Thursday, May 15, 2008

Toronto show

149 photos added to the photo gallery.
Setlist and show notes moved here.

Reviews:
Toronto Star
Chart Attack
Toronto Sun

Photos: Joshua

Videos:
The Perfect Boy
Sleep When I'm Dead
Pictures Of You 1
Pictures Of You 2
10:15 Saturday Night 1
10:15 Saturday Night 2
Lovesong
Friday I'm In Love
One Hundred Years

134 comments:

  1. i'd love to see some obscure stuff, of course. piggy in the mirror or caterpillar, or maybe secrets. or just save all the obscure stuff for my show on the 31rst!

    have fun, toronto!

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  2. No way, MonkeyButt. They're playing the obscure stuff at MY show on the TWENTY-first. ;)

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  3. v, i think them's fighting words... :)

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  4. Monkey: Bring it! >:)

    Is it wrong that I feel like a traitor because I'm going to another show in a little while instead of sitting here glued to COF for the entire Toronto set?

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  5. craig, the page looks great when you load it and that shot of the toronto crowd is up there. really cool.

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  6. v, no, i think that means you have a life... ;)

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  7. Craig: Maybe "show" was the wrong word for it, but I'm going to see Flight of the Conchords. :)

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  8. Don't feel bad, v, I just saw The Verve in New York and I'm catching Duran Duran at the end of the month.

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  9. JPX, you concert slut! ;)

    (Okay, so I just saw Kraftwerk and I'm going to see R.E.M. on the 3rd...so I guess I get around a little too...)

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  10. Hmm...so far nothing too out of the ordinary, eh? (Not like I'd complain if I were there... :) )

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  11. You saw Kraftwerk? Now whose the slut? I'm sooooo jealous!!! That's the one band that's never toured close enough to me. My brother actually flew to Europe a few years back to see them. Where did you catch them? Was it awesome?

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  12. V - have a great time at the "show"! We'll have everything sorted for you when you get home. : )

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  13. toronto hey...wonder if roger is there tonite, for ol' time sake ya know.

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  14. JPX Duran Duran are very predictable. The new songs and the greatest hits. I saw them in Vegas....

    Duran Duran makes you appreciate The Cure sets, lol.

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  15. I still can't bring myself to call Verve THE Verve.
    Storm is Heaven is still their best. They play anything off of that?

    Back on topic, I am THRILLED to see The Walk being played since it sounds so cool with only guitars. I never liked the way the synths sounded on that track live.

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  16. I would seriously doubt it, but wish he was. If Robert and Lol can patch things up, why not Roger too.

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  17. @JPX: I think one of the members of Kraftwerk has a crush on me, because in the past few years they have come to a town where (or near to where) I live two times! :) So this was my second time seeing them (they played a 4-show tour in the states, and Denver just happened to be one of the places they played!), and yes, it was absolutely awesome!! I hope you will be lucky enough to see them one day - it is totally worth it.

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  18. Robert - I agree. I used to hate The Walk, now I can tolerate it at least. : )

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  19. Millertime, I'm going more for the nostalgia. The very first concert I ever saw was Duran Duran. Picture it, it's 1984, I'm a big nerd and I see Duran Duran in Worcester, MA for $15. Do they play a lot of the old stuff? I really only like their first 3 albums. Girls on Film is my fave. I haven't heard any of their new stuff.

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  20. v, where do you live? If you're single we should go out, it would improve my chances of catching Kraftwerk =)

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  21. @Craig: Thank you! I will do my best to not keep peeking at my phone every few minutes(/seconds?)... :)

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  22. Lol, JPX. I'm in Denver...not exactly close to Rhode Island (isn't that where you live?? :) )

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  23. Robert, they played Already There and it was really good! They also played a new song, have you heard it? Here's the link to my show,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRqJb8S3j0o

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  24. v, sadly it's true, I'm in Rhode Island (good memory). The only good thing is that I'm close to Boston and New York. I can't wait for the new Dandy Warhols tour this fall.

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  25. @JPX: At least you're close to something - I'm in the middle of nowhere! :)

    Okay, I'm off, everyone! Have a good night!

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  26. hi everybody,
    craig, have you heard any rumour about the cure playing in southamerica this time?

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  27. jpx, that is awesome they played Already There.
    I still never got to see them do One Way to Go or All in the Mind.

    As far as the Dandys go, ever see em live? SO hit or miss. I have seen em like 4 times and they were brilliant once, and gawdawful the rest of time, so much so I left after the first 2.5 hrs. Yeah, they played THAT long. Weird jam sessions, no real songs. I think it was an act of aggression or something....

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  28. Yes, rumors of South America later this year, but there have been numerous rumors about SA and they never come true.

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  29. I'm going to be at the Chicago show, hopefully Faith , the Kiss, If only tonight, Sleep when I'm dead, this is so cool seeing the set list as they play. Anyone else going to Chicago?

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  30. I've seen them twice in Boston for two different tours. The first time they were fantastic the second time they were pretty weak. I really like the new material I've heard from the upcoming album. Have you heard any of the new tunes? Try this one,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCJbsE1dlDk&feature=related

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  31. Thanks for the link to the Verve track. I am afraid I am not a fan of their more mainstream stuff. I loved them when they fit in nicely among Ride, Slowdive, Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine.

    I love me some atmosphere, perhaps thats why I loves me some Cure!

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  32. Is there any chance that The Cure are going to tour in the US for any additional dates?

    I know what you mean about the Cure "atmosphere", Robert!

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  33. Rumors of at least a few shows in Sept. to promote the album. Nothing confirmed or official though.

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  34. They added the LA date at the shine (hooray for me!).

    I guess if ticket sales are good and they have the time, they could add more.

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  35. Thanks, Craig! Now use your influence and get them to come back to Boston!

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  36. That's cool, Robert, I net that will be a terrific show!

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  37. i cant deal with it. i have to be restrained. i just went to the first three shows and not i feel tortured. i want to be there...... oh my goodness its the only fucking band i would quit my job for if they would just bring me along so i could sit there night after night. i would do anything for them!!!
    im crying!!!

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  38. thanks craig. something tells me this time they are coming down here :)

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  39. Lacature, what part of New York are you from? At least you got to see the first 3 shows!

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  40. Yeah, three shows is GREAT!
    I am lucky enough to see em at a smallish venue this time around. I had AWESOME tickets for the Bowl but when they postponed the tour, my pal got refunded. ARRGH!

    I can't complain, I had front and center for Curiosa...

    I swear this is the only band I obsess about. It ain't natural!

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  41. Don't worry, Robert, I'm equally obsessive. I can't believe you were front/center for the last tour, how the hell did you manage that?I saw that tour at the Tweeter Center in MA.

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  42. The Toronto crowd may get the encore we got in NZ, Plainsong, Disintegration and Faith....fingers crossed for you

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  43. I got front and center because my pal worked for a co. that hooked him up and in turn, he hooked me up.

    They were pit tickets and after the first 3 bands, the pit had gotten CRAZY overcrowded with tons of kids jumping the rails.

    Security emptied the pit, made it LARGER and let the ticket holders in, leaving it like 70% empty!

    It was REALLY easy to walk where you wanted, dance like an idiot and basically have an awesome time. Best show I ever been to. The Cure, The Rapture, AND Interpol?! sheesh!

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  44. I think it would be only fair that they come back to Australia later this year, to make up for the fact that we didn't get to hear any of the new songs while they were here in August.

    And this time, I am gonna take time off work and follow them around the country!

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  45. Robert, you're a lucky man! I've never had a concert break in my life. I always spend a lot and get crappy seats. Curiosa was great nevertheless.

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  46. :(

    I guess I have been VERY lucky to live in LA. EVERY band I love (with the exception of the Manics) has come thru here at some point.

    The only downside is, tickets sellout REALLY quick and the crowds absolutely s u c k. Way too much industry or jaded fans that really would rather talk and booze than enjoy.

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  47. Robert, I agree with jpx that you are extremely lucky - but unlike jpx I have had one lucky break with conerts - I managed to get to the front between Robert and Simon in Adelaide. It was FANTASTIC.

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  48. im from upstate new york but i live in philadelphia now. i moved to phila because i saw the cure here so many times and fell in love with this city. out of the three shows, philadelphia so far was the best. i loved the show here, even though i got up right close in boston. the crowd i think means alot. its not that any of the crowd was bad, but phila crowd sang along to just like heaven. and its so great to see them having fun up there... robert looks as if he is having a blast. ive been seeing them since 96 and this is the first time i can remember robert speaking so much and just being plainly silly. its so darling.. .. it brings back memories of all the times ive seen them... i just wish i could meet him again... anyhow its great to see them... i know there was something else i wanted to say but i dont remember... ohoh!!! speaking about obsessing. i dont do sports, but being here and watching evetything unfold is just like a sporting match that the fans get into. i can now understand their excitement. this time around i myself am enjoying the reactions from everyone. its like another home for me and i love it... the cure bring people together so much... ive felt the opposite at times dont get me wrong but this time around its been so sweet...maybe cos im in a city where i dont know many people and one thing in my life that ive always done that i consider home is seeing a cure show...

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  49. and altr2elise...it would only be fair they came to NZ as well, so we can hear the new stuff, they could easily have played Wellington and Auckland without any bother and sold out!

    I hope they come back, he said they would likely be this way again if still touring into 08...fingers crossed for a 30 anniversary tour eh?

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  50. Alastair - I totally agree - it would be completely wrong of them to miss our friends across the Tasman!

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  51. Lacature, I went to undergraduate college in Geneva, NY and I spent some time at SUNY Albany earning my PhD. Not a lot of tours went through upstate NY. I remembner driving from Albany to Worcester, MA to see the WMS tour.

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  52. I totally GET the sport analogy. I don't like sports at all and never got the excitement.
    But as soon as the Cure starts touring, I get the same excitement level as my sports nuts friends.

    Weird to think that Cure fans are growing up together in a sense. I went to my first Cure show in 92 and everyone there was relatively young and a good 80% of the crowd was wearing black and looked like Robert, Siouxsie or a cross between the two.

    All the tours after that have had audiences that have aged along with me :)

    No more wild hair, no more makeup, and very little black. It's great the music has remained as powerful as ever!

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  53. Alastair - and if we cna talk them into coming to visit both of us, maybe I should extend my time off work and come to NZ for the extra concerts :-). In my wildest dreams.

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  54. first saw them in 1984...man that was a lifetime ago..luckily i havent changed a bit since then.

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  55. Robert, I think we're kindred spirits. I have never understood the whole sports thing either. Its especially difficult given that I live in the land of the Red sox. Whenever a baseball discussion occurs, I'm scared to death that someone is going to ask me a question. Personally I'd rather watch static than a baseball game.

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  56. Yeah, I feel the same way jpx!

    All my co-workers were excited for "March Madness" and were excitedly passing around charts and spreadsheets and placing bets. No one could understand why I wasn't excited.

    A few weeks ago, NIN puts out a FREE album and I was all excited telling them all about it. I could not understand why they weren't excited...

    :)

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  57. jpx, the cure came to albany for the swing tour haha. THAT WAS IT! nothing comes through

    on another note i have something serious to say.
    i was @ the virgina show and i was talking to securtiy guard who watches the back gate and he was kind of saying he would try to get me a backstage pass. four hours later and roberts tour bus comming through, robert doing interviews and meet and greets, the guy didnt manage to get me a pass. i gave him my buissness card to come to phila and get a haircut. it had my number on it. the guy shows me two signed autographs that the radio station woman gave him after the interview. im still sitting there just wanting to take a picture with robert... i was a bit dissappointed. the security guard shows me the two autographs and by that time the show was about to start to i leave and the guy text messages me and says he is infront of roberts dressing room doing security blagh blagh. how would anyone feel? seriously... how would you fell being a cure fan and seeing the autographs, having people meet him and you just being told, ill try to get you a bs pass and nothing happens? then the guy has the nerve to keep on texting me saying oh did you use me to get a pass? can i call you later? balgh blagh... and i tried to message the guy that im a bit upset and want to watch the show, being that is what i came there for, and then hejust kept on texting me... what a fucking strange thing. i was happy at the end, i am happy to just see the show, but these people who dont give two shits to those that drive a distance or have such compasion for the band and just throw it in their face that they have something you only wish you have are horrible. its a idfferent story if someone taller than you is standing infront of you at the show and you cant see. you can yell at them for that. but to have a somewhat fan, or not even a fan throwing stuff like that in your face is horrible, or am i over analizing it?
    thats my speech for the night. sorry it took alot of room...

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  58. Robert and JPX - we are all kindred spirits...I am the same, try being non interested in sports in NZ and you are immediately viewed with suspicion, add into the mix and unhealthy obsession with the Cure and you are clearly insane if not gay...sigh....i just dont get sports and I couldnt care less if the All Blacks never win another game, give me music anyday!

    to altr2elise

    if they come to aussie I am going to try and get to a few shows at the very least, but if they come that far they have to come back here to NZ, I am still hearing from people about how it was the most magical night they had all yr!

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  59. Are you a cute girl? heheh! Sounds like he either wanted:

    A) a date and was trying to impress you.

    B) look cool and act important.

    Either way, it's a bit weird...

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  60. Lacature, that sucks! It sounds like that guy really didn't have any power and he just pretended to in order to sound important. I agree, it sucks when people play with your emotions. What a jerk.

    Robert, the same thing happens at my work, March Madness! They try to get me in the betting pool and I have no idea what they're talking about. It all seems long and pointless to me.

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  61. Heheh! March Madness! I annoyed them and asked which one had the coolest logo..I'd bet on them.

    I get away with not knowing sports at my job. Being a graphic designer means I can be ill tempered, wear all black and listen to music no one cares / knows about.

    On topic, this setlist sounds incredible!

    I feel for you all that are unsure whether or not the band will be coming to your towns...

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  62. The Old School songs as the second encore!

    Hmm, if they get a third encore, it might be Faith?

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  63. Maybe...or maybe they want to end with A Forest and go into Forever?

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  64. i just font think you do that to anyone. a fan of anything. its a pity if he was trying for either of those. THAT is not the way to do it! haha... and he had the nerve to call me today and ask to come down for a haircut. i should of said, only if you give me to autograph that all your friends have that didnt decide to come and actually support the band and see the show! haha.. im sorry i had to vent about it... im just happy to see them in the all abouts... cheeers..

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  66. A Forest it is.

    Not that I wouldn't want to go to a concert that ends with A Forest.

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  67. I'd rather them end with Bloodflowers.

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  70. i wrote a poem about the last show... if anyone wants to read it... its beautiful...

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  71. Ummm, if anyone was at the Toronto show.....what was Robert singing at the beginning of "Why Can't I Be You?"?? Seems like he completely forgot the lyrics....wasn't the only song where that happened, either, but definitely the most obvious

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  72. I was there but couldn't make out what he was saying. The sound mix was off tonight - too much bass overpowering the vocals and guitars :(

    Wasn't until near the end that things improved sound-wise.

    Robert appeared to be in good spirits, though. His dance moves during the pop set were interesting :)

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  73. @JPX: What do you have a PhD in, if I may ask? (I think I remember you saying something in another thread about seeing patients, so I'm curious...:) )

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  74. I saw the 4Tour 5 times in February/March, and i just resigned myself to having a similar set list every time.At least in the U.S you've already had 2 new songs, and the strong possibility of more coming up..You should consider yourself very lucky..As for Faith...i'm not sure he'll play it in the U.S.Playing it in Paris made sense as the place means a lot to R.S,i wonder where else he is likely to play it..NYC maybe????

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  75. v, I'm a clinical psychologist. I work in a mood disorders clinic. I should take all my patients to a Cure show =)

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  76. Went to Montreal and Toronto, and had a fairly good time, but was disappointed in the dearth of slow-paced, emotional songs. What happened to those wonderful romantic songs the Europeans got?

    And who the hell wants to hear "Wrong Number" or "Never Enough" if they're bellweather fans?! Don't even get me started on "alt.end" and "The End of the World"! I'd have much rather heard "Us or Them", and "Before Three" -- maybe "Lost" than those mediocre to disappointing songs!

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  77. I'm one of the few who actually
    likes the studio cut of Wrong Number, but I agree, it just doesn't translate well live.

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  78. At Toronto last night and they were awesome! The crowd near me were all standing and dancing/singing thru most songs (saw a review that stated ppl weren't really into it - not the case in my section). Outstanding sound all around and Porl was out of this world. Their version of "Push" was outstanding and my most memorable part of the show! RS was playing the chords through the 1st 2 mins or so and just "taking in the crowd" near the front of the stage. Then backed up to the mic to sing - awesome.
    Also "From..Deep Green Sea" is sticking in my head today - they nailed it perfectly.

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  79. ...Deep Green Sea was my fave from the night. Porl totally nailed the solo. It was unbelievable. Probably the best I've ever seen it played. Better than on the Wish tour even.

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  80. Toronto Star review ... sounds awesome:
    "Revealingly, though, the jerky post-punk gait of The Cure's very earliest days crept into a stunning version of Disintegration's majestic "Pictures of You," rendered at a nearly hip-hop gait and rendered Krautrock-hypnotic by the metronomically latticed guitar lines exchanged between Smith and Thompson."

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  81. @JPX: Haha, yes, you should definitely take a field trip with your patients! :D

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  82. All these great reviews is making me excited about the upcoming shows I will see. Unfortunately, I won't have the prime view I had during Curiosa, when I was in the pit, upfront center or slightly left or right upfront for 5 of the 6 shows. The show in Dallas was jammed with peeps in the pits and so I was pushed back several rows.

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  83. And no, I'm not speaking Ebonics today. I meant to say "All these great reviews ARE making me excited."

    DOH!

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  84. @clockwise: Which shows are you going to?

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  85. Keep a lookout for a show review from me on the setlist page. I could only say so much, as I was sending Craig updates through my cell phone, and wouldn't have had the time to actually watch the show if I'd done more. I took a lot of photos, as well as a couple of videos, with my point and shoot, and they're better quality than what I took with my cell. Expect them soon.

    Oh, and Craig, what's up with not listing Tape as being played before Open? Also, to clarify the start time, it was actually about 4-5 minutes before I sent anything, due to my brother and I getting into the actual concert area just as it was starting, and we had trouble finding our seats, since it was impossible to see the row and seat numbers with nothing but the stage lights to help.

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  86. Why haven't they played A Boy I Never Knew in the US yet? I'm seeing them on the 23rd in Salt Lake and was hoping to hear it live.

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  87. Because we got "Sleep When I'm Dead"!

    Yeah, I wanted to hear that one too, corrosiveheadpollution!

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  88. Sleep When I’m Dead is wonderful. Hey I have an good idea. Throw out Wrong Number and add A Boy I Never Knew.

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  89. v: going to atlanta, charlotte, and austin fer sher. maybe one other - location tba. :-P

    you? or you're in europe, correct?

    oh, and the austin concert is gen adm, which means i might get to be up close! the others are seats, though. :-(

    robert, if you're reading, you must play holy hour to open and blooflowers to close for austin, atlanta, and charlotte. tx. :-D

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  90. @clockwise: Lucky! I wish I was going to more than one US show. :) I am going to the Denver show at Red Rocks next week, which is a fantastic venue, and I have 4th row "Simon side" seats, so I am psyched nonetheless. I am not in Europe, but I flew to Germany to catch two shows there in February, so I really can't complain. :D But I still really wanna go see another one in the states...especially the show they're playing on my birthday - shouldn't I be able to have a Cure birthday party?!?!? :) Hmmph!

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  91. clockycat! my wife and i will be at charlotte and atlanta as well! we could get really widely varied setlist if robert gets wind that alot of people are going to both...
    in 96 i did san jose/sacramento and they were very complimentary... meaning they played loads of different tunes...
    even got forever in sacramento... seeing that song was a dream of mine... saw it again at the second LA show that year too... albeit with no vocals and robert leaving to catch a plane... left wayne hussey on stage to play guitar... very odd... but they opened with fire in cairo robert solo/acoustic... so i'd say we got our money's worth!

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  92. is anybody here going to be at the hollywood bowl show? besides me?

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  93. these are like, the best 4 months for shows (for me, anyway)

    the cure, polvo, tom waits, and my bloody valentine!!!

    i just hope the last two cure shows hold some major surprises.
    LIKE 2LATE, ROBERT!

    (sorry. i have to get that in all my posts on the off chance robert smith cares what i think. pfft. how could he not...)

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  94. zap: where do you live? maybe i'll see you at the shows! :-)

    i heard about the wayne hussey thing - indeed very very bizarre!

    monkeybutt: nope, sorry. before the postponed tour, i had tix to san diego, but this time around i wasn't able to do cali.

    i'm sure it'll be great, though. looks like an awesome venue.

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  95. monkeybutt,

    well i'll bet the hollywood bowl will be filled! ;) but how cool would it be if they played a personal show for you? i had a dream like that once.

    3 or 4 friends of my friends are going to that show...

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  96. SOFIA! I'm a HUGE TOM WAITS FAN! TOM WAITS IS SECOND ONLY TO MY CURE ADORATION! Which Glitter and Doom show will you attend? We are attending Houston. We won't be in town for the ATL show. We are seriously bummed out that we could only catch one show this time - in 06 we saw two! I would love to see 3 or 4 shows. Did you see him in 06?! It was AWESOME! I agree it's a great concert season! :-D

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  97. clockwise-

    hah! i was hoping there were other raindogs lurking around here! :D

    oh man...tom waits is the MOST special for me because my dad used to sing 'barbershop' to my brother and i when we were little. he is the one musician who has never ever disappointed me.

    i've seen tom waits twice, so far. once in '99 for the mule variations tour and i was lucky enough to be in the studio when waits was on the daily show. i was like, 10 feet away from him totally sobbing. ugh.

    i'm bussing it down to atlanta to see him this time. i hope he comes back after the european tour though!
    i also hope scarlett johansson goes to hell for that shit she tried to pass off for a waits tribute.

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  98. tom waits is NOT playing l.a.! will someone please tell him to rectify this?

    yes, i'm sure there will be at least a couple other folks there at the bowl...maybe i'll see a few of you. and again, i reiterate: if they play 2late (or a few hours after this) my head will explode.

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  99. monkeybutt, i know...everyone in california is totally fed up since, hi? he actually lives there.
    i've been hearing rumors he might be coming back after the euro tour. here's hoping!

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  100. i sure hope so. i have never seen him live, and rain dogs is in my top five albums ever by anybody.

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  101. raindogs rulz, of course, but my faves are closing time and real gone, actually. i hated real gone 'til i saw him in concert in atl; now i love it! i saw him in atl and nashville in 06. sofia, that is so cool you saw him on the daily show! where do you live if you are "busing it down" to atl?

    i am so excited that there are other waits-heads here! waits and cure - what more could you ask for??

    yeah, i am hoping he will tour more, considering he is only doing south/southwest dates. i mean, i live in the south, but i would be pissed off if i were in cali or anywhere else - but esp cali since he lives there. lol.

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  102. oh, and in atl we were UP FRONT CENTER. waited for hours. it was AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING.

    waits is a fucking GENUIS. he never gets stale. the BEST songwriter/singer EVER!

    better than the cure - but i have liked the cure for longer, so they're my first fave.

    also cash is a fave. cure/waits/cash rock my world!

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  103. Nader is a joke politically. It's his own fault. Oh, and I met him while I was DJing in college.

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  104. i wouldn't go so far as to call it brilliant, but thanks CC. sort of petered out toward the end.

    go ron paul. that's what i'm sayin.

    /politics on COF.

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  105. i'm in nyc, cat. :)
    bone machine is my favorite. ever ever ever.
    and then i have individual favorite songs (broken bicycles. jesus christ. i weep OPENLY).



    nader? really? seems like he's a shell of his former self. i'd have voted for gravel but there's no way in hell that crazy sumbitch was ever going to win.
    okay. no more politics out of me.

    curecurecurecurecure

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  107. yes, i spose we should leave politix out of it, eh? except that nader is better than ever and the media and dumbass corporate dems only want you to BELIEVE he is a shell of his former self, when in actuality he is more energized and focused than ever. HE is the true progressive, not the corporate dems. check his campaign out. however, i do like kucinich and voted for him in the primaries. monkeybutt: ron paul is half crazy and half sane. an enigma, imo.

    okay, that's it from me - if ya'll wants to discuss more politix wit' me, you can do so at my blog, miro screaming. of course, i ain't updated it in about a century, but anyway.

    sorry craig. we love you.

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  108. sofia: bone machine rulz, i agree. my fave waits song (besides all the others) is ol' 55. talk about WEEPING.

    in 06, though, when he played day after tomorrow, there was not a dry eye in the house. GORGEOUS. STUNNING.

    sorry again craig. this is off topic too.

    curecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecurecure

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  109. the cure are awesome!

    (i think my favorite tom waits song is either martha or grapefruit moon...my eyes water sort of when i listen to them.)

    go cure! yeah!

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  110. martha is gorgeosity embodied. go see him live monkeybutt! travel, if you have to! i'm serious. it's well worth every penny!!

    who's this CURE you're yabbing about? it's not those freakshow looking transvestites i hope? the ones that sing in that faux-opera voice?

    ew.

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  111. Okay, before I go clean house a bit, I have to say that I am LOVING Freakshow and Sleep When I'm Dead, LIKING Perfect Boy and ABINK, INDIFFERENT to NY Trip, and HATING The Only One. The former two are Cure-pop gems, the middle three are good growers, but The Only One is a caricature of a good Cure song. It has all the elements of good Cure-pop, but no heart. It sounds forced and and soulless. I hate it even more than Taking Off, and I HATE Taking Off.

    Yes, I'm spitting venom.

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  112. according to you, maybe, shawn, but i loves me some freakshow! :-D

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  113. You may not feel the same once you actually see it performed.

    Oh, and I sent an e-mail to Chart Attack, ripping them on their review of The Cure's show last night. Here's what I said...

    Reading the review of the Chart Attack staff makes me wonder if any of you were actually there, or know much about the band, for that matter. Let's run down the list...

    1. Curiosa set just one hour? Huh? It was nearly two hours long. Want proof? I have the whole set, courtesy of the 102.1 broadcast, minus voiceovers.

    2. Audience not into it? What? Granted, they were a bit apathetic toward a few songs, including Freak Show, which, as a fan of nearly 15 years, I'm not too fond of myself, but the response was actually pretty outstanding for the show as a whole. I have proof of that, too, in the form of a couple of short videos that I took during their set.

    3. Friday I'm In Love, an '80s song? Bzzzt! Wrong again! It was from their 1992 album Wish.

    4. Um, I don't consider one song from Head On The Door and one from KMKMKM as part of a five song encore to be "mostly" from those albums.

    5. What was so surprising about cheering at the beginning of Killing An Arab, and what was so amusing about people singing to Boys Don't Cry?

    6. What's so bad about playing new stuff? Sure, I like to hear some old stuff, too, but if I want to hear them bang out a set of entirely old tunes, I'll go put on one of the live shows that I have. The band isn't a parody of themselves nor so out of style and old that they have to put on "greatest hits" shows to get people to show up, though, that's apparently required to get a decent review from Chart Attack. You do know that they've actually released albums since the '80s, one of which went multi-platinum, while another went at least gold and was nominated for a Grammy, and that they're releasing another in September, right?

    I think that's about it for my complaining.

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  114. I like all the new stuff so far. I think Freak Show is really catchy. This is shaping up to being their best album in years. For me, all the new material has been really solid.

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  115. -clockycat-
    live in SC near columbia (camden)
    my wife has never been to any shows... so i'm sure she will lose her mind... i skipped curiosa, cause i didn't want to deal with all the mundane bands... and it wasn't close enough to me at the time to bother driving for a cure set that would be half the usual length... but i've pretty much gone to at least one show every tour since 92 except that one

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  116. Hmm... I wonder if the album version of Sleep When I'm Dead will be a fast version like the one they played in Boston (which got me all excited about The Cure again), or whether it will be the slower, dirgier version from this Toronto show. Either way it's shaping up to be a Cure classic, but I would prefer the fast version. I was surprised about this as I thought they used "clicks" at least at the beginnning of every song to set the tempo. This lead me to believe they've possibly recorded both versions and testing out which one gets better crowd reactions... Maybe? Or maybe they ditched the click for this song and just happened to play it faster one night than the other???

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  117. shawn: anything is possible, but usually i like certain songs MORE after i see them performed live. for ex, the promise ROOLs live, and never, of all songs, is good live. on the album, though, i hated them. and hey, i may hate freakshow live, but for now, i love it. i love the funky post-punky groove. :-)

    zap: if you don't mind me saying so, i think you really missed out with curiosa. it was actually excellent! i hated the rapture, but i loved mogwai and interpol. the latter has really disappointed me with their new album, but they were top notch live, and mogwai was the cat's tits! and the cure were great too! curiosa was fun. :-D

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  118. @shawn-w: Did you find that giving the live updates interfered with your ability to enjoy the show? Just curious. :)

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  119. I just watched the vids for Perfect Boy. THis song has really really grown on me. It's standard rock for the Cure, and yet it WORKS amazingly well. It's quite wonderful! I LOVE it! Much better than The Only One, and I do hope it's a single, because I can actually hear it on the radio. It's not too obvious like The Only One - it's Cure-ish and yet not a re-hash.

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  120. V, the only time it interfered with my ability to enjoy the show was when I had to start deleting old text messages on my phone, which took up extra time, due to how many I was sending Craig. I always find that being at a Cure concert is a rather surreal experience, like I'm watching it through someone else's eyes. I'm not sure that it can become real until I actually meet the band. It certainly felt that way when I had a chance to have a long sit-down conversation with Lol in 2004. Of course, I'd treat Robert, et al. as I would anyone else. If one starts acting fanboy/girl-ish instead of treating someone like a normal person, it changes the interaction.

    clockwise, did you watch my recording of The Perfect Boy? Craig seems to have mislabeled it as The Only One.

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  121. Shawn, I'm an idiot. Fixed it.

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  122. Thanks, Craig. :) Out of curiosity, are you going to post my review of the show?

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  123. Of course! Whenever the old site will let me. Had trouble with it today, will try again late tonight.

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  124. Shawn, not sure, but I'll go check now. :-)

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  125. I had 3rd row CFLR seats for The Cure concert in Toronto. The band was AMAZING..Porl ripped it on the guitar all night..he was unbelievable..Robert was playful and such a sport. Simon and Jason were amazing as well. They played 35 songs, right from their hearts.. The only thing that sucked was THE TORONTO CROWD. They were lame and ungreatful FANS who didnt show much appreciation for The greatest band ever. Robert had to urge them to start singing and join in....Not sure if the crowd was at awww at Robert or if they have out grown the band..The floor sections was just not moving..Sorry Robert..come back soon again..

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  126. Seriously, What the *bleep* are you on about? The Toronto crowd was fine. I have video proof, and so does my brother, plus, we were there. You aren't going to get 10,000+ people to be jumping up and down at a Cure show, so stop being so unrealistic.

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