The Cure – MSG 6-20-08

Underneath The Stars @ Madison Square Garden



There is so much to say about this show. Where to start is the dilemma. The performance I guess…

The Cure were at the top of their game. The main set ran for two hours and the three encores stretched the show to run for three hours total. Not one minute was wasted. The show gave The Cure’s career a fair and balanced representation. They opened with a few languid and jangely pieces that claimed all of the space in arena as nothing other than Cure territory. From there they delivered pockets of infectious pop songs, oppressive doom and gloom, more jangely spacious numbers, hard rocking pounders, silly dance tunes, and finally a set of early post punk brilliance. Thirty years of songs and history built to a very strong performance that blended well and still felt vital and new. They played six new songs from their upcoming LP and they not only held their own alongside classic songs, but some of them even stole the show. Robert even let loose a little between songs and talked more than usual, (which is still not much). Normally, he doesn’t say much more than the occasional, “thank you,” or, “thank you, goodnight.” This evening he was feeling rather randy and poking fun at himself for mumbling when he talks to the crowd. He even went so far as to repeatedly mimic himself. He clearly was having as good of a time as I was.

They are playing as a four piece band for the first time in a very long time in their career. For the past 20 years, they have been playing as a five piece band with keyboards in the fifth spot. The keys are gone and all of the keyboard parts have been picked up on guitar. As a result they sound much more raw and lively. This is also the first time that they have toured the US since Porl Thompson returned to the band on guitar. The Cure’s sound definitely missed Porl’s sense of texture during his absence.

I am happy to report that I still have not missed a tour since I first saw them in 1992. Every time I see them I am in awe of just how much I connect to all of their music. Given how good this show was, I plan to continue that streak for as long as they keep coming around.

The set list, care of my friends at ChainOfFlowers:

Underneath The Stars, Prayers For Rain, A Night Like This, The End of the World, Lovesong, To Wish Impossible Things, Pictures of You, Lullaby, Fascination Street, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, The Perfect Boy, Hot Hot Hot, The Only One, Wrong Number, The Walk, Sleep When I'm Dead, Push, Friday I'm In Love, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Charlotte Sometimes, One Hundred Years, Baby Rag Dog Book

1st encore: If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, The Kiss
2nd encore: Freakshow, Close To Me, Why Can't I Be You?
3rd encore: Boys Don't Cry, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Grinding Halt, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab

I'm going...

Sorry for the lack of posts, but it is just that time of year. The good news is that I will be going to see The Cure in New York this coming weekend. I will maintain my track record of having not missed a tour since I first saw them in '92. I lamented the fact that I was going to miss this one for long enough. A week ago, more tickets were put up for sale and I jumped on it. My friend Rob and I will be in the nose bleed seats. The Fuse network is supposed to broadcast parts of the show as it is going on Friday night. If you have Fuse, tune in at 11 and look for me when they scan the crowd. I'll be the one in black. Review to come.

SOTD - Grinderman/Honey Bee (Let's Fly To Mars)

It's no secret that Nick Cave is high on my list of respected artists. His career has weathered a long and tenacious span and enjoyed it's years of inspiration and suffered periods of stale monotony. The last few years have seen a revitalization in his song writing and energy in his performances. It also saw him move beyond the comfort of the Bad Seeds by starting Grinderman. Granted, Grinderman is made of select members of the Bad Seeds, it did shake things up and work as a situational muse. The result is a high octane recollection of his first band, the Birthday Party. The self-titled album is a raw and rockin' romp. It also yielded one of the best songs I've heard in a long time, "Honey Bee (Let's Fly To Mars)." The song swells with guitars and energy with wailing keyboards and the man even buzzes like an angry bee during the chorus. This live version even has him flapping his arms like a bee. Way to Kick Ass, Nick! The new found energy carries over into his new Bad Seeds record. Check out the title track, "Dig! Lazarus, Dig!"

SOTD - Sigur Ros/Gobbledigook

Well, here is something to see. I love Sigur Ros. This track isn't my favorite, in fact, I'm not even sure if I like it at all. But if you like naked people running through the woods, check out the video for Gobbledigook. As much as I like the idea of naked people running through the woods, I'm finding myself watching out of fascination more than connecting with the images. I guess I wasn't cut out for the whole hippy-earth child thing. If you are new to Sigur Ros, this is pretty far off from the bulk of their body of work. They typically sound more like this.

Mogwai - Young Team

Another fantastic album has joined the ranks of the "reissues as a double album." Mogwai's first proper album, Young Team, was just reissued with a bonus disc of b-sides and rareties. Released on Jetset records, this album hit the states in 1997. At the time I worked at The Disc and was in the throws of my undergrad work. Outside of my classes, I completely submerged myself in music. My job and my friendships were all largely centered on music. Therefore I can't quite remember who turned me on to this record, but I do remember listening to it with my friend Graham a great deal. We played it in the store almost as often as we were playing Portishead-Dummy. Both frustrated customers because they were on small labels that were hard to keep in stock. We would never get more than one or two at a time and they would sell quickly.
Mogwai have become one of my favorite bands and I have loved most of what they have done since this record. In fact, they have matured and focused their sound continuously over the past ten years or so and have been quite successful for an instrumental rock band.
Young Team is a wild ride that you need to commit yourself to experiencing if you are going to truly appreciate it. The songs move in many directions and borrow structures from early Smashing Pumpkins, Swans, and Cure records. Despite the influences of these groups, they maintain what has become a distinct Scotland rock sound. There are sonic qualities to their work that I have only otherwise heard in fellow Scottish bands such as Aerogramme and Arab Strap. At times they plod along and slowly build to a theatrical climax. They can also do the opposite and catch you off guard by whipping the gentlest melody into a pounding sprawl of heavy drumming and feedback. I still can get lost in it.
I did not buy the new double disc version. I did however purchase the songs from the bonus disc off of emusic. Does that count?

I may have to go anyway...

So, the Cure thing is haunting me. There are single tickets still available at very reasonable prices. Now the cost, in my mind, is just going to New York and driving back after midnight (gas, tolls, parking, driving late at night, etc.). I keep flip-flopping on the matter. I feel like John Kerry! Going is a bigger task than I want to deal with at the moment, but I am certain that if I don't go I will regret it. Any words of wisdom?

Countdown To The Cure

I am so bummed that I will be missing the Cure as they play through the states this year. I have not missed a tour since I saw them on the Wish Tour in 1992. I was too slow on the uptake to get tickets and the second hand dealers had prices that were not acceptable. That doesn't mean that there is nothing to look forward to. This Tuesday saw the release of the first of four pre-album singles to be released this summer. The album comes out in September and is rumored to possibly be a double album. That makes for a whole lot of new Cure songs when you factor in the b-sides from the four singles. So, all is not lost in missing the tour this summer. The .com era has helped keep me up with what I might be missing. Many of the shows have been posted on various torrent sights and there is all sorts of footage that turns up on you-tube. Here is a link to a very good amature shot of the new song The Perfect Boy. Here is a link to the video for the most recent single The Only One as well. Robert is as bloated as ever, but he can still rock pretty hard for a guy that will be 50 next year. They are playing three hour sets on this tour! And what is up with that tattoo on Porl's head?