Riot Fest food vendor lists

"Chicago: We’re happy to welcome over 50 food vendors to the fest this year to help satisfy all of your carnivorous, omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan needs! Toronto and Denver, your food vendors will be unveiled this week too!"

Update (08/27/14): Toronto! You finally got something announced today! Too bad it's just your food vendor list, but hey, it's something.
Wait, you finally get your FAQ, too.
They have to release your map, & schedule soon, right?

"This year’s Riot Fest & Expo in Toronto, ON will feature a wide array of food options sure to cover the bases for any taste palate. Whether you’re craving carnival food, a burger, tacos, or some dessert, these 20+ vendors will have delicious fixings to satisfy your hunger and taste buds!"

Update (08/29/14): And nere's your list, Denver. "We are pleased to announce the official RIOT FEAST! Check out all the goodness these amazing vendors will provide this September. We're hungry..."

More Porl items up for auction

Some more items from Porl Thompson are being auctioned.

Lot 20 - PORL THOMPSON OF THE CURE - collection of items owned and used by Porl during tours with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and The Cure to include spiked leather wrist cuff, 2 x guitar straps (1 x black/1 x white), black velvet pin striped sleeve with velcro fastenings, Paul's backstage pass for 'The Cure 4 Tour' 2007/8, Ontek Lifeguard guitar humidifier model 100S and a small tin containing 16 x plectrums (9 are personalised with Porl's name). Also included is a small 12 page booklet with images of the band which has some water damage.

Lot 21 - PORL THOMPSON OF THE CURE - collection of items owned and used by Porl during tours with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and The Cure to include spiked leather wrist cuff, 2 x backstage passes for 'The Cure 4 Tour' 2007/8 in Porl's name, black Seymour Duncan guitar strap and 8 personalised guitar plectrums. (Thanks Perfect.Murder and @HaloCure13)

Win passes to Denver Riot Fest

Win passes from Greeblehaus.

"WIN (2) THREE DAY passes to #riotfestdenver courtesy of #MyxedUp and @SodaJerkCO! Just stop in any Myxed Up store & ask to sign up!"

Guitar World's 10 Stellar Headphone Albums

From Guitar World:

The Cure, Disintegration (1989)
They say that guitarist Robert Smith was using hallucinogenic drugs throughout the coarse of this beautifully textured album. Like Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, the sound of the album reflects his trippy state of mind. Listening to Disintegration under headphones is like stepping into someone else’s dream—and a rather dark one, at that. (Thanks Greg)

Another great Lego set

My new #TheCureinLego set. Studio Davout, Paris 1982 :) more pics : http://t.co/lDEM5599Jq #Lego #TheCure @CraigatCoF pic.twitter.com/8gB4tuphEB

— Guillaume G_z (@guillaume_g_z) August 27, 2014

#RobertSmith from @thecure in 1982 at Studio Davout, Paris, in #Lego More pics at http://t.co/lDEM5599Jq @CraigatCoF pic.twitter.com/jOzIW3SZbH

— Guillaume G_z (@guillaume_g_z) August 27, 2014

Chicago Riot Fest Aftershows announced

Also, Television has been added to the Riot Fest lineup on Sept. 13th, replacing Marky Ramone.

Update (08/26/14): Some changes & additions. From Riot Fest on Facebook - "Chicago. We just added some Aftershows, well technically they are pre-parties. The Murder City Devils at Double Door. Also, we know that tickets for the Television Aftershow went very quickly, so to give more people an opportunity to see them, the show has been moved to Sunday, September 14th at Bottom Lounge. Tickets are on sale now, get them while they're still available! http://riotfest.org/chicago-official-shows/" 

More bands for Denver Riot Fest

From Riot Fest on Facebook: "DENVER. JUST ADDED: STRUNG OUT, Frnkiero and the Cellabration, Baby Baby, The Picturebooks, All Out Helter, Wiredogs, Brick + Mortar, Only Crime, Touche Amore, The Epilogues, The Dendrites, and In The Whale.
Tickets on sale now!! http://riotfest.org/denver/tickets/
SHARE or COMMENT for a chance to WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS!"

They've also added one more aftershow:
Sunday Sept. 21st
THE EXPENDABLES
w/ Passafire
MARQUIS THEATER - 2009 LARIMER ST.
DOORS: 10 PM - ALL AGES
BUY HERE

Andy Vella interview

From Classic Rock: 

A book featuring rare and previously unseen photographs of The Cure is set for release next month.

Collated by the band's official photographer Andy Vella, Obscure will be released on September 18 and includes a foreword by frontman Robert Smith.

Smith says the book is "dreadfully funny, terribly honest and strangely melancholic."

Vella co-created the artwork for many of The Cure's albums, including Faith, The Top, The Head On The Door, Disintegration and Wish, and has worked with the band since 1981.

The book features photographs spanning four decades and includes shots from this year's gig at The Royal Albert Hall.

"I get something different from Robert because I've known him for so long", Vella tells Classic Rock. "He plays to my lens in a completely different way to others. When I'm photographing other people, for example fashion shoots, it's very much like I'm in charge, but when I photograph The Cure, they are. Quite often, the band don't take me very seriously: Boris Williams [former drummer] used to throw stuff at me, while Roger O'Donnell would always say that my flash hadn't gone off. As a result, I'm able to capture the band enjoying themselves in a way that isn't usually seen.

"It really annoys me when I read about the band being such miserable bastards, because they're really not, and I think I capture that. I want Cure fans to see them in the way that I do. You can go on the web and see loads of shots of Robert, but the problem with press shoots is that they always show the band in a certain way. This is different: it's a little bit fly-on-the-wall.

"I think fans will end up loving the band more than they do already. When I was putting this all together, I was thinking 'there's so much stuff!', but it feels like a really powerful collection. It's not pretentious, and it's not po-faced: from page to page, it's more like a documentary. And that's what I wanted."

Obscure is available now to pre-order from Foruli Codex. 
(Thanks David)

Some recent Cure articles

"Strange Days: an expression of sounds", part one 1977-1979
"Strange Days: an expression of sounds", part two taster

Lost & Found: Where’s the Cure’s Horn Section and Robert Smith’s Crazy Hair?

The Cure ditched the wallowing and tried to get laid

(Thanks @godwinafaith, @TacchinoGigante, and David)

Cure on recent "Best of" lists

'Boys Don't Cry' is #70 on BBC Radio 2's Greatest Guitar Riffs. (Thanks @Stigmurder)

'Friday I'm In Love' is #40 on Absolute Radio's Top 100 Songs of the 90s. (Thanks @AaronLaw92)

Cure on Sky Arts 1

Sky Arts 1 are showing:

Sun 24th 19:30 Video Killed the Radio Star – The Cure

[Rpt: Mon 25th 01:15, Fri 29th 07:00]

Sun 24th 20:00 The Cure Live at Hurricane Festival 

[Rpt: Mon 25th 01:45, Thu 28th 12:30, Fri 29th 07:30] 

UK times. (Thanks Warren)

Chicago Riot Fest map & more attractions

"In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we are incredibly excited to reveal our new festival grounds in the north section of Humboldt Park. With the fest now operating between W. North Ave. and W. Division St. as the north and south boundaries, and within N. Kedzie Ave. and N. California Ave. as the west and east boundaries, there will be lots of room for our 7 stages, over a dozen carnival rides, custom 9-hole mini-golf course, haunted house brought to you by Zombie Army Productions, Lucha Libre wrestling, Gospel For The Guilty burlesque show, Hellzapoppin Circus Sideshow Revue, chainsaw sculpting, a classic 20-game arcade with all proceeds going to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, and a wine bar. There will even be an additional 8th stage on Friday to house the special interactive panel with Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alekhina of Pussy Riot.

1, 2, and 3-day passes, as well as all-you-can-ride carnival passes are still available but are going fast. 3-Day passes are nearly sold out and select single-day passes are gone now too. Don’t wait, get your tickets while they’re still available!" Festival Passes / Carnival & Haunted House Passes"

More from Riot Fest: "And yes, we will have a dedicated taxi stand and a shit ton more CTA buses this year." Also, printed schedules, not just digital.


There's going to be a freaking haunted house attraction! And a classic arcade. I swear it's like they are building this just for me and my interests! :) Really wishing I was going 2 days now. This is going to be a blast!

Win tickets to the Riot Fest of your choice

Consequence of Sound has a contest to win tickets to the Riot Fest of your choice. And if you use this link (http://ptab.it/3SRzC) to enter, you'll give me 5 extra entries. Thanks!

Final day to enter for this one.

Denver Riot Fest aftershows

Riot Fest passes have arrived!

Will be my first time seeing The Cure in Colorado, and my first time seeing them play in a football stadium parking lot. Or any type of parking lot, for that matter. :) Should be fun!

Update (08/16/14): And my Chicago pass arrived today! 2nd time seeing them in Illinois, though first time in Chicago proper. Dream Tour was in Tinley Park, IL. My favorite show on that tour, and Top 5 of all time.
Also my 2nd time seeing them in a city park, and at a festival. Voodoo 2013 was the first for both of those.

Now to hope for no schedule conflicts, so that I can see some combination of The Cure, Billy Bragg, Tegan & Sara, Cheap Trick, and Weezer. But if I can just see The Cure & Billy Bragg, I'll be happy.

Sorry for the useless post, just a bit excited about this. :)

Cure in Sept. Record Collector

Record Collector will be running a Cure feature in next month's issue, which will be on sale June 19th. (Thanks Lars)

Update (06/18/14): From Record Collector on Facebook: "Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances - the upcoming CURE feature previously advertised will now run at a later date."

Update (07/14/14): "Just got the new July Record Collector (UK). There is an ad for the August edition, on sale Aug 14 in UK, and it says, “Next Month in Record Collector: The Cure (Honest!)”  (Thanks artwwweb)

Update (08/05/14): Here's the cover. Unfortunately, it's just an "Early Years" article, nothing new.

Update (08/12/14): From artwwweb - "10 page article, inc. listings of UK collectables 1978-1982, Top 11 Memorabilia and Top 21 Worldwide Rarities." 

Update (08/14/14): Out today in shops & online, or buy a digital copy on iTunes. Subscribers can read the article here. 

Reeves with Earl Slick & Lisa Ronson

Had a great day making music with friends: Earl Slick, Lisa Ronson, Reeves Gabrels. Photo by @WilcoxTommy. http://t.co/TZkZQLPl6U
— reeves gabrels (@reevesgabrels) August 13, 2014

A.V. Club on 'Let's Go To Bed'

From The A.V. Club:

The Cure ditched the wallowing and tried to get laid
By Josh Modell  Aug. 12th, 2014  1:00 PM

In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing. This week, with Let’s Be Cops coming to theaters, we’re picking our favorite songs with “let’s” in the title.

By many accounts, the members of The Cure were in relatively terrible mental shape around 1982, which makes sense considering they sang about death and dying for three albums in a row (that’d be the classic platters of misery Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography). Robert Smith seemed fairly sure he didn’t even want to continue the band, so he figured it’d be fine to take a sharp turn, which took the form of the 1982 single “Let’s Go To Bed.” Smith called the song “stupid,” “rubbish,” and “a joke,” saying it was “everything I hated about music at the time.” It was, of course, a massive hit, and it led Smith down a poppy path that would produce some of his finest work in the ensuing years. Even by modern pop standards, “Let’s Go To Bed” doesn’t sound particularly pandering; sure, it has some “doo-doo”s and a friendly-enough keyboard sound, but it’s far from high gloss. (The biggest hits of 1982 were by Olivia Newton-John and Survivor, to provide some reference point.) No, “Let’s Go To Bed” seemed like something almost entirely new, a pop subgenre inspired by the dour goth from whence it came, but with an odd self-assurance. And as much as Smith liked to shit-talk the song at the time, it clearly inspired him to make more like it: “The Walk” and “The Lovecats” followed, complete with a raft of B-sides that signaled The Cure Version 3.0. (Version 1.0 was the differently poppy “Boys Don’t Cry” era.) And ultimately it led to The Cure’s finest hour, 1985’s The Head On The Door. (Thanks @TacchinoGigante)

Slowdive loves The Cure - Part 2

Under The Radar has an interview with Rachael & Neil of Slowdive, where the band once again mentions their love for The Cure:

"Rachel had a slight goth leaning that I certainly didn't share. I really hated all that stuff," Halstead says, laughing. "But then Nick kind of liked that stuff as well, and we all really liked The Cure."

"I used to love The Smiths—I still do—and The Cure," says Goswell. "Nick would probably say his bass playing was inspired in part by Simon Gallup and in part by Hooky [Peter Hook] from New Order. I think those two are bass guitar gods in his eyes. Neil was more indie, like The Primitives and Talulah Gosh and stuff, in the early days." (Thanks John)

Win passes to Toronto Riot Fest

Village Voice is giving away a pair of VIP passes.

And another chance to win some at Riff You.

3 more chances to win passes from Aesthetic Magazine, Thirty Four Flavours & The Drake.