(Thanks to Eduardo for the live setlist and notes, to J.@ Curefans.com for the corrections and to Burnt for the ticket scan)

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Photos

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 Reviews

Here are some thoughts on The Cure show last night.
 
First let me say that being in the "pushing 40 club" that I've seen the Cure many times and in an odd way this was a combined worst and best show. More on that later.
 
Before the show started I had an opportunity to look at the set list in its entirety. It was really long and it had several song titles on it that were new, not just new as in they have been playing them already even though they haven’t been released yet. I mean new, new, not played on this tour so far. The last song of the main set for example had a ridiculously long title. It almost looked like a joke. I'm sorry I can't remember what it was, but it had something to do with rock (I think) in the title. As people have already reported, it is very rocking. It’s harsh, but not like The Kiss. It’s more in line with Primary where it’s straightforward rock.
 
The new song that people are calling, “Underneath the Stars” - When the band took the stage I thought immediately that it would be a different song than they have been opening with so far. There were no chimes or other sounds. It was very subdued. Jason was the first to get on stage and he triggered something that caused a rushing of waves to come out of the PA system. As the waves broke and lulled and excited the crowd at the same time, the rest of the band slowly came on stage.
 
Once they were all on and strapped in they gathered around the drum kit. At that point, Jason triggered something else that started the song and he clicked off as well. There were some timing issues, as it sounded like the 4 of them were playing at different tempos. What I personally think happened is that the triggered effect was at one tempo, Jason was at another, and Robert, Simon, and Porl split the difference. One of them went with the effect in hopes that everyone would go that way, and the others went with Jason. It sounded a bit bumbled for about 10 seconds or so and then it worked itself out.
 
What came out of the PA system was a beautiful song that I wish I had the vocabulary to properly describe. The song lasted about 7 minutes and all that I can say is that it is going to easily become a fan favorite for years to come. It sounds light, bright, and sparkly but it has the same sadness that we’ve all grown accustomed to. It has a very long intro with Simon holding things down as usual, and after about a minute, Robert and Porl come in and there is a lengthy part from Robert that it not quite a solo, but a beautiful bit of groundwork for the lyrics and the remainder of the song. I won’t go on about it much more, but it was beautiful and I hope to hear it again soon. Every minute that passes by, I forget just a little bit more it. For those of you still waiting, it’s worth the wait.
 
At this point, no one can really tell that his voice is gone. I just figured he was singing in a lower register like he does sometimes.
 
Pictures of You- The bass was ridiculously loud. If you watch Deathstar461’s video you can hear for yourself. That was pretty much all you could hear. Once Robert begins to sing, it’s very obvious that his voice is in trouble. He tried as best as he could though.
 
Right after this song it’s where he told us about his voice. Since people have already commented on this I won’t any further, but I have to say that I was a bit nervous because 2 summers ago Depeche Mode came to the same venue and we got about 45 minutes of music before Dave Gahan called it quits. This caused for an ugly scene. While I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Robert Smith, I have to admit that I was nervous that the same thing might happen. This man is a trooper though. He continued to play and gave us what he could, which was everything considering how he felt. That makes me respect him all the more. Lesser people would have played just a few songs and called it a night. Most of them don’t really care; they would just take the money and run. That’s what Depeche Mode did.
 
A Night Like This – Sounded really good. Robert basically talked instead of sang, but that’s ok. Porl sounded great on the solo.
 
The Walk – I was a bit disinterested in hearing this live, but I have to admit it has a new life to it. It actually sounded ”tough”. It was a pleasant surprise.
 
To Wish Impossible Things – Simply beautiful. I know they aren’t playing this one much on the tour. It was wonderful.
 
Lullaby - For those of you who are worried, the keyboards are not missed here. It sounds fine without them.
 
Hot Hot Hot – On the flipside, the keyboard are missed here in some places. Mainly towards the end. I have to say though, this song rocked. Maybe the best way to approach it is like a new version of the song with the same lyrics.
 
The Only One – The guitar parts were far too low. I think they make the song and what I could hear was mainly bass, which was par for the course for most of the evening. Robert was really struggling.
 
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea – A personal favorite, and I think for most people. Here it was evident that he was in rough shape. He had to speak the words rather than wail them away as they normally are done. Rather than “NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER LET ME GO SHE SAID.”  It was, never never let me go she said. Everything was spoken and I felt really bad for him. There is a reason that they have played this song on every tour since Wish. I’m sure he likes this song a lot and he always gives it his all. Tonight was no exception, though his all was far short of what he normally has to give.
 
A Strange Day – I was very happy to hear this song. Musically it sounded great. There were no elongated parts of ,”A straaaaaaaaaaange day,” simply, ,”a – strange – day.” I think it was all he could do to get the words out as punctuated as possible.
 
Just Like Heaven – There was some sort of issue at the beginning of the song. Another timing issue. It was flubbed up for about 5 seconds or so. It sounded really bad.
 
Wrong Number – Largely instrumental.
 
One Hundred Years – Sounded fierce, but there was no extended ending as usual. I think at this point he was struggling so much that they were trying to get to the end of the show.
 
New Song – Very rockin’. As I said in the beginning, it’s pretty straightforward. It reminded me a bit of Primary or possibly Cut, just without the wah- pedal.

1st Encore: If Only Tonight We Could Sleep – There is a video of what he said here to the crowd so I won’t go into it, but the song was incredible as always.
 
The Kiss – Quite possibly the most vicous version of it I have ever heard. I think he was taking his frustrations out on his guitar. Towards the end of the song when they are just rocking out, neither Robert’s, Porl’s or Simon’s feet were moving. It was like they were cemented to the stage and just locked in and in a trance. It was that fierce.

The final encore was good and I knew that it would be it because I think Robert just mentally said screw it on Killing an Arab and just went for broke on his voice and really pushed it. After the song was over, the lights stayed down and I think everyone hoped that they would come back out (there was a 3rd encore scheduled for tonight) but since he went to both sides of the stage to see the crowd I knew that it was over. As he left the stage he was clutching his throat as he did every time he previously left the stage.
 
All in all it was a great show. It was really something special to see how Robert gave it his all despite the fact that his voice was shot. There is a reason why he has been so successful for as long as he has been and that’s because he knows that the fans are what allow him to continue to do what he does. After the show was over I talked to one of the guys that worked the sound board. he had a couple of CD's that were labeled as tonight's show. When I asked him about them he said, "yeah, that was really bad, but Robert wants to hear all of the shows. I have a feeling he won't be releasing this one!" So there is ahope for a live cd since they are recording every show. Keep your fingers crossed.
 
Having said all of that, I would like to address all fans of The Cure: I know that people have been disgruntled about the delay of the new record and the postponement of the tour. I say this with the utmost respect to everyone who is a fan of the Cure. Please cut him some slack. Remember why you love him and the music that he has provided for us over these many years that we love so much. There aren’t many marriages that last 30 years, let alone a band that has provided the soundtrack for our lives. Most bands won’t give you a 3 hour long set. Most bands don’t care enough about their fans enough to endure an illness and play despite contrary medical advice. For those of you seeing him in Colorado, try to remember that he could have easily cancelled the show so that he can recover. He isn’t doing that even though he should. He’s going to end up completely blowing out his voice and he’s doing that for all of us.
 
I have a feeling that after the new album comes out that they will tour again in support of it. Until then I’ll have my fond memories of the best/worst Cure show I have ever seen.

- Frank


Wow - what a great venue the Starlight Theater is - perfect for a  Cure show. We had great seats - best view we have ever had for a Cure  concert. We had to check twice to see if the usher had put us in the  right spot. This was the 9th Cure show for me - second for my wife  and we had a couple of friends with us that we Cure concert virgins.

I must say that even though Robert was suffering with his voice due  to his cold/flu thing - the band sounded perfect!!! I don't think i  have ever seen them so tight. The sound at the Starlight Theater was  great. Simon's bass and the drums from Jason were fantastic. My  friend commented that she didn't know Robert was such a great guitarist.

I have to say that Robert is a trooper. He said his doctor told him  not to sing tonight. But he did not want to disappoint all the fans  that had come a long way to see them play. He said that this must be  the first time that a lot of us had seen them live and that sucks,  but promised to be back with "a much sweeter sounding voice the next  time"  I think they enjoyed playing at Starlight - they always seem  to like the outdoor venues.

I enjoyed listening to the new songs, even though I obviously didn't  know a couple of them at all. They sounded great and I look forward  to hearing them on the new album.

Songs that blew me away were: Shake Dog Shake, The Kiss (brought back  memories from the Kissing Tour in '87 at Wembley Arena) One Hundred  Years, Push!!!, Never Enough (sounded very fresh - Simon's bass  playing was awesome!!) If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, Jumping  Someone Else's Train (never seen them play this live before).

Ok - so the no keyboard thing. It did not make a difference for me at  all having no keyboards. In fact, as other people have said, I think  it made them sound more alive and fresh. They are all such good  musicians, they just powered away all night.

Comments from our Cure virgins: They did not notice Robert's voice  problems (although I kept telling them that they would have been  blown away with his voice if he was well). They danced the night away  and had a great time. One said after, "what have I been missing all  these years, I wish I had listened to them more." "They played  brilliantly together - great sound" was another comment. "I have to  admit, they are good." was another.

Fantastic show guys!! Appreciate it Robert for not canceling the  show. Only you guys could pull it off.

Can't wait to see them again at the Red Rocks show (maybe see them  play Faith at this great venue!!!) and myself and my wife hope that  Robert gets some rest and gets back to that powerful voice we all  know and love.

- Steve


Just a few notes about the show last night that I wanted to share with you.

End of Pictures Of You - Robert - "I am sorry for my voice, I should not even be out here and almost canceled, but we have come all this way and I don't want to disappoint you. I hope that some how it will all come together like fucking magic."

End of Lullaby - Robert - "I am going to need your help tonight."

End of The Only One - Robert "You guys are not helping me out very much, perhaps if we play something you like it will be different, which is the way it fucking should be."

End of Perfect Boy - Robert - "Again I am very sorry about my voice, when we come back my voice will be much sweeter, I promise."

Before the first song of encore - Robert - "I went to the doctor this morning" and the doctor said "NO! You can't go out there, you can't sing tonight" and I was like "Of course I can't fucking sing tonight, but we can still play the music and that's something and something is better than nothing.So we are going to play a few songs with very few words."

I also noticed that the encore songs were changed. At the end of the main set the crew tore up the setlist and taped down new ones. On the original set list was 3IB and a third encore, none of which happened. It was still an amazing night and one to remember.

- Chris


Starlight is a great venue, and looked packed; lots of people standing in the back the whole night.  I really like both of the new songs, I just wish I could have made out any of the lyrics. Robert really pushed his voice for the opening song, but it was obvious from the first line that he sounded awful. He messed up a lot of the lyrics in POY, probably distracted by how much his throat hurt.  Then came the first apology of the night.  He made some reference that I didn't quite catch, something like "just pretend it's (someone with a low and scratchy voice, I assume) covers the Cure tonight".  To Wish Impossible Things was a nice surprise and change of pace, but otherwise, a pretty standard setlist.  The second new song blew me away, a rather heavy, hard rock song, and the band was very much into it.  They really do sound great live as a 4-piece.  Simon's bass was a bit too loud from my viewpoint, kinda drowned out some of Porl's guitar, but the parts I did hear reminded me of how great of a guitarist he really is.  Doing some crazy things to play the keyboard parts, and I didn't miss them at all.

Robert spoke onstage more than I've ever seen.  At the beginning of the first encore, he apologized again for his voice, and said something to the extent of "I swear, in 30 years of singing I've never had anything like this.  The doctor told me not to play tonight cause I can't sing.  I know I can't fucking sing!  But all these people came out tonight, and the alternative is having no show at all, so I figured you wanted us to play! <big applause> ...I promise you that next time around my voice will sound much sweeter <more applause>...look at the bright side, I could have always sounded like this..."

You could tell that Robert was really pushing his voice in the "old school" encore, like he felt terrible that we didn't get the best Cure show ever.  A lot of bands would have canceled under these circumstances, and the fact that he struggled through it reminded me of how much Robert does care about us and his music.  Lots of disappointment when the lights came on at 10:40, but I think everyone understood.  All in all, a great show despite the vocal issues; definitely made my trip from St. Louis worthwhile.  And Robert mentioning a "next time" is always a good sign!

- Casey


The Starlight venue is fantastic (especially for Kansas City!) Nice outdoor stage, pretty surrounding architecture, fountains, archways, etc. combine that with the beautifully mild weather and you've got a very comfortable environment in which to see the show.

 65 Days of Static were pretty good, somewhat derivative of Mogwai, but still nice, the crowd seemed to enjoy them and they seemed into their set.

 Now, we all know Robert was sick but boy I did not expect him to sound this bad! He starts off with a bit of energy but that drains by around the third song and he starts incoherently mumbling into the mic. Even though I doubt anyone understands what he says they cheer anyway… go figure. He never really hit a single high-note throughout the entire evening.

The acoustics and general "sound" of the venue were pretty good overall but when the Cure played it seemed Robert's guitar and mic were mixed far lower than any of the other components. This was especially noticeable because he wasn't really singing, more like talking and running out of breath continuously. He did apologize almost right after the first song by saying "I apologize if this is the first time you've been to see us, and I suspect it is for most of you, as I can't sing tonight" then he said something about if we knew the words to sing with/for him. Then after another couple songs he mumbled a long string of something accentuated with quite a few "fucks"…

 Despite my slight personal disappointment with the set list (I wanted the one which started with "Open") I can understand why we got it; it's comprised of the more mellow songs and tracks with a larger percentage of them being more rooted in the instrumental intros and solos than vocal hooks and melodies. Then of course all the older songs, which don't really require signing anyway… regardless there were still quite a few stand out performances, "A Night Like This" and "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea" were incredible as was "A Strange Day" (my least favorite cut from Pornography, so a very pleasant surprise)and "The Kiss" was the most brutal sounding thing I've ever heard the Cure play. Of course we also got a few new songs which sounded pretty good. Overall for as sick and as bad as Robert sounded the band still sounded really good, so it was still a solid performance overall.

About halfway through the main set though Robert really started having trouble with his voice and sounded like he was falling asleep while talking. He was almost inaudible during large portions of songs and sometimes just flat out stopped singing for a few seconds.

After the main set was over the band took a short break and when they returned for the first encore Robert spoke pretty lengthily and surprisingly you could actually understand what he was saying; he was annunciating! He said (and I'm paraphrasing, but this is pretty damn near verbatim) "I feel really horrible tonight, in my thirty years of signing I have never felt this bad while on stage. The doctor told me I shouldn't be here tonight.  He told me I couldn't sing, and I said, I know I can't sing but you all come here and do all of this and everyone puts so much into it, then you have to just play the fucking songs. (HUGE cheers from the crowd) So I apologize but it's about you, the fans and the music" Then they started into the first encore of the night.
So, good show, but disappointing due to Robert's illness, but I can't be upset, I have to give the man major credit for muscling through the entire show even though it was obvious he felt like total shit. He didn't give up and he still gave us a solid two plus hours of great music. Thank you Robert!

- Surrealist Gesture