Ultra Music Festival 2007
March 23rd, 2007 - Miami,
Florida (Bicentennial Park)
Out Of This World, Pictures of You,
Fascination Street, alt.end, End of the World,
The Walk, Lovesong,
Push, The Big
Hand, Lullaby, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea,
Hot Hot Hot, M, Play For Today, Friday
I'm In Love, Inbetween Days,
Just Like Heaven, Want, Never Enough, Wrong Number, One Hundred Years, A Forest
1st encore: Let's Go To Bed, Close To
Me, Why Can't I Be You?
2nd encore: Boys Don't Cry
On Friday night at downtown Miami's Bicentennial
Park, headlining band The Cure -- whose eclectic catalog of music is
commonly described as post-punk, Gothic-tinged '80s rock -- proved it's
still relevant with a solid two-hour show.
The group, led by frontman Robert Smith
and his Halloween hairdo, drew thousands of techno-loving dance fans
-- many of whom weren't born during The Cure's true heyday -- away from
lively sets by some of the biggest DJs in the world.
Smith had hinted recently that the band
might throw together a one-time, beat-heavy show to reflect its surroundings
at Ultra. But The Cure instead opted to offer ''musical relief'' from
dance with a traditional tour through its greatest hits, some mainstream,
some obscure.
Through it all, Smith, in his mid-forties,
was a striking figure, his inimitable voice nailing every note.
For the casual Cure fan, all the big hits
were represented: a somewhat subdued Pictures Of You; a raw,
jagged Fascination Street; a driving Lovesong; a manic
Hot! Hot! Hot! (the closest to a true dance tune The Cure would
get on this night); a bouncy Friday, I'm In Love; a wistful Just
Like Heaven; and a jangly Boys Don't Cry.
But it was the surprise song choices that
made the night extraordinary -- The Walk, Push, From the Edge of the
Deep Green Sea, The Big Hand, Lullaby, In Between Days and A Forest.
Curiously, many of The Cure's signature synth riffs were performed on lead
guitar -- capably so, but still an odd omission from the band's overall
sweeping sound.
- Michael Hamersly
@ the Miami Herald
some thoughts about the reviews and the Ultra Show
Not being able to make the London show last year was a real bummer. I have
traveled far and long to see the Cure and find it an excellent excuse to
see the world and experience other people and cultures...as well as seeing
my favorite band, having said that, it was with a fair bit of trepidation
that I went to Miami for the Ultra show. I must say that over the years my
musical tastes have evolved and I am a huge fan of dance and house music
and was pretty amazed at the chance to see Tiesto, PVD, Deep Dish, Junkie,
Brazilian Girls, Fat Boy, Josh Wink and of course Sasha/Digweed...oh and
that other band the Cure. But the question on everyone's mind...what were
they thinking. Well I think we all read the interviews, the forums, the blogs,
whatever we could get our hands on... it was a real brainfuck. Mixed Up...
yeah we all know how well that album did commercially... clearlythere are
allot of songs that have been remixed. But for them to play a live show at
a dance festival...mmmmm I wasn't really feeling the love... but then it
hit me, it was the Cure. it didn't matter.
and I was right, it didn't.
SO having said that, without bitching too much about everyone else's bitching...
Crowds, blocked view, noisy fans, expensive beer/coke, nobody dancing, flubbed
lyrics, bad sound, setlist sucked...c'mon people this was a festival. It
was a one off show in the middle of production. Not even a warm up tour.
not to mention The Band was not the main event but a big name headliner,
there were 30,000 + - people there and they all wanted to see the celebrity
DJ's. there were lots of Cure fans there but most of the people were clubbers.
I think it was great that the Cure got such exposure to a large audience
of people that wouldn't normally have listened to them for that long. Talking
to the tech person at the soundboard, I discovered they were not really excited
about the set up as there was so much other equipment on stage, that they
didn't really get to set up that early and had to really rush off to get
Tiestos boards set. and allot of the crew didn't even get into Miami until
that morning...
um, oh the show. well I thought it rocked. personally I thought the setlist
was fun. I think everyone was curious as to Roberts plan of action... try
to do some funky mixes on stage...perhaps bring Junkie out... who knew. in
the end, sure he played it safe (if you can call opening with OOTW in front
of 25,000 dance fans most of whom had no idea what Faith was...safe) he gave
us alot of the standards, but don't they have to do that... I find Friday
almost offensive, but I am ok with it, it needs to be played. that's how
they enlighten the radio puppets. I can still jump up and down and dance
to it with all those youngsters...I have seen Fasc St. over 30 times and
that's fine because I got to see the Big Hand. and I have no idea how many
times I have seen A Forest, and that's fine too because I will always love
hearing it, no matter where or when. and the keyboard (or lack of) sure it
was noticeable, but that was ok too... I mean did Roger (nothing personal
RO) ever look like he was having fun...ever??? I think he sounded great but
I think the band sounded great with out him too. Its time to move on...in
terms of the songs... I love OOTW, pictures is always warm, end of the world
an appropriate pop tune, the walk always a choice of the dance clubs, lovesong,
push lullaby all great solid songs. I think some of the other reviews have
commented on how tight and clean they sounded and I concur, they were smokin...hotx3
another fine choice for the Ultra, M and P4T fine older songs for the long
time fans. Want, 100Y and Forest all strong solid performances. Never E and
Wrong # also seemed to be good choices for the ADD crowd...and then there
were the 2 encores...a good (and yes predictable) selection of favorites.but
the best part was R saying "thank you very much and good night see you again
later in the year...thank you good night"
There, I said everything I needed to say, its late and I am going to bed,
but before I say goodnight I just wanted to make a final point. The Cure
are an awesome band, primarily because of RS but whatever the lineup is its
still the Cure, and the last time I checked COF is a Cure Fan site. not to
be rude but to all you whiners, quit yer bitchin...
enjoy every show you can, don't be so picky, see them often and play
them LOUD. they wont be around forever...
PEACE
- Creighton Peet
(Please feel free
to keep on "bitchin" if there is something you don't like. Let's leave the
blind worship and ass kissing for the official site. - Craig)
I was looking forward to this show since
it was announced, and wasn't completely convinced it was actually going to
happen until I got there. I thought it was too good to be true, or
it was an over-inflated rumor that was yet to be distinguished, even AFTER
purchasing tickets. I was sort of waiting the whole time for the announcement
that The Cure was dropping out of the festival. I mean, a one-off
show, no new material to promote, no DVDs, no tour, and the only US show
at a festival that has more or less nothing to do with Cure music?
This show was strictly to promote the new band, it seems. And, dare
I say, Robert's happiness? After reading the varying opinions of the
show, I know I wasn't the only one who saw him smile throughout the show.
I was very skeptical of the 4-piece unit when I first heard they cut Roger,
but they sounded tighter than ever before and this was my 12th Cure show
since Disintegration. Of course, the keyboards are sorely missed,
but they sound damn good for not having it. What I saw of it, that is.
I am by far the biggest loser I know. I didn't check the Ultrafest
web site, or any of the Cure sites, including this one. I just assumed
they were headlining, so they were going on around 9pm. I've been
to hundreds of concerts since they invented that thing called the 'internet'.
I should have known better than to not find out for sure when they were
going on. My friend flew down from NY for the show, we drove over
4 hours, and stayed in probably the biggest dump in Miami that was anywhere
NEAR the event.
And what were we doing at 7:30pm when the Cure came out? Eating dinner
at Hard Rock in the Bayside mall. Can you say "LOSERS"?
We walked in and heard the tail end of "From The Edge of the Deep Green
Sea" , and shrugged it off as one of the DJ's doing a Cure 'remix'.
We thought it would be like Curiosa, where one band finishes, and another
one begins on another stage. This place had 3 or 4 stages that were
all going at once. Weird. Once we got it and they ripped our tickets,
we quickly realized what schmucks we were and ran to the center stage.
(Let me stray for a moment...the tickets were very nicely printed, and
would have been a great keepsake for those of us who collect ticket stubs,
but they ripped the tickets at the gate, and took 90% of it and left us with
a tiny receipt-looking stub that said nothing about Ultrafest on it.
That sucked.)
Anyway, as much as I hate the losers at shows who think they can come in
late and stand right in front of you after you've established your turf
for hours, I was one of them. Until the girls we jumped in front of
told me they couldn't see. We apologized and sucked it up, and stood all
the way to the left of the stage where we couldn't see a damn thing, but
at least we were in front and not blocking anyone.
Long story short, we picked up the show during 'Hot Hot Hot' and tried
to forget how stupid we were. Then, we noticed that there was only
one security guard who didn't look like he cared about anything. I
offered him $20 to get into the 'VIP' area, which he accepted. We
moved to the front of the VIP section right in front of the stage, and sat
down, as to not block anyone. Which was fine, since there was no one
in front of us except THE CURE! Not a bad compensation prize for missing
over an hour of a one-time Cure event. Play For Today and 100 Years
was unbelievable!
After the encore, I ran up to the stage and shook Robert's hand.
I actually had to jump onto one of the speakers to get to him, and I was
waiting to get tackled at any second, but no one stopped me. None of
the security people seemed to care. He smiled, but I was too awestruck
to say anything. I wanted to say something like "great show, but how
about 'Shake Dog Shake'? I wasn't entirely sure they didn't play
it at that point, and what would be more embarrassing than asking him to
play a song they already played when you only have one chance to speak to
him for 4 seconds in front of thousands of people?
I will never forgive myself for missing half of a Cure show (with Porl
back in the lineup, no less!), although if I had to do it exactly the same
way again to arrive at the same outcome I would do it all over. At
least I know didn't miss "Shake Dog Shake". I don't care if I have
to see them another 12 times, I will not rest until I see that song
live.
And I will make sure I'm at the show three hours earlier next time.
Sorry for anyone who's view I obstructed during my ascent to the front line!!
- Scottydog
Well ,I have to say that I'm split down the middle with
the Miami show. Dont get me wrong, the show was great, I've seen The Cure
22 times since
1989. It was great to hear "The Big Hand", "The Walk", "Want", and "Hot,
Hot, Hot". The show had a great flow to it, but I have to agree with Tim
K. They are getting too predictable with their set. The Cure has way too
huge a catalog of great songs, to be repeating so many. Keyboards or not,
where the hell is "Piggy In The Mirror", "Kyoto Song", "Torture", "Bird
Mad Girl", "Wendy Time", "I'm Cold", "The Exploading Boy", "Fight", "A Japanese
Dream", "The Holy Hour". Cant they finally pull off "Doubt"? If they
re-arranged songs with the current line-up, in the manner they have been,
then there is no reason that Porl couldnt have a keyboard on stage for
any particular song, and Robert could play the guitar parts. How about
"Give Me It", or "Icing Sugar" with Porl on sax? How about wowwing the crowd
with "Babble", or "It Used To Be Me"! I was a little thrown off with
"Out Of This World" as the opener, as the friends I was with all expected
the typical as it seems now, "Shake Dog Shake", "Open", "Plainsong" recycling!
What about opening with "Cut" or "The Baby Screams", or even "It's Not You"!
I'm getting nervous for the upcoming tour. It's gonna be all the new album
and the "hits" setlist! CHANGE UP THE FRIGGIN' SET BOB! You're all
smokin players!
- Marco R.
So, I was the guy against the rail, in the
front, in the middle, that you hated because you couldn't see past my head
(which is roughly 6'6" above the ground, typically). More on the height thing
at the end, but I had basically a perfect view of the show and had a fantastic
time. Although this was my 16th (or 17th?) show, I had previously
been too late in the game to have seen Porl play a Cure gig and seeing him
play things like Edge of the Deep Green Sea at Ultra was the fufillment of
one of my life's dreams. It was mesmerizing to watch his hands move
when he played the guitar; they were amazingly fluid and the sound matched.
Setlist: I felt like it was a completely new
Cure set that Id never heard before. I think they could've played almost
anything and it wouldve come across as fresh. The only song I really didnt
care to hear again was Boys Dont Cry - it just didnt fit with the rest of
what they were playing (to me). Wrong Number was a neat surprise (even
if it was a bit messy).
After years and years of hearing some of these
songs lives, the fact that the keyboards had been replaced with guitars
was fantastically refreshing - it was as if I was hearing them for the first
time (in some cases the new arrangement changed the songs so significantly
that that may as well have been the case). Robert et al did some really
great work with integrating the new sound into the old songs. It didnt always
work, but (for example) Lullaby had a very interesting new twang to
it - I liked it.
The only reason the Cure would need a keyboard
player would be to play old-Cure style songs. And it's really their old
style - it's been, what, almost 18 years since they last put out a keyboard-focused
album? Post-Disintigration, at most a song or two per album really -relies-
on keyboards.
This show had a depth of sound driving it forward
that I hadn't heard before. At the end of 100 Years, even a couple
of the more stoic security guards were glancing back to the stage and bopping
along a little.
Regarding sound quality, it wasn't the best, the
sound up front wasn't so hot, the mixing up close left a lot to be desired,
but it was an outdoor festival. Really, at how many festivals (Cure or
otherwise) is that -not- the case? If you had an issue with the sound,
be fair and recognize the environment and what outdoor festivals sound like
typically.
The rest of the fest was fine - Miss Kittin
showed off her middle finger and entertainingly had to chase her records
around... and Shiny Toy guns were fun and, even if they were
mostly hitting the "standard electro goth" sound pretty much in the middle,
they did it well. I didnt really "get" the other acts preceding the
Cure...especially the first one. It felt halfhearted to me.
The crowd was largely pleasant until the end
(which is when the Tiesto fans started to try and push forward). The only
odd thing that went on up front seemed to be the rushing of people in and
out of the press area whenever the big video camera started filming. That
looked insanely chaotic and was distracting.
I also, based on a couple of minor discussions
I had at the gig, I have some general advice to people who end up behind
tall people (since it's hard to have this conversation with you when the
Cure is playing): Usually, we're aware of our height. Often, we're with someone
much shorter than us who can't see - just like you - and so we go with
them to the front (who wants to go alone to a fest??). We can see
easily from the back, our spouses, friends, etc. cannot. While we
understand your plight, what would you have us do? First of all,
you were that height when you woke up in the morning. Did you expect
it to change? Secondly, we were this tall when you first saw us - did you
expect us to get shorter? If not, why did you stand behind us? Most
of the time (especially at Ultra) it's ridiculously easy to get to the
front - you just get there early. If you can't do that, dont stand
directly behind the tallest people in the crowd. Lastly, if
you ask us to move so you can see - please arrange with our neighbors ahead
of time which one of their views they'd like us to block instead so
you can see.
Other than the tall conversation, it was a
lot of fun. One of my favorite Cure gigs and far and away the most "alive"
the set has felt (for me).
- Jack
I read the reviews so far, and though there are many already,
I hate everybody's attitudes. So here is my retort.
I have never had an interest in Ultra Music Fest in the past, and the
only thing that made me spend seventy dollars on a ticket was the presense
of the The Cure. Let me say that, perhaps, having not seen them since Curiosa
I was willing to hear and deal with quite a bit before I could ever voice
complaint.
What made me excited to see them, was the presence of Porl Thompson.
Many reviews so far express that a new keyboardist is needed. I, however,
disagree. Do not forget that Jimi Hendrix is one of of the larger influences
on the Cure's sound. So as I heard the Walk, LGTB, Lovesong, and the other
"Roger should be present" songs, I was more keen on listening to see how
Porl adapted the sounds of synths and keyboards to the guitar. He and the
band's improvisation were superb.
I was standing right in front at the fence. Only two noticeable mistakes
occured. The sound guys messed up the tuning or electric whatever of Robert's
guitar so he threw it down angrily and quickly changed it out. Secondly,
Robert tripped up on the lyrics of End of the World--he did this at Curiosa
West Palm as well.
Though I did not get to hear much of the harder, heavier, darker, emotional
stuff I love, I got to hear the Big Hand, and let us ask ourselves--Did
this ever get played since Five Imaginary Boys Secret Gig featured in The
Cure Play Out? I am not sure, but it has been seventeen years.
Of course, the beer, soda, tickets, and water were overpriced, but you
know that it will be in a festival setting. It seems the quality of beer
selection
improves when the Cure are in charge of the event as well.
Complain, complain, complain, and be done with the Cure as much as you
want people, but never in the six times I have seen them have they looked
happier, played harder or as clean, or sounded better.
Many of you may say that Bloodflowers Tour had a better show. In many
ways it did, the set was longer, darker, more fan-based. But Roger hit the
wrong note at the end of All Cats are Grey in Atlanta, and Robert walked
up and hit the correct key. The tension was there between them seven years
ago, and although many of you love Roger and Perry, the Ultra show was overall
flawless in performance. I would think Robert has too much heart and time
in the quality of a Cure performance after 27 years, so one has to ask why
he should have patience for any member of the band who are not dedicated
to making the show just absolutely awesome, mixed up, different, and innovative.
The best thing they have done, is bring Porl back. Get up close and see.
They were going absolutely apeshit on the guitars, and they were smiling.
They didn't even drink the beers set aside for them--they were just focused
on kicking ass as a tight four piece. Very punk rock in some respects.
Amazing show--even though I predicted eighty percent of setlist and its
order.
- Eric Wallman
You know after all these years I never thought I'd say this.
But I think The Cure is over for me. At first I wasn't even going
to go to this concert until I heard Shiny Toy Guns was on the list. (They
deserved much longer than 30 minutes).
But back to The Cure. I've seen them 14 times now and I can
now safely say that there are two songs you are guaranteed to hear each
and every time you see The Cure: Fascination Street and 100 Years
(with Edge of the Deep Green Sea and Inbetween Days also being strong possibilities).
The real wager becomes: Which one will they play first.
They need to stop with this more of the same mentality.
I mean, even the order of the setlist has become predicatable.
During, "M", I turned to my friend and said, "I bet you dollars to donuts
that the next song is Play for Today". And I was right.
The only real treat of the evening was "The Big Hand".
I thought maybe eliminating keyboards would shake things up.
Then I became discouraged by the way the 2005 Festival DVD sounded.
But I gave
it a chance anyway. But I can now say it was a change for
the worse. If Robert Smith has issues with Roger O'Donnell, that's
their business. But they sorely need some kind of keyboard player.
And I think this particular festival was a very bad choice.
The Cure was totally out of place among the rest of the music that was
featured. I don't know who's brain child that was, but I guess it did
get some Cure fans there. Though I quickly realized most people were
there to see Tiesto. Towards the end, one girl asked me, "Do you
know who's playing?" and I'm like, "The Cure" and she said, "Still????!!??"
Kinda funny.
I'm somebody who in the past has gone way out of their way to see
The Cure. I was even at Berlin in 2002. But if I hear this
big 2007 "World Tour" is more of what I saw last night, I probably won't
bother.
But, hey, if they continue to offer those $5.00 deals on a 20 ounce
bottle of Coca-Cola...I might be swayed :)
- Tim K.
Here are some notes from my perspective of the show. They
played from 8 to 10 pm, which was great cause I was only expecting 90 minutes.
It
was a beautiful night, there was a great breeze most of the time
which made it very pleasant. I was about five people back, in front of
Porl. It was as close as I could get since I didn't arrive until 6:30. Most
of the people around me were there just for The Cure so it was a pretty
good group. I've heard some stories of people being near some real wankers,
which made things somewhat unpleasant.
There were some surprises in there, like The Big Hand; Wrong
Number; Want; Close To Me. I know what Rico meant by them playing some
songs
differently. For example during Lullaby, Robert added a little something
extra during his riffs. It was cool that they changed things up a bit.
I don't know if it was because I was too close or what,
but the sound of Simon's bass seemed overly loud to me. I couldn't hear
too much of what Robert said because the mic didn't sound very clear when
he spoke. Most of the time I could barely even hear him because everyone
around me, myself included, were singing so loudly to almost every song!
It's so lovely when everyone gets into it like that, sometimes I even got
goosebumps! I did miss the keyboards on some of the songs, and I do wish
they'd use them at least a little bit cause some of the songs really need
them. None of that really matters to me though. They could sound crap
and I'd still be happy. Hell, I'd even be okay with watching Robert sleep
for two hours!
The highlight songs for me were: FTEOTDGS (which always makes
me cry); M; Play For Today; The Big Hand; A Forest and I always love WCIBU
live...Robert is always simply gorgeous when he does this song live!
I thought Robert was absolutely brilliant! He can't
help but be adorable. There was a runway set up from the stage and at one
point he tried to walk it when he was playing, but his guitar cord pulled
him back so he made a cute gesture. Later on during the first encore, he
took the microphone and did go on the runway. When he was singing, he started
dancing for some parts...yes, dancing! I could have died right there. He
knows he can't really dance, but he was doing it anyway and the result was
pure adorable overload.
Personally I don't like festivals at all, I much prefer to
see them alone, but I'll take what I can get to have my fix. There are
always some people in the crowd that don't want to be there for them
or whatever. And then there are the general assholes (one of which I
had an unpleasant experience with), that you normally don't get at Cure
exclusive shows, cause I think most Cure fans are really great people.
Overall, I thought they were wonderful. It was great to have Porl back
too. He is such an amazing guitarist, one of the best ever. He always makes
playing look so effortless, just incredible.
- Veronica from Tampa, FL
The music was incredible. The songs they played awesome.
I just got back today and will sit down to write them down. It felt
like they played forever. I want to say 20-30 songs. Their time allotment
was 7:30 to 9:30. They started a little late but went through to about
9:45 or :50, I want to say.
They did not play any new songs and they had these little different
guitar arrangements to their normal songs. I do not know how to explain
this. I do
not know the right terms, but let's say there were pieces of their
songs that were played different.
I feel privileged and honoured to have been able to see them.
The band is just as great with this new set up.
Roberts voice amazaing.
There was a beautifull breeze so it made the night amazing.
BUT:
(There is always a but)
1. I kind of feel that they were not the main focus of the evening.
As I thought it would. Yes, i understand the Ultra is a different envifonrnment.
2. People were moving in and out of the GA area, not just 1 or
2, like a 'let me go for a drink' or 'to the loo', but like a ' let me
check what else is going around in the other stages.
3. They did 2 encores, (and this is the part that is the worst).
After his 1st encore, during the wait, the crowd started to chant for
Tiesto. But then the Cure came out !!!!! It was great. When he finished
his 2nd encore, he was not even out of the stage, and he was bowing or
like showing his appreciation, and they started chanting Tiesto with him
right there on the stage looking at the crowd. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!!!
It was like the crowd had had enough. I wanted to slap/punch/
kick those who were doing that.
So, I don't know how to say this: I know he wanted to do something
different, but the band should not be the 'show-filler-upper'. The is
kind of how I felt. After the Cure was done, I ate something, and did not
stay around because of my personal disgust, and my knees were hurting from
so much jumping up and down.
Those are my 2 cents. I do not have pics or anything else to share,
except a big smile and satisfaction at watching them play and enjoying
every litl'
second.
- Rico in Tampa
I spent the better part of the last hour talking to
a friend of mine that attended the show last night in Miami. While
he said the show was good, his simple review to me was "They need to
hire a keyboard player". He went on to say that when they played
songs like The Walk and LGTB, it was almost as if it was another band doing
a cover version because the keyboards were so painfully absent.
Ditto w/ Close To Me.
He enjoyed the show immensely, as it was the Cure, and Robert
is an entertainer.
Another comment he made was that the songs were, for the
most part, abbreviated versions...probably in an attempt to cram as
many songs into
2 hours as possible...Out Of This World and Deep Green Sea
were cut to 4 minutes. The only exception was 100 Years, which
in a festival setting,
has many casual fans scratching their heads.
Anyway, hopefully you'll get some first hand reviews.
Just wanted to share his comments.
- Tim P.
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