As most of you know, Robert injured his hand at the Vegas show, causing it to become very swollen. Here's a look at it:
"I took one of andys photos from coachella and one of mine from the pearl and robert's hand looks really swollen in the coachella pic and perfect in the pearl pic." (Thanks SaraB)
He was holding his arm as he walked offstage after the main set too. Can't believe he came back on and played The Kiss like that (not to mention all the other encores).
ReplyDeleteHis fingers were taped up for the encores as well.
Do we know yet if it was a cut or a sprain???
ReplyDeleteOuch - that makes a lot of sense for what happened in Vegas and makes what went on at Coachella of the more effing hardcore!
ReplyDeleteYou can't ever take the punk out of that cuddly old man!
Great spot Sara!
Well said RbnTR! I second that.
ReplyDelete"You can't ever take the punk out of that cuddly old man!"
ReplyDeleteBest Quote Ever.
Ouch!
ReplyDeleteI would think it would be more of a sprain...I am no doctor, but I wouldn't think that a cut would cause swelling like that....
ReplyDeleteIt's the same thing when he was really sick and still did the KC show instead of canceling. He knows how much his fans support him and he doesn't want to let them down....unlike Depeche Mode who stopped the show in KC because Dave had throat issues (not surprisingly after his birthday, hmm…) after a handful of songs.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Robert Smith is to be admired for toughing it out. He could have screwed over the fans by playing the minimum, which is usually 60 minutes to get paid the full amount and not have to issue refunds to the audience. That’s the easy way out.
I’m sure there are some DM fans that will flame me over this, but that’s what happened. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of DM and have been for over 20 years but it still sucks.
Many kudos to Robert for his efforts.
Or like Morrissey who cancels anytime he gets a sniffle...or a show isn't selling very well. : P
ReplyDeleteJust a reminder....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTvHDzpVN_Y
i hope his hand gets better soon! i admire him for toughing it out. i am proud to be a cure fan!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard his KC apology before. Very cool. :)
ReplyDeleteV: Not a CoF reader? : P
ReplyDeleteCraig: Nah, not really. :P
ReplyDelete"can't ever take the punk out of that cuddly old man!"
ReplyDeleteYES! Truer words were never spoken! <3 8D
I noticed how swollen his hand was at Coachella, but when looking at the contrast with Vegas it becomes very obvious... See Vegas peeps? No reason to be angry or to stop being a fan! Robert did what he could. How he was able to do what he did at Coachella I will never know (super human feat!) ...unless it just looks worse then it actually is, if that's possible?! Proud as ever to be a Cure fan, dammit.
Get better soon, Robert! We looooves youuuuu!
Dang, Sara and Andy need to open a detective agency asap! The visuals would make Sherlock Holmes proud!!
ReplyDeletemaybe someone hooked him up with some morphine :)
ReplyDeleteOh, God, don't get me started on Morrissey, Craig. Still refusing to tour Canada because working class people make a hard living off of seal-hunting, but he has no trouble with touring war-mongering, occupying nations. I wish that dick on Pitchfork Ryan Dombal would realize that instead of continually taking potshots at The Cure, while praising Morrissey continually.
ReplyDeleteRobert is really amazing, and he didn't even talk about it to the press. How'd whomever figure out he injured it?
I thought it looked swollen, but I assumed it had to do with weight. I'm way more overweight than Robert and my hands are kinda chubby, too.
lol sara! I thought about that... Although, I've heard if you take enough of it, morphine can make you think you can fly! X)
ReplyDeleteHe didn't seem high? Maybe just enough to dull the pain; but that looks awfully painful... still don't know how he pulled off playing like he did...
Sara: I hope not?! O.o
ReplyDelete________
And The Cure always plays longer than any other band I've seen, and not to brag, but I've been to more shows than I can even remember!
...Including (and on the subject of) Moz's shows I've been to. He only played for a little over an hour when we saw him last month! What a jip! :P
Um, when and where did Robert say that he injured his hand during 'The Kiss'?
ReplyDeleteShawn, I was wondering that too.
ReplyDeleteI heard it was during The Kiss due to a broken string, but that is just rumor, and I'm not really sure to be honest...
I am fairly sure that I can diagnose this.
ReplyDeleteThe condition is called star power and is fairly common in true rock gods.
It builds up in your hand making it look swollen.
To release the pressure and reduce the swelling, the rock god must use the affected hand to raise and point the guitar straight up.
There is usually a hissing while the pressure is released, however, this is inaudible as the crowd goes wild.
LMAO VACANCY SMILES! I LOVE GUITAR HERO!
ReplyDeleteShawn & Anah: Robert said that on Saturday when he was leaving The Palms Hotel.
ReplyDeleteBrandon told me that Robert talked with a few people before getting on the bus, was said to be in a great mood and very chatty, but his hand was extremely swollen, and he also apologized several times for the abrupt ending.
Don't know if a string cut him or what it was.
its weird that a busted string would hurt him so bad, but nothings impossible with physics! also there was a violinist whos string broke and his eye was taken out because of that... thank god rsx wasnt playing the kiss on the violin! lol
ReplyDeleteCould just be over worked and over played hand syndrome....you know like tendonitis. Anyone playing and instrument for that long for years, repetitive motions can cause some weird things.
ReplyDeleteDepeche Mode live shows are horrid. I refuse to go to them.
ReplyDeleteBTW - their new single Wrong is... well, wrong. It too is horrid.
I am so disappointed. First Duran puts out a rank album, now it seems DM is too.
Thank God for THE CURE!!!
TY C~ XD
ReplyDelete____________
And @ TVS: Agreed! What an astute diagnosis!
Oh god, dont say that about Depeche, my first live gig will be them in december! unless the cure are around here before then! =]
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, it wouldn't swell like that from a cut, of course. Unless it was instantly, terribly infected, in which case it would be life-threatening. Gotta be tendonitis or something like carpal tunnel syndrome. It may be likely that he got pain meds before Coachella so he could play and not be wincing in pain the whole time.
ReplyDeleteAnd how's this: given that they get charged $1,000 a minute for going over, RS was willing to pay up to $40-50,000 out of his pocket just to put on a better show. There have been many other times too where the band would be charged $10k or so for going over, but RS did anyway, and you can bet he wasn't letting the charges be spread to his bandmates. That's one hell of a generous artist.
Don't listen to Kent; Depeche live shows are incredible. They're barely 2 hours long, a far cry from a Cure length show, but they give their all just as Robert and co. do. Their shows are like parties. The amount energy is insane.
ReplyDeleteYou don't get swelling like that from a cut unless it is a severe laceration (like in a car wreck)
ReplyDeleteCarpal tunnel does not cause swelling like that either.
He might have punched his guitar, or twisted his wrist, or fell back stage in the dark, or whatever.
If they did anything for the pain it would have been a local injection in the hand to numb it up. But even that seems doubtful because it could have made it hard for him to hold his pick (to be able to feel it)
Oral pain meds like Vicodin or Percocet wouldn't have really done much for that type of pain...
Bottom line Robert's pretty bad ass!!!!
(but we ALL know that) : ) : ) : )
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ReplyDeleteOn a better note, the new Pet Shop Boys Album is pretty good! DM did take a couple listens, but I like it as well.
ReplyDeleteApril - we can certainly agree there. The new PSB album is great! I've listened to 'The Way It Used To Be' about a thousand hours so far...
ReplyDeleteJust my opinion on DM. I think Dave Gahan sounds terrible live. All those 'yea' and 'whoo's' are very annoying.
Personally, I think it looks like the string whapped his hand pretty good across the back of it when it broke, causing some soft tissue damage which would account for the swelling. If it left a bruise, he could cover it with makeup and all you would see is the swelling. Whatever happened, Robert is a true punk badass, and I don't think he's an "old man" yet either. Thanks Robert and the band for a truly insane set ending at Coachella!!
ReplyDeleteRSX YOUR MY HERO! YOU SO ROCK!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I COULD HAVE BEEN AT COACHELLA FOR THE MAKE UP SEX or um I MEAN MAKE UP SHOW ;)
VEGAS was AMAZING!!
Thats amazing he was still able to play and for so long,so punk...
ReplyDeletep.s.is anyone else having trouble with the curemfc site?doesnt seem to open for days now,..
"and I don't think he's an "old man" yet either."
ReplyDeleteSorry about that Rev. You're right!!
I'm sooo loving the Coachella audio... The way Robert interacts with the crowd is just too precious. I swear he sounds like a kid at certain moments. I'm so glad it was recorded; something tells me that was the best birthday he's ever had...
As for the repetitive motions, I'm familiar with that sort of discomfort as I play a couple of instruments, but that's what exercise is for!
Whatever the case, let's all send positive thoughts that Robert's injury is a trivial one!
Morris: I could kiss you.
ReplyDeleteI really could.
I am also listening to the Coachella audio and *love* it. I really want to thank you for doing that!
"You can't ever take the punk out of that cuddly old man!"....Has to be the best thing said about RS!!!
ReplyDeleteOh I do hope Robert's hand is a bit better today and it is nothing to serious. It looks so painful in that picture. Ouch!
But he is the best of the bad asses out there. HE ROCKS!!! Playing Coachella despite the pain! The man is amazing! It's just too cool that he played on without any complaints! We love you for all you do!
Hey mrpinkeyes,
ReplyDeleteI remember Geri the webmaster of the MFC said on here that the images on The Cure's Myspace page are hosted on her server.
She kind of thought that maybe with all the heavy traffic on there now with the Troubadour Show songs may cause the MFC to have issues.
So I'm assuming that could be the problem since I took notice the problems stated after that but I could be wrong as to the real reason.
Can i say something about the breaking guitar string theory?
ReplyDeleteThere's no way that could have caused the swelling to Robert's hand!
I've broken plenty of strings and i only played in a band in college for a few semesters!!! Robert's probably broken hundreds over his career!
And when they break they just sag! They don't go whipping around like crazy! : ) Half the time you don't even realize it until you hear it.
Hey Morris,
ReplyDeleteConsider me schooled on guitar strings breaking, thanks =)
Yeah I agree with Morris, it doesn't see to me that a broken guitar string could have caused that much swelling if it somehow hit him when it broke. Maybe he hurt it doing something else and playing the guitar intensely like he did on The Kiss just made it worse?
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened, we may never know but I hope he's taking a good rest at home and his had is feeling much better today.
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/hand_swelling/causes.htm
Thanks cure_kitty that must be it...its really annoying..
ReplyDeleteDid anyon tape coachella?? theres only 2 ytube vids...its such a great show
btw its MSpinkeyes but whatever
A guitar string can in fact injure a person when it breaks, it's just highly unlikely.
ReplyDelete