three Cure aficionados talked of how
the set would pan out – start with Plainsong, Prayers for Rain etc, finish
with a 17 Seconds encore, a Three Imaginary Boys encore and, hopefully, a
long version of Faith. We weren’t too sure if the Faith encore would appear
because we are all well aware of the licensing laws and tube times which often
curtail
great concerts in the UK. So from our standpoint, we got what we came
for – a three and a half hour version of the European setlist we had all
been following on Chain of Flowers. The band was very tight and the sets
and lights were excellent. Robert’s voice was in fine fettle, right from
the start – his Prayers for Rain scream was as good as any I have heard.
They worked their way through excellent versions of A Night like this and
Pictures of You and performed a storming version of From the Edge of the
Deep Green Sea. I have never thought that Hot, Hot, Hot and Why Can’t I be
You work without a full horn section and, as per usual, I think they fell
a little flat. Never Enough and Freak Show are and will always be songs that
allow you to go to the toilet and get a beer. As for those ‘keyboard songs’,
they have certainly improved since the Albert Hall but nothing can beat the
real thing – why not just get a session guy to play on those that still need
them – it’s not as if the lineup has been the same for 30 years. Primary
and Shake Dog Shake were towering and when it came to the final encore, we
all rocked and sang along like it was 1982 once more. So, we went away happy
having seen an excellent performance from a band who give more value for
the gig pound than anyone else.
Now, to my friends who had never seen the band live before. To them the
gig was a revelation. They stood in awe from Plainsong onwards. I was
bombarded with questions about which album individual songs were from,
they discussed the guitar sounds and were not phased by the lack of
keyboards or horn section. They just involved themselves and enjoyed the
occasion. I have had a number of calls since the gig about items they
have found on the internet and they have been out and bought most of the
albums. The gig for them was a revelation. It makes me realise how lucky
we are, having been fans for so long and having been exposed to so many
great gigs across the years. I recently went to see Led Zeppelin at the
O2. I had never seen them before but I was bound up with the occasion –
I suspect my friends had the same feeling at Wembley. Imagine the Cure hadn’t
played for 20 years and they came up with a gig like last Thursday’s – we’d
probably be in raptures. We are lucky that they are still playing three
and a half hour gigs once every two-three years.
I look forward to seeing them twice in New York at the end of the US tour
and If they play like last Thursday I’ll go away happy……….especially if they
finish with Faith.
- Darren
After 30 years, The Cure should, by rights, be washed up. An artistically
redundant nostalgia act. Returning to the cavernous, and soulless Wembley
Arena - possibly one of my least favourite venues in the universe - The Cure
manage the rare trick of making this enormous void of a shed feel intimate,
and this lineup - still ‘new’ by Cure standards at three years old, acquits
itself as quite possibly the best lineup of the group thus far. Over three
and a half hours and 41 songs, The Cure perform a show that should, by rights,
be regarded as legendary : travelling every edge of their work from the nihilism
of “Disintegration” to the flippantly clever pop of “Friday I’m In Love”
Previous Cure shows I have seen since the end of the 1996 tour - Roskilde
in 2001, Manchester in 2004, The Albert Hall in 2006 - have all seen the
band suffer from what departed guitarist Perry Bamonte called ‘a lack of confidence’
- and, stung by the commercial failure of “Wild Mood Swings”, the band reverted
to type and produced a series of records that seemed almost a parody of The
Cure, comprising all shade and no light, perversely ignoring the bands poppier
material in favour of a relentless grind of epic, doom-laden miserable tracts.
Finally, after spending a decade in denial of the richness of their back
catalogue, The Cure appear to have come to terms with their past - and thus,
perform a show that encompasses the whole of their work in a cohesive, brilliant
whole.
Despite the absence of a keyboard on stage, it’s fair to say that The
Cure have never sounded bigger. Guitarist Porl Thompson (an on/off member
of the group since their 1976 inception) now revels in his role as the bands
musical orchestra - effortlessly reproducing the lush keyboards of the group
with a fluid and finely honed guitar tone, as well as the heavier sound of
the groups more aggressive material with a bite and panache that the material
had often lacked. Robert Smith, erstwhile and sole original member of The
Cure throughout their various incarnations, meanwhile acquits himself with
busy and expansive guitar work whilst the solid rhythms of Simon Gallup and
relative new-comer Jason Cooper (with only 13 years in the group) produce
a dynamic and effective rhythm section. Taking a cue from the very early
shows when a three-man Cure fulfilled their sound with keyboard parts triggered
with Robert Smiths foot pedals, the band follow this template to see occasional
keyboard parts filling in the sound. In fact the only time the keyboard sounds
are clearly missed are during “Play For Today” - a minor indulgence that
sees the keyboard melody sung vocally by 13,000 people
Having seen four different lineups of the group seven times over the past
sixteen years, tonights show - at an epic and comprehensive three and a quarter
hours and 41 songs - is probably the finest Cure show I myself have seen.
Despite the fact that they overlook a couple of their later albums (with
nothing from “Wild Mood Swings” or “Bloodflowers” offered), this show is
a comprehensive and thorough overview of their career.
During the course of the show, the band hit a level of emotional intensity
and variety rarely seen in modern music : the only quibble I could have is
in the order of songs played - the arena transforms from a massive party
during the middle section of the main set which sees 10 singles played in
a row to, in the blink of an eye, to a subdued and depressed cavern when the
band move from the glorious Technicolor of “Push“, “Inbetween Days“, “Friday
I‘m In Love“, “Just Like Heaven“ and “Primary” to the careful, sensitive monochrome
of the mogadon “A Boy I Never Knew”: it’s a great song, but sitting on the
back of a forty minute selection of the bands best known and loved singles
to then premiering a downbeat sensitive acoustic lament thoroughly destroys
the momentum achieved, and one the band struggle to regain until the encores
as they obviously lose the goodwill of the audience during a subsequent procession
of miserable and intense 7 minute album tracks : damn fine songs they are,
but existing to an extent within a vaccum.
With 16 encores the band perform longer in their encores that most bands
achieve in their own right - the first and third encore sets are devoted
respectively to their second and first albums, whilst the second sees the
resurrection of the rarely performed “LoveCats” and a string of hit singles
from the 80’s. In the cavernous Wembley Arena, most of the venue is on its
feet in an act of unconscious, telepathic communion : and perhaps surprisingly,
the huge expanse of space that separates the standing and seating section
is filled during the encores with a spontaneous dance floor of happy, celebrating
souls who have trickled down from their assigned seats at the very back of
the venue to no small annoyance of the venues ‘bouncers’. What this does prove
is that The Cure, in whatever form they are - and this current lineup is
possibly the most cohesive and strongest lineup the band has had since the
1985-92 glory days - can unify and communicate to all, cutting through the
bullshit and the pretence, and creating a legacy of no small import. The
Cure proved - if there was any doubt whatsoever in anyone’s mind - that legends
are often such for a very good reason, and that the flame is far from spent.
- Mark
First of all, the security at wembley are a bunch of arsholes! If they
were anymore uptight they surely would have snapped. Myself and my friend
had really poor seats, granted thats not the security's fault, but at one
point i did approach the barrier at the edge of the balcony to somehow get
a better view of Robert Smith waving goodbye to the fans and one of the pricks
almost assaulted me! I will never go to Wembley again.
As for The Cure, c'mon, the keyboards need to return. They sound too
distorted without them. The biggest casualty of this was Love Song, which
sounded totally dead. And all that guitar wanking from Porl simply does
my head in!! He's not in Led Zeppellin, this is the Cure!! There were some
"nice" moments such as Lullaby which was the only song on which they sounded
anything like themselves. Hot Hot Hot was fun too. To Wish Impossible Things
was a pity, completely butchered from start to finish. Of the new songs
i thought A Boy I Never Knew was vintage Cure, a very sincere and heartfelt
song from Smith, i hope the album version can do it justice. The Only One
was nice but needs a decent chorus. Freak Show is a piece of crap and i
do not wish to hear it on any Cure record in the future!
As far as i'm concerned the Cure have been totally lost since the Disintegration
era anyway, Roger O' Donnell was the best thing in the band in the years
following but when he was kicked out, that was it, the final nail in the
coffin for this band. He could do things with a keyboard that Smith still
struggles to do with a guitar. The one band that has never left me down (no
pun intended) live was Depeche Mode. Why? Because they know who they are
as a band, they can deliver based on that, the Cure lost their identity a
lifetime ago.
- Paul J.
A cold wet night in London matched by a cold wet
performance by The Cure. Only three new songs debuted on a tour for the
new album - interspersed by many old songs whose impact was lost without
keyboards. OK, so there is a backing track that accompanies "Close
to me" but why not use the same method for songs that really do sound better
with keyboard - i.e. "Why can't I be you?", "Lovesong", "Lullaby", "The
Walk", "Inbetween Days", "Just like heaven", "Disintegration", "The Lovecats".
As usual though good value for money with the length of the set (well
over three hours). The programme is a bit of a rip-off (£7) for a few
pictures and the band favourite things.
What happened to the keyboard that was going to be on stage if "anyone
wanted to have a go"
Kill or cure?
Lacklustre?
Maybe I am getting too old.
- Tom
This was my second gig of 4Tour europe and my 13th Cure gig in total.
I was really looking forward to it...especially since it was the last gig
of the tour and the only one in their homeland....
but I left the arena with mixed emotions. To be honest, and I never thought
i'd say this about a Cure performance, but I left bored....which was very
strange after such a fantastic performance from one of the best bands in
the world....
I was disappointed with the setlist mainly...I suppose if I hadnt seen
them in berlin last month, I might have enjoyed it more, but the show was
almost identical, and they played the same bunch of songs they've been
playing since the start of this incarnation of The Cure in 2005
If they had played the famous "faith" encore, or perhaps "how beautiful
you are" or "SOMETHING" a bit different, maybe I would feel different...but
they didnt...instead relaying on a whole bunch of singles that in all honesty
I couldnt care less if I never heard live again
I love this band. Have done since 1982, but it really makes me depressed
to say i may be finally falling out of love with them....unless they start
changing the setlists round...for God sake how difficult would it have
been to add "Give me It" to the setlists every now and then, a song they
havent played in years but which would suit this lineup perfectly.....stop
being afraid of putting a keyboard on stage...even if its only used intermitently..some
songs just desperately miss them..just admit it...plus it closes off the
possability of playing a whole chunck of their back catalogue
I'll finish by saying again the band played superbly and the lights etc
was excellent but they really need to start brining some new songs into the
set from their back catalogue....apart from anything else, how are they not
dying of boredom themselves ???!!!
But as always Robert, Simon, Porl and Jason...much love to you and thanks
for still being around...and if you read this please take on board what
a lot of your fans are thinking...
- Keith
First of all, a bit of history
This is the 8th concert of The Cure that I have attended, if my memory
isn’t playing tricks to me. The first was in June 1995: Porl had already
left the band, but that night he played with Page and Plant just before
The Cure - it was a summer festival - and later on joined the old mates
for the last two songs of the encore (Why Can’t I Be You and End).
Nothing is like the first time and even though that was just a festival,
with a short and greatest hits oriented setlist, I’ll never forget that
night, the Woodstock-like mud and my legs literally trembling during the
beginning of Want (new at the time), which opened the concert.
13 years later I finally had my chance to see Porl perform live with
The Cure, even though this band is quite different from that one.
The setlist
I had been checking the setlists of the previous concerts of this tour
online and I partly regret this, because it spoiled my concert a bit in
the end.
Despite me hoping for something special for the last concert of the European
leg of the 4Tour, The Wembley Arena concert was very similar to the previous
ones, even more greatest hits-based.
Apparently the band tends to stick to the hits in UK, whereas I’ve noticed
that in countries such as France, Italy and Spain it’s more likely to get
“darker” concerts: I’m Italian and this is the first of their concerts
that I’ve seen abroad. I guess I’d been spoiled by my previous experiences,
because in Italy, festival excluded, the bands has never failed to deliver
some rare tracks here and there (for example, I’ve managed to get The Snakepit,
Pornography, Cold, All Cats Are Grey, Siamese Twins, Faith, The Kiss...)
This time I was hoping in particular for The Kiss, The Hanging Garden
and something more from the Faith album… but nope.
They didn’t play anything from WMS and Bloodflowers (few songs doable
without keyboards or Robert realizing those albums aren’t that great? I’m
among those who think that the last great album from the band was Wish…)
Don’t trust YouTube
As a general thing, for the American fellas who are still waiting: don’t
be misled by youtube videos: the real thing is very different. They actually
sound way, way better. Especially Porl’s playing.
Keyboardlessness
I didn’t really like the Festival 2005 DVD and I think Porl’s and Robert’s
guitar adaptation of the keyboard parts is much better now. They have come
up with better sound effects and their sound is much cleaner and effective
now. There are still songs that suffer from the lack of keyboards (i.e.
Lovesong, To Wish Impossible Things), but I liked what they did with others:
for example, Plainsong sounded much better than on Festival 2005 and Robert’s
rattlesnake guitar riff in Lullaby is very interesting. Plus, Porl’s mastery
has significantly improved some tracks, such as Wrong Number and alt.end,
the latter still forgettable though, in my opinion.
Highs and lows
The part I liked best was the Old School encore, not only because the
absence of keyboards wasn’t an issue at all in there, but also because they
actually added so much energy and power to those songs. In particular, I
liked how Robert delivered his singing in Fire In Cairo, Jumping and Grinding
Halt.
Worst parts: alt.end and The End of The World… I really don’t dig those
songs… I would have preferred Labyrinth or Truth, Goodness & Beauty from
the last (forgettable) album.
New material
In this case, the impression I had got from the youtube videos has stayed
the same: I think A Boy I Never Knew is a good song, not terrific, but
ok. Please Project, now The Only One, is a barely average pop song that
definitely wouldn’t have made it as an a-side in the Wish era. Freak Show…
well, I just don’t like it at all. I wish it wasn’t part of the upcoming
album. I strongly hope they have better things in store for the album. In
addition, I think none of these three songs really takes advantage of having
Porl back in the band. No great guitar parts in there.
Simon as Dorian Gray?
Apparently Simon has made a deal with the devil or something. He looks
30 and in incredibly good shape.
The audience
Not many Robert clones among the audience… apparently Robert is one of
the few that keeps liking his style… ?
As confirmation of the fact that the British audience is, generally speaking,
more keen on hits than Latin countries audiences, people jumped up and
down for things like In Between Days and Boys Don’t Cry, but, unlike me,
looked kind of cold in front of Prayers For Rain, To Wish Impossible Things
or At Night, songs of which the people around me didn’t seem to know the
lyrics...
All in all
It was a very good concert and I’m personally grateful that the guys
are still around and keen on playing for more than three hours. I can’t
wait to see them soon again, hopefully with good new songs!
- Francesco
Last night was the best concert I’ve ever been to. And there was a part
of me that wasn’t actually looking forward to going. I was knackered from
a really long day at work, Wembley’s miles out, I was going with my best
friend, who’s not a fan, and I’m wondering how he’s going to cope with standing
for three hours listening to music he doesn’t know. And this really isn’t
his kind of gig – he’s really into Barbra Streisand!
By the time The Cure come on a little after eight, we’ve been standing
near the front for an hour and my feet are already starting to ache, and
then they launch into Plainsong and I forget about my day and remember
why I love The Cure’s music so much.
They don’t sound like anyone else. Of all the millions of songs sung,
The Cure’s music and the emotion it evokes remains entirely its own.
During Plainsong Porl’s guitar soars over Robert’s simple riff, and then
Robert starts to sing about rain, the end of world and smiling for a second
and I can't believe I thought about not coming. Throughout the gig, I’m
struck by how often the melodies and guitar riffs are so deceptively simple
and yet so beautifully constructed. I remember why I love The Cure,
I can't really articulate it, the best I can manage is that their music
feels so… right.
I’ve never head The Cure sound so alive. There’s an inventiveness and
energy to the new arrangements. The songs rarely sound like the record:
The Walk, alt.end and Just Like Heaven have been injected with freshness
and energy by the transposition of the keyboards to guitar. alt.end,
particularly, soars.
Around the time of Live 8 and Festival 2005 it felt as if The Cure were
in danger of becoming a thrash version of themselves. Robert choosing to
play the acoustic parts of the pop singles on his distorted electric
meant that sometimes his sound would lose itself in Porl’s, but since he’s
returned to his acoustic guitar for these songs it felt, to me at least,
that a perfect balance had been found between wildness and clarity.
Although, very occasionally, the enthusiastic ramping up of effects
pedals means I struggle to hear the guitar solos – A Night Like This and
One Hundred Years are lost in a swirl of spirally, diving, twisting noise.
Whilst this is a bit disappointing in the moment, it’s small potatoes compared
to three hours of brilliant playing.
And the playing is brilliant. Porl is sensational. Never Enough and
Wrong Number give him the chance to really show 12,000 people what he can
do with a guitar. The last three times I saw The Cure play (Wild
Mood Swings at Earls Court, Hyde Park, Manchester Move Festival), they
were great, but it felt as if Robert was doing all the work. The concerts
relied on his voice and his playing. Porl’s return adds a whole new dimension
to the music. The new Cure feel like an expression of four men – of whom
Robert is only one part – the most significant part of course – but nonetheless
a member of a group.
And this group seems to be having a lot of fun together. Porl
prances, swings his hips, almost disco dances at times! He hangs on to
the last note of Wrong Number for so long that he pretends to swoon and
sinks to his knees with a grin. Simon leaps and then swoops down on his
bass like he’s trying to snap it in two. Robert smiles and sways and shimmies
his way through the whole gig – I’ve never seen him so relaxed, giddy and
engaged with the crowd. He remains the unlikeliest pop star in the
world. He shrugs to the crowd and asks us what we want him to say? He moves
his mouth silently and tells us to imagine whatever we’d like. In this
world of fame hungry celebrities desperate for attention, it’s refreshing,
no it’s astonishing to witness a man having thousands of people literally
hanging on his every word, and choosing not to speak!
This Cure seems to really care about each other too. During Why I Can’t
Be You? A hyper Porl gives up playing the funky riff, thrashes his guitar
a bit before collapsing on his back, his guitar clanging noisily. After
a moment, he staggers to his knees and leans into his amp - perhaps to hear
his guitar more clearly? Robert is serenading the far balcony with his
radio mike and misses this, but Simon sees and crosses the stage, kneeling
by Porl and asking if he’s alright. It takes Porl a while to answer, but
finally he taps Simon lightly on the shoulder to confirm he is. Initially
I think Porl’s fall is a gag, but after the song he’s helped from the stage
by his roadie. Was he overcome by emotion? Or maybe a bit ‘tired and
emotional’, it’s impossible to tell. He returns for the final ‘Old School’
encore, looking better, and makes a gesture to a concerned fan at the front
that he’s okay.
The choice of songs is perfect. Last time I saw The Cure at Wembley
it was for the Kissing Tour and I managed to go on the only night they
didn’t play The Love Cats! I’ve been hoping that my luck will be different
twenty years on. They don’t disappoint, not only playing the
hits, but making space for beautiful aching songs like To Wish Impossible
Things and the new, genuinely moving, A Boy I Never Knew.
The bands we love become the soundtrack to our lives. Monumental events
forever associated with albums, songs and lyrics. I came out to The Head
on the Door, fell in love to Wish, got my heart busted to Blood Flowers.
I hope that The Cure will remain part of my life for years to come, on the
evidence of last night, if they chose to, they could go on forever.
Sweaty and exhausted, feet sore, we stagger from the concert. My non-fan
friend is exuberant. “They were brilliant,” he exclaims. He can’t stop
talking about the end of A Forest where we all, as much-loved tradition
demands, double clapped the last few bars of the song before Simon murdered
his bass. “It was the best concert I’ve ever been to!” he adds before hesitating,
having caught himself in moment of disloyalty. “Besides Barbra Streisand,
of course.”
- Matt
It was a rainy night in London last night. Perfect weather for
a Cure gig you might think, except the atmosphere inside Wembley Arena was
quite sunny and Robert & Co. decided to leave out some of the darker
songs.
As this gig sold out in a few minutes (possibly with the help of ticket
touts) I thought this would guarantee a hard-core audience and a setlist
to match. I was hoping to hear Kyoto Song as part of the main set
and Faith as part of the encores, as well as one or two more obscure songs,
but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, the setlist was slightly different
to the previous time I saw them play on this tour, so it was good enough
for me. I think they wanted to end on a positive note and that may
be why they kept the setlist pretty upbeat.
As usual, Robert didn't say much during the gig (although he admitted
he couldn't use the excuse that he didn't speak English) and seemed very
happy throughout. He was dancing around quite a lot and spent
a lot of time on either side of the stage during the guitar-less songs.
There was not much time between songs and Robert mentioned something
about having a three-hour window, so the set was quite fast-paced.
In a
way, I think that was good as it kept the crowd interested.
The only slightly odd thing I noticed is that Porl seemed to sit down
at one point towards the end of the gig and looked like he had a cold or
something. Anyway, whatever it was, it didn't stop him from playing
magnificently.
There was some old-school pogoing going on at times and a few people
down at the front couldn't stand the heat (one poor guy fainted right in
front of me but thankfully he recovered quite quickly). These gigs
are really turning into endurance tests, but it's well worth it (if you
make it to the end).
I have seen The Cure play at Wembley a few times now and this night
was a big success because they really managed to get the crowd going, even
though this is a pretty difficult venue, due to its rather large size.
Like a good wine, they appear to be getting better with age...
- Fab G
