Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Cure Tour 2016 article
Hank Donovan wrote a really nice article on rediscovering The Cure and getting to see them twice on the current tour. Here's a couple of excerpts, but go to Effects Bay for the full story:
"They started the tour in New Orleans. I was able to purchase tickets for my wife and I at the Hollywood Bowl (excited to see this show in a such a historical venue). I figured if I see the set list (via setlist.fm – amazing site for the obsessed) in New Orleans, I would get an idea on what songs to expect for our show weeks later. They played 2 nights in New Orleans, and the sets were SO different. Okay.. they must be playing a Set A and Set B for each show. Both sets were awesome, so I was excited for either one. Then they played Texas.. different set. What.. is going on? By the time they played the Hollywood Bowl, they played 70 distinct songs on this tour. They were playing B-Sides, rarities, the hits.. old and new. It was clear, this was going to be a tour for the fans.
............
The show gave me a melancholy feeling though – and not because it’s the Cure. The crowd all had smiles. Everyone was singing along. So much love focused to the band. The melancholy feeling was.. is this the last Cure tour? It felt like a “last blast” for the fans. I didn’t want it to end. But then again, I’ve thought it was the end.. since 1989 and they always seem to continually bring it." (Thanks Reeves)
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This is a popular sentiment (once again)- that this tour is the last one ever. And people are citing the b-sides and unreleased songs and fan favorites, but 2008 had the exact same thing: they played the Big Hand and aBINK and all those (at the time unreleased) 4:13 Dream songs... it's not impossible that this is the last big Cure Tour, but citing the music as being indicative of this fact really doesn't mean much. If we fans let the "last tour blues" bother us, we'd be a miserable lot. Robert loves being on stage. He'll be sick of it by year's end, but then he will miss it and we will get festival shows or Trilogy-esque shows or maybe 5 Imaginary Boys might play again! I hope no one gets too weighed down with post tour melancholy... we will see them again.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I LOVE The Cure if all they do from here on out are festivals then it essentially is the end. I'm way too old to go to a festival with no seating surrounded by drunk 20 years olds and I'm not the only one who feels that way. There are others who balk at the cost of attending a festival when the only band they're interested in is The Cure.
DeleteI don't just think its the setlists that has people
thinking its the end. Robert is 57 after all and as much as he loves performing he has never liked the travel that comes along with large World Tours.
Now a Reflections 2 tour would be a dream . . .
I don't think it's the end. I agree that they will be back but probably in a much smaller scale doing festivals, Trilogy shows, or even one off shows like the Christmas shows or Teenage Cancer Trust. As far as the b-sides, rarities, and unreleased material being played on this tour, I strongly feel that it was a combination of Robert playing some songs that Cure fans have wanted to hear for years and Reeves coming in giving a suggestion or two on songs he would like to play with the band. But regardless of what the future holds, I think this was a phenomenal tour. I think Reeves brought something into this band that that nobody realized was missing until this tour (if that makes any sense.) I've seen them on every tour since the Kiss Me days and I think this tour was the second best I have seen, The Prayer Tour being my favorite, and it was incredible. You could not only see, but you could feel how much fun they were having from the energy throughout the crowd, through their interactions with each other and the fans, and from the music. I don't they could end on this, but if they do, it was a wonderful and beautiful way for them to bring it to an end.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's the end. I agree that they will be back but probably in a much smaller scale doing festivals, Trilogy shows, or even one off shows like the Christmas shows or Teenage Cancer Trust. As far as the b-sides, rarities, and unreleased material being played on this tour, I strongly feel that it was a combination of Robert playing some songs that Cure fans have wanted to hear for years and Reeves coming in giving a suggestion or two on songs he would like to play with the band. But regardless of what the future holds, I think this was a phenomenal tour. I think Reeves brought something into this band that that nobody realized was missing until this tour (if that makes any sense.) I've seen them on every tour since the Kiss Me days and I think this tour was the second best I have seen, The Prayer Tour being my favorite, and it was incredible. You could not only see, but you could feel how much fun they were having from the energy throughout the crowd, through their interactions with each other and the fans, and from the music. I don't they could end on this, but if they do, it was a wonderful and beautiful way for them to bring it to an end.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this is the last tour. Many "see you agains." I can't imagine why Reeves would learn almost 100 songs if he's only a temp on a single, world tour. The band just got out of a law suit over the unused songs from 4:13 Dream, which I think explains why we heard nothing for so long about them. Also, why would they have so much new equipment if this were the last tour? There are a number of remarks about this band that drive me crazy, some generated by people, some by the band. It is annoying to hear "this is the last tour, most likely, probably" from Robert. But it's also annoying to read so many reviews that predictably portray this band as "doom and gloom" or goth or mopey or dark. The reviews of The Cure by so many journalists read like all they did was read a number of other generic reviews of the band. 37 years covers a lot of ground, lots of sounds, lots of projects. I would love to see a Trilogy show, would love to see smaller venue engagements. Considering how many musicians have died this year, I wonder if Robert just took the opportunity to celebrate how much time he has left, take advantage of the fact that he can simply go around the world and play his music and NOT promote a new album at all, but just be appreciated and show their appreciation for us.
ReplyDeleteUmmmmmm lawsuit?!
Deletehttp://www.franchiseherald.com/articles/34973/20150810/robert-smith-the-cure-new-album.htm
DeleteRobert has ended concerts with "See You Again" for as long as I can remember.
DeleteReeves has been with The Cure for 4 years so its not like he just learned the songs for the 2016 World Tour.
Nobody is saying/believing that at the end of this tour The Cure is NEVER going to play live again but many people fear that this is the last North American Tour and/or World Tour.
I am comforted by the fact that in an interview a few years back (2013 or 2014? I think) Robert mentioned how impressed he was with a show the Rolling Stones did and he thought he was going to have to just be tactful about their performance but instead he GENUINELY thought the show was great. So he is seeing other musicians stilling bringing it in their 70's so that bodes well BUT in the same interview he said he has people who will be honest with him about when it's time to go and that he knows his voice won't hold up forever.
Needless to say I hope and pray that those who believe there will never be another NA tour are WRONG.
I don't know if everyone remembers BUT when the did the smaller venue shows you mention for The Reflections Tour there were only shows in NY, LA and London. Now I wouldn't miss out because I live in New York BUT a lot of other people would miss out.
1989: "Shortly after that, The Cure broke up"
ReplyDeleteI can see that if people in the US thought The Cure had broken up in 1989 (!) why you are getting all pessimistic, but hey, I really did see them break up in 1982. That was a real break up. We really thought that was the end, especially when Robert joined The Banshees.
I've never seen a happier band than on this tour and the frequent "see you again" comments from Robert has me wondering, what tour have you been watching!?!
Agreed. This is a band full of life, love, and creativity. We will see them again and again and again and again....lots of great music to come. What a tour!
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying if I had let it get to me each time they called it the end, I would have Spent a large portion of my life upset over nothing. I honestly don't feel like this is it.
ReplyDelete