First it was an amazing show but there were many
technical problems.
Simon at one point stopped playing held out his arms and starred down
the front of house audio guy. Kept looking back at his amp and then
back at them, I think it was during Plainsong. Which is also when
Robert had some meltdown with his guitar also. The tech brought out
another one to switch out and stood there which I think annoyed Robert
he then told him to put it down and go away. Robert didn't get that
guitar until the next song.
Also during Deep Green Sea Porl almost by a nanosecond missed he guitar
solo as he switches out guitars right prior t that and the 1st guitar
got hooked on some part of his clothing. robert looked over as if
I can't really stretch this out so come on, and he just barely had
the guitar on and started the solo.
I also thought when Robert said "exactly how I dreamed it" on Kyoto
song that he said it rather sarcastic as if it didn't sound very good.
Not sure I wasn't close enough to really see but I thought it was not
a positive response from him on it.
- Chris W.
Hi, Cure fans! Long time reader, first time
blogger Jacob here to splice in a little anecdote of his own about the Shrine
show last night...hope this isn't too long...
Was seated in the very last row on Porl's side in the very back corner...just
for reference. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed when I arrived to
find myself buried under about 20 rows of balcony seats, but I got over
it and waited patiently for the show to start...and what a start! This was
my first Cure concert, and on the way there, after driving around for about
an hour looking for parking (note to self: never go to a concert without
at least $50 in cash) I prayed desperately to the music gods, wherein I
made the preposition "I don't care what else happens or what else they play,
but if I hear Out of this World it will all be worth it." Well, I'm sure
you can imagine my utter ecstasy when those first couple of drum clicks
rang through the Shrine and Jason's ever present foot began the magnificent
work of regulating my pulse for the remainder of the evening. I was riding
on cloud Robert, and the first half of the concert proceeded without a hitch.
About an hour into it, however, things started to take a turn for the worse.
The three vacated seats in front of me were suddenly occupied by two Cure
fans who seemed to have misplaced their third member.
This is when the cell phone calls began. Finally,
after about fifteen minutes of yelling back and forth at each other, they
managed to find their estranged friend and left, only to return minutes
later (with more alcohol, obviously). I think it was about this time that
the Impersonations-of-Dave-Chapelle-doing-Impersonations-of-Lil' John began,
and I had the lovely pleasure of hearing the brilliantly performed Push
interrupted sporadically with cries of "Yeeeeeeaahh!" and "Oookaaay!" But
I was okay, I was fine. I mean, hey, they played freakin' Kyoto Song, how
upset could I be? Well, I needed a moment, and the next song to hum through
the speakers was How Beautiful You Are, a KMKMKM song I’ll admit I am not
terribly familiar with nor fond of, so I decided to have a seat about halfway
through the song and just let my ears do the work. Enter “drunk frat boy
who couldn’t keep his hands out of the pants of his Barbie-doll girlfriend
for the first half of the concert,” whom I shall for the remainder of this
post refer to as “dude.” He was apparently quite concerned about my enjoyment
of the concert because he kept shouting to me, “You having a good time,
man?!” and “C’mon, dude, stand up! Woooo!”
It was at this time that Simon chimed in with the familiar twenty or so opening notes of In Between Days, so I grudgingly appeased his request that I vacate my seated position for a more bipedal one. IBD was followed by Just Like Heaven which was then followed by Primary, three songs that work masterfully well together, the first two having about 145% of the audience singing along, and the last gaining a respectable 80% rating on the “does the audience know this song” scale. It is here that I must regretfully report that Dude did not fall into the majority, which must have been shockingly abnormal for him (not falling into a majority, that is). So he, of course, did what anyone else in that situation would do, which is to say, turn around and find more drunk people behind him to be obnoxious with. His endeavors were a success. Now, my timing may be a bit off here, but I believe it was somewhere around the end of Primary or in the middle of Us or Them that he casually mentioned (and by “casually” I of course mean “at the top of his lungs”) that “[he didn’t] even know half of these songs.” It was here that I found a bit of empathy for this poor fellow because I, too, had never heard some of these songs. I, however, was a bit more fortunate, having already listened to the new single “The Only One” a few days prior, my count came in somewhere around 11% (2 out of 19). By the end of the night, that percentage would drop to about 6%. I guess it was just my lucky night, though I have managed to come across a few Cure albums in the past that did not contain the words “greatest” or “singles.” Dude, I’m sorry to say, was not nearly as fortunate as I, and I’m again saddened to report that, judging by the increased drunkenness that ensued, his percentage must have ended somewhere in the 70-80 percentile bracket of songs he did not know. At least he may find solace in the fact that he has once again found himself in a majority.
My final encounter with Dude occurred during
(what else?) Boys Don’t Cry. It was here that he once again became concerned
with the happiness of those around him and insisted on raising morale by
giving us all high fives. Upon contact with my hand, he again inquired something
about having a good time. I couldn’t quite gather the entire inquiry, however,
so I replied by stating “What? I couldn’t hear you.” He seemed dissatisfied
by my response and probed no further for the remainder of the evening, except
at the end, as we were making our exits, he insisted on another high five.
I obliged once more, for I now believe that it was HE who sought the morale
boost. The poor thing…they didn’t even play Love Cats! I can only hope that
next time they play more songs he knows.
Seriously though, it was a great concert, despite those unfortunate people.
Personal highlights: Out of this World, Pictures of You, FTEOTDGS, Kyoto
Song, Bloodflowers, Happy Birthday Faith…aww, hell, they all rocked!!
- Jacob
Just got back Hollywood and Shrine shows and they were incredible.
I read comments on your site about counterfeit tickets by this one girl which
made me concern when I purchased both Hollywood and Shrine tickets
from eBay. Hollywood was an e-ticket and the Shrine was a hard
copy. The eTicket worked fine maybe because I was somewhat early to the show
but the hard ticket for Shrine was an experience. We got there about
10 minutes before the Cure went on stage. When we got to our seats
someone
was there. He showed me his ticket and it was identical to mine!!!
He mentioned 3 other people had the same seat not sure if that was true or
not. I moved to an empty seat praying no one would show up. The
show starts and this guy shows up late and is pissed at the person next to
me
because they both have the same ticket. Instead of being cool about
it he gets security and both of them have to leave not sure what happened
but neither one of them came back. Few minutes later a couple can’t
find their seats so they get security and security asks for my ticket.
Security tells me we are in the wrong row. I tell them someone else
was in our seat so she tells me we have to go with her. Security gets
distracted by some altercation not sure what because I was focused on the
concert and wasn’t leaving for anything. I grabbed my wife and moved
her in front and motioned for the couple just to get in. The couple
looked a little annoyed so I explained that there were counterfeit tickets
going around and they understood completely and said not to worry and they
were cool about it. We were a little crammed but didn’t care.
Not sure how many other Cure fans are experiencing this but I would warn
them to get there early because it seems like it is first come first serve
and if you are not in the correct seat you may be asked to leave. This
was a new experience for me as I really didn’t know what to do. I am
just glad security was distracted enough to leave me alone. I get really
annoyed at people who insist they have to have their seat. It is a
concert; pretend you are in the pit and enjoy the show it isn’t like you
need to sit down anyways!!!
Also along the lines of annoying people, in front of us at the Shrine was
this couple arguing. Not just simple bickering but yelling, in your
face, full on head movement and all for the first 3 or 4 songs. Eventually
someone asked them to stop so they could enjoy the show. I yelled out
go outside to argue then at that same time security was called to get them
to stop. She got even more pissed and left. Poor guy was all
depressed sitting alone in his seat. I am sorry but I go to the show
to actually watch the concert not socialize or argue with people.
I haven’t been
to a concert in awhile so it was my first experience seeing a lot of people
texting on their phones. At first I thought, I wonder if they are all
e-mailing Craig the songs but it was apparent they were typing full on messages
and weren’t even watching the show. Another couple was just sitting
kissing each other during the encore sets; at least it wasn’t like a NIN
concert I went to ages ago where this guy was standing on the seat watching
NIN as a girl was giving him a blow job! Talk about a cool way to watch
a concert!!!!
- Albert
I got to stand next to Simon and Lol talking after
the show… it was cool… perhaps I’ll transcribe the conversation, it was kind
of funny. Simon accused Lol of drinking but Lol insisted it was just coffee,
which it was. Simon then said he was proud of him for staying sober.
- Jeff
Last night was the 3rd stop on my California Cure tour (the Hollywood Bowl
is the only show I missed). And it was without a doubt the absolute
BEST Cure show yet here in the golden state. What made it so great,
besides the setlist which was good and had a couple pleasant surprises, was
that the sound quality was superb. I sat ten rows back from the front. The
sound was very sharp and loud and although the Shrine is very cavernous
with super high ceilings which added a murkiness to the sound it really
only served to deepen the sound quality rather than diminish it. It
felt like a very full sound range was flooding my ears. At times the
music was so deep and loud I was "hearing" things inside the sound which
may or may not have actually been there, if you follow me.
Anyway, the people who sat next to me were not interested in making any
new friends, lol. But I did have some fun chats with other people
while waiting in beer lines.
I sat on Simon's side and when the show started people on that side started
holding up signs that said HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMON and screaming Happy Birthday
at him inbetween songs. What was hilarious about it was that Simon
ignored them. Way too cool to bother with the peasants, he continued
playing with a British sneer. LOL!!!!
Oh, and Porl was so into it last night he was just twirling around and
around and jamming like a rock star cliche and feeling hot hot hot.
Robert was of course his usual charming and quiet self. For somebody
who's thought up the lyrics to 300 songs he really doesn't have much to say
at concerts.
OK this is going to sound corny but I swear that all day long yesterday
I kept thinking of "Out Of This World." I swear it was a psychic
hunch. It made sense that they opened with that song (after a classical
violen taped intro) because the Open-or-Plainsong opener was getting
stale and they're only doing Underneath the Stars at SOME outdoor venues.
So, enter Out Of This World. Which was a pleasant two-parter with
Bloodflowers closing the set. That rolling thumping drum bit on Bloodflowers
is what makes that song for me.
The biggest highlight of the night, for hard core Cure weirdos like you
and me, was of course when they played FAITH in the encore. Just
stunning. I think they extended the song quite a bit and kind
of forgot where it was suppossed to end. Then Robert changed the
lyrics in the song from "There's nothing left but faith" to "Happy Birthday
Simon". An oddly downbeat way to sing happy birthday, but in true
Cure style, wouldn't you say?
Anyway, sorry folks but this concert was better than San Jose and Santa
Barbara. The Cure and L.A. are really a perfect marriage. I
grew up in San Diego ( I live north of San Francisco now) and L.A. was always
very hip to the New Wave scene in the 80's while San Diego was a bit slow
to catch on.
This is going to sound goofy but I'm attending 4 concerts here on the
Cure 4Tour. 4 and 4. And the last show is in San Diego - my
hometown - and my THIRTEENTH Cure concert. Is that cosmic or what???
OK I am a dork!
Anyway, last night was just sooooo much fun. Next stop San Diego!
Stay tuned!
- Paul K
Robert was definitely crying during Faith last
night and it was very moving. Not only were tears running down his face, but
his face was trembling and he was trying very hard to keep his composure during
the guitar solo. It was a beautiful performance; the song really brings out
some strong emotions in him. That was my observation from the front of the
pit, anyway!
The show last night was INCREDIBLE; all of the shows in CA have been fantastic
but I felt like I saw Cure history in the making at the Shrine. And I got
Simon's setlist after the show so thanks again Darren!
- Regina/Plainsong
Quick Notes:
Lol Tolhurst was sitting two rows behind me and I had the chance after
the show to ask him about his project with Michael Dempsey. He said
it will be completed in October and they will play some shows in Los Angeles.
They don't have a label yet but will start shopping around.
Tony Kanal bass player for No Doubt was there and he mentioned they would
have new material out in a year or so.
Now on with the real news:
First of all I must say that the crowd around me was absolutely amazing.
I'm glad there were long lines for drinks so people didn't have time to
get wasted and talk through the show. I was sitting in Orchestra Row
2 between Robert and Porl. The Shrine has an incredible sound system
as well as the beauty. When the lights went out and I heard the strings
playing I was pretty sure they were opening with Out of This World and when
Robert appeared with his black acoustic my prediction was correct.
The lights and sound were breath taking and I knew this night was going to
be something special. This review would go on forever if I did a song
by song review, so instead I will hit the highlights.
The Baby Screams---WOW!!!! It took me about 15 seconds to know what song
it was due to the no keyboard intro, but as soon as the guitars kicked
in BAM!!! the baby was screaming. They rocked it out and made it
sound so unique.
Sleep When I'm Dead---INCREDIBLE!!!It is getting better and more aggressive
each time it is played. It is so guitar driven and powerful, I hope
it doesn't lose it's edge on the studio version.
Kyoto Song---AMAZING!!!Robert had a excellent echo/chorus sounding effect
on the vocal which gave it a very haunting sound. He spent the majority
of the song at the side of the stage (Porl's side) and was very passionate
as he sang.
How Beautiful You Are---CHILLS DOWN SPINE I hadn't heard it live
since '87 Kissing Tour and it was beautiful. The screen rolled down
and displayed a European town, not sure if it was Paris.
Us Or Them---POWERFUL---Robert seemed to be singing deep from his soul
and the whole band were thrashing it out like driving stakes into someone's
back! Lol? ha
Signal to Noise---I was hoping for this and it was played very tight
and worked perfectly after Us Or Them. This guitar driven lineup
just makes these
songs sound so much more full and LOUD!!!!
Bloodflowers---So good to hear it again. It started out rough as
Robert fought to get the melody down but by the end of the first verse
it sounded amazing as always.
Three Imaginary Boys/Fire in Cairo had the Shrine exploding with energy
that the band could feel. I was praying that this second encore was
the gateway to what we were all hoping for...and yes it happened.
I thought I heard Robert say something about having to do this for Simon's
Birthday before FAITH but I'm not sure. Maybe someone else heard
it clearer.
FAITH---no adjective needed here you insert it. Could the night
get any better? The screen rolled down with the cathedral backdrop,
Porl was not on stage for this one, and Robert and Simon stood very close
to each other and almost formed a triad with Jason. A single spotlight
from the side of the stage illuminated them and that was about it for lighting.
No colors other than white and the backdrop. It had the total old
school feel to it. You could almost hear a pin drop in the Shrine
during the song. Everyone was so captivated that it seemed as though
a trance fell over Los Angeles.
And with that, the Shrine was blessed with an incredible setlist that
left no one feeling empty. The crowd was so giving and the band was twice
as
responsive. San Diego here I come!!!
- Mike (grindinghalt)
I just got back.
An amazing, AMAZING show. FAITH! I nearly cried. Robert, dear Plainsong
[who was in the pit] assures me, was crying during the song. I feel bad for
him, but god damn what an amazing display.
Porl walked off stage right after the song started. I don't know what
that was about. Some kind of technical problem? A last minute decision? You'd
think that if he wasn't going to play the last song, he wouldn't have come
out after the second encore with a guitar.
The entire show was amazing, from the glorious first moments of Adagio
for Strings to the final "Thank you and good night." One of the best nights
of my life. And as much as I loved the Santa Barbara show, this one beat
SB into the ground mercilessly.
My only regret is that I wasn't in the pit. Though it would have been
nice to hear The Hanging Garden, The Figurehead, and The Same Deep Water.
Fucking amazing show. Incredible, life-changing. Listening to Faith,
seeing it, hearing it, feeling it, I finally understood what was meant
when people called The Picture Tour and The Prayer Tour religious experiences.
Tonight was one. It was spiritual, it was emotional, it was visceral, it
was... Best goddamn concert I'll ever see.
Infinite thanks to Saint Crowbi for his recording of Faith. Give it up
for that guy -- a true Curefan hero. Others might have sat on the show,
Saint Crowbi gave the community what it needed.
Amazing fucking show. So amazing, I didn't mind spending $90 on a fucking
jacket.
- Tyler
I have not written a review in a very long, long time. The Shrine show
was the best Cure Concert that I have ever been too!!!! I have been going
since the Swing tour and man this blew everything out of the water!!!. I
am sorry but I do not miss the keyboards. Sorry Roger…Good Luck to you.I
can't believe how much Porl truly adds to the band. Again…Sianara Perry loved
you while you were here but Porl Kicks your ass all over the place. Lol was
there. He was in the fifth row in the center. By the way I want to give a
correction. Robert dedicated the Three Imaginary Boys song to Lol not Si.
It was very clear. I remember thinking that they must be on good terms now
for that.
Everything was so amazing!!!. For me the standouts were the bloodflowers
songs. Bloodflowers and the opener Out of this world. Koto song was a pleasure.
I was so excited to hear How Beautiful you are. I was so stoked to hear
Three Imaginary boys, Fire in Cairo; Jumping someone else’s train and Grinding
halt. I have been hoping and praying for those songs and boy was I not disappointed!!!
It was the first time in the 12 times that I have seen the Cure that I have
heard those songs. I also enjoyed the faith encore with Happy Bday Simon...very
nice ending!!!! I only wish I could have heard the Blood, to wish impossible
things, and doing the unstuck…but I should have gone to the Hollywood bowl
the night before and with the two nights I would have had heard pretty
much my dream set list.
I can't rave enough about the show!!! It truly rocked. It brought back
all the old passion and warmth for the Cure...I had been angry with Robert
for quite come time and I thought he had lost his passion…boy was I wrong!!!
They truly rocked the house and proved once and for all that they still got
it!!! I loved all of the new songs!!! The Perfect Boy is my fav. I like sleep
when I am dead....It kind of has a baby screams tone to it...The one I am
not a huge fan of i s the Only one...it sounds great live...but comes off
forgettable to me like the last album...I must say that the songs they played
off the last two records absolutely kicked some major ass tonight...every
song they played sounded better tonight than I have ever heard them....live
or on the album that is truly saying something!!! What a magical show and
such a kick ass moment for me!!!! Tonight will be a standout moment in my
life that I will never forget!!! Long live the Cure with this line up...You
guys effing rock!!!
- Guitarboy7677
I am on fire right now. This show was
one of the best I have seen…Since 1989…16 (or more) shows…this one rocked!!!!
Actually, 1989, the Prayer Tour, was my all time favorite…but this one comes
in so close….
The lights and sound were so perfect as The Shrine is a very Cure-esque
place. After Kyoto Song, Robert said, “That was just how I dreamed
it” and then when he began the Disintegration encore with Plainsong, he
said something like the dream continues.
Out of This World, The Baby Screams, and Bloodflowers were definitely
a surprise…really amazing job on The Baby Screams. I knew it was
OOTW when I heard Strings for Adagio, but I was like, wait, maybe they’ll
do Open, it can’t be OOTW…but it was!
The 2nd encore was amazing…so intense…I thought Robert Dedicated Three
Imaginary Boys to Simon, but I guess it was actually to Lol... The
crowd was electric!!! And Robert was so happy!!!
And then…FAITH!!! Robert said Faith would be sung instead of Happy
Birthday…Porl stayed off stage. Towards the end, Robert added the
happy birthday lyrics and a little of 2 Late…”So I’ll wait for you where
I always wait…”
I enjoyed the Hollywood Bowl last night…but that was nothing like tonight.
It felt so amazing…so like old times…I was so happy to be at the Shrine…to
be a part of such an amazing group of musicians…singing the anthem of my
growing up…and I am still growing…
Thank you Robert, Simon, Porl and Jason (and all members) for such wonderful,
imaginary years…..especially you, Robert…see you in Diego….
- Matthew X
What a great and amazing concert we had tonight. After I saw the setlist
from california shows I had the hope to have a very special concert cause
simon's birthday and second night in the same city, the band usually have
a special concert after a tipicall pop hits show. I flew today morning from
Mexico City arriving to Shrine at 12 pm. I was at box office until they
opened at 4 30 and finally at 5 pm I got a couple of orchestra row 11 very
center!!! The band enjoyed the show a lot, robert was very happy and the
sound of the arabic venue is still hiting my ears. For me best show of the
tour. After montreal, toronto and chicago shows finally we got the jackpot:
adagio for strings, out of this world, bloodflowers, baby screams, how beautiful
you are, signal to noise, 3 imaginary boys, fire in cairo, strange day,
push and FAITH celebrating simon's birthday. It was a pleasure to me see
mexican fans (emanuel and elise) and fans from usa touring the band. The
crowd was fantastic, all the hans in the sky! Mistic atmosphere, beautifull
venue, great day, amazing setlist... I just got my bed in the hotel... I
am tired, excited and extremly happy after this gig. Next show in San Diego
will be great. I don't want a special song. I just want to see the band again
and say thank you for this fucking amazing night!!! Real fans, real venue,
amazing robert's voice and a set list with surprise and surprises. I love
this band... I'll follow them until the end of the world! Angel, you are
the light in my heart, thanx for this dream coming true. Love you all!
- Marvin L.
got back from the shrine show. that was an AMAZING
setlist. i was front row off to the side from Robert. i think he was a bit
emotional during bloodflowers but i can't be sure. he seemed in good spirits
and having a great time except for some sound problems, that seemed
to get him upset. i think the thing on simon's arm read - there's got
to be something more than this. not sure. porl and jason were
great :)
i have been to the sb, hollywood bowl and shrine show all have been
so good. the shrine was def. special for cure fans .....
sadly the pit got overcrowded. i was told people were paying off the
security to get them in and if you were a hot girl you got in as
well. so sad.
- Christie C.
Yes, I was at the show tonight. I
got the whole intro with some of the Out of this world video and
pictures. I was seating 3rd row front of Simon.
Let me tell you, this was by far one of the best or the best Cure
show I've ever been too. His voice was fully recovered
and incredible (loud and clear). Tonight I heard songs
live that I never heard before like "Fire in Cairo" "How
Beautiful you are" "Signal to Noise" "Sleep when I'm dead"
which sounds great. Between the Santa Barbara show and
Shrine I heard all of the new songs except "under the stars"
which I love from the Red rocks videos and Baby Rag dog which I also
like very much. The only weak song is Freak Show which I hope
does not make the new album track list; it could be a B-side.
One thing I did notice between Santa Barbara and Shrine LA; most people don't know most of the songs and they get all excited for a few songs like JLH, IBD, BDCry. Oh well.
- The Arch Angel