I went to see The Cure last night. I wasn't planning on it, but about 3 hours before the show my neighbor called and said they had an extra ticket. So that's how I found myself in our cavernous 5,000-seat theatre downtown, way in the back, watching the band.
As a suburban teenager of the '80s, the Cure are embedded in my musical memories, and they're impossible to get out. But I'm really only a "Greatest Hits" fan, not hardcore, so while I faintly recognized some of the songs that are nearly 30 years old at this point, I was waiting for more of the mid-to-late-'80s stuff. Oh well.
If you are a fan, I think you'll like the show -- they did seem to play a broad range of stuff and the new songs they played weren't half-bad.
What I wasn't prepared for was just how much the show, well, rocked. I mean, seriously. I'd never reflected on how important the bass and guitar lines were in their songs, but the mix last night brought them front and center and they sounded great. (It also helped me how hear perfectly-crafted of a pure pop song "Lovesong" is.)
The only downside is that ur-Goth (or Goth-father) Robert Smith's vocals weren't out in front, and I've always thought his vocals on record were what made it all work. In fact, by choosing to RAWK, some of the nimbleness, both vocally and sonically, disappeared completely.
It was a good show, but I got to sleep at 12:30 and rose with the sun at 5:00, so it's been difficult not to fall asleep at my computer or in my lunch today.
So click to the jump and find out how I'm addressing my lack of sleep and those of you asking, "But, Stefan, what in the world does this have to do with kids' music?"
The Cure - "In Between Days" (from, uh, Rockabye Baby's Lullaby Renditions of the Cure)
And this, well, he totally nails "Spout."
