Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Cured
Tonight I saw The Cure. Again. And I loved it.
Robert Smith's Curiosa Festival brought to town some of his favorite hand-picked bands of today - Mogwai, The Rapture, Cursive, Cooper Temple Clause and Interpol. Mogwai we missed because of traffic. I was so bummed out and I can't believe they had them scheduled to play at 5pm. That is just plain wrong! Was really looking forward to seeing them. Caught the tail end of the Rapture's disco-punk. The guys from Cooper Temple Clause were drunk and pretty good. Cursive were not bad, and Interpol could be much better with a different singer and if they were to stop copying Bauhaus and Joy Division. Anyway.
Ok. The Cure!
After 25 years of playing music, Robert Smith looks as if he is just getting started. Inspired. Enthusiastic. Emotional. His voice is full. His guitar playing flawless. His hair - a mess. And the rest of the band, all dressed in black of course, provide his perfect support.
I grew up listening to The Cure. Knew every song, every lyric, every interview, every photo, and [only used to read about] every show. In the 80s I could only dream of having the opportunity to see live my then favorite band. I used to think The Cure and Robert Smith were from out of this world. I was young. I used to even think that these weird guys didn't eat food at all, that they slept all day, and that they spoke a secret language between them. I was a kid. And they were my entertainment - superheroes from a comic book. I used to listen to the music and I used to watch super low quality music videos (copies of copies of copies of copies made by someone using a camera pointed at a TV screen somewhere in Germany). So the Cure used to be an enigma. Different. Very non-human, but their music always spoke to me on some very human level. And there was no inbetween. The look and physical existence of the band were very unreal, fictional, almost alien-like. The music on the other hand was very personal, real and moving.
So tonight I experience The Cure live for the 9th time. I saw them for the first time back in 1992 during the Wish Tour. That was one incredibly surreal experience - I could not believe the band actually existed and that they were playing my favorite music live before my eyes. I saw them the next night. Drove up to LA to see them the following night. Since that first concert I have made any and all effort to see the band live whenever they come to Southern California. I saw them with Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers, Blur, and Oasis back in 1997. Then saw them play for 5 hours in 2000. I even met Robert Smith. During a 2-hour sound check I was right up against the stage when he came down to sign autographs and take requests for songs from the fans. He stood before me, looking at me, probably waiting for my song request or to hand him a CD cover to sign, and I was truly starstruck. "Hi. My Name is Krassy..." I said, to which he responded with "Hi. My Name is Robert." His response was met by an outburst of laughter all around us, which muffled the sound of my reply "Really?" And I probably meant it. I was probably in disbelief.
I saw the band a couple more times in LA and a couple more times in San Diego through the years, and then most recently at Coachella, just 4 months ago.
Tonight they play yet another inspired show before a crowd of 20,000 at the Coors Amphitheater. I barely ever listen to the Cure anymore. It's not that I've grown out of them, but I've discovered so much more new music that I am excited about, that only on occasion I would throw on Three Imaginary Boys, or The Head on the Door, or Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, or Disintegration, and float on that comfy Cure boat. Tonight they play for 2 hours, pleasing the crowd with anything from their biggest hits, such as Lovesong and Just Like Heaven, to obscure jams, such as Disintegration and From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea. I am in my comfort zone. Marie next to me. The music all around us. And it's not just music - it's a whole experience. With every song I remember an episode of my life. I associate every song with an emotional stage, a person, or an event in my past. And any goosebumps? Sure got them...during Lovesong, A Night Like This, Disintegration and A Forest.
Good 'ol Cure! People say nothing lasts forever, but this band has been frozen in time for 25 years and going strong. Isn't quarter of a century close to being forever? They constantly reinvented themselves, but they never really changed. And they never sold out. Always stayed true to their music and their fans.
On the parking lot before the show, Marie and I saw a goth mom holding a 1 year old baby that was dressed in a black lace dress. The husband looked like a priest in a black robe. Interesting. "I wish I could've seen the Cure when I was 1 year old" I jokingly said. "I did" the comic book character said. "And I want to give the same experience to my daugther." Wow! Now I know I wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought I was about the Cure. Maybe I was just really into their music. Am glad.
Krassy Can Listen To It: "M" by The Cure
Tonight I saw The Cure. Again. And I loved it.
Robert Smith's Curiosa Festival brought to town some of his favorite hand-picked bands of today - Mogwai, The Rapture, Cursive, Cooper Temple Clause and Interpol. Mogwai we missed because of traffic. I was so bummed out and I can't believe they had them scheduled to play at 5pm. That is just plain wrong! Was really looking forward to seeing them. Caught the tail end of the Rapture's disco-punk. The guys from Cooper Temple Clause were drunk and pretty good. Cursive were not bad, and Interpol could be much better with a different singer and if they were to stop copying Bauhaus and Joy Division. Anyway.
Ok. The Cure!
After 25 years of playing music, Robert Smith looks as if he is just getting started. Inspired. Enthusiastic. Emotional. His voice is full. His guitar playing flawless. His hair - a mess. And the rest of the band, all dressed in black of course, provide his perfect support.
I grew up listening to The Cure. Knew every song, every lyric, every interview, every photo, and [only used to read about] every show. In the 80s I could only dream of having the opportunity to see live my then favorite band. I used to think The Cure and Robert Smith were from out of this world. I was young. I used to even think that these weird guys didn't eat food at all, that they slept all day, and that they spoke a secret language between them. I was a kid. And they were my entertainment - superheroes from a comic book. I used to listen to the music and I used to watch super low quality music videos (copies of copies of copies of copies made by someone using a camera pointed at a TV screen somewhere in Germany). So the Cure used to be an enigma. Different. Very non-human, but their music always spoke to me on some very human level. And there was no inbetween. The look and physical existence of the band were very unreal, fictional, almost alien-like. The music on the other hand was very personal, real and moving.
So tonight I experience The Cure live for the 9th time. I saw them for the first time back in 1992 during the Wish Tour. That was one incredibly surreal experience - I could not believe the band actually existed and that they were playing my favorite music live before my eyes. I saw them the next night. Drove up to LA to see them the following night. Since that first concert I have made any and all effort to see the band live whenever they come to Southern California. I saw them with Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers, Blur, and Oasis back in 1997. Then saw them play for 5 hours in 2000. I even met Robert Smith. During a 2-hour sound check I was right up against the stage when he came down to sign autographs and take requests for songs from the fans. He stood before me, looking at me, probably waiting for my song request or to hand him a CD cover to sign, and I was truly starstruck. "Hi. My Name is Krassy..." I said, to which he responded with "Hi. My Name is Robert." His response was met by an outburst of laughter all around us, which muffled the sound of my reply "Really?" And I probably meant it. I was probably in disbelief.
I saw the band a couple more times in LA and a couple more times in San Diego through the years, and then most recently at Coachella, just 4 months ago.
Tonight they play yet another inspired show before a crowd of 20,000 at the Coors Amphitheater. I barely ever listen to the Cure anymore. It's not that I've grown out of them, but I've discovered so much more new music that I am excited about, that only on occasion I would throw on Three Imaginary Boys, or The Head on the Door, or Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, or Disintegration, and float on that comfy Cure boat. Tonight they play for 2 hours, pleasing the crowd with anything from their biggest hits, such as Lovesong and Just Like Heaven, to obscure jams, such as Disintegration and From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea. I am in my comfort zone. Marie next to me. The music all around us. And it's not just music - it's a whole experience. With every song I remember an episode of my life. I associate every song with an emotional stage, a person, or an event in my past. And any goosebumps? Sure got them...during Lovesong, A Night Like This, Disintegration and A Forest.
Good 'ol Cure! People say nothing lasts forever, but this band has been frozen in time for 25 years and going strong. Isn't quarter of a century close to being forever? They constantly reinvented themselves, but they never really changed. And they never sold out. Always stayed true to their music and their fans.
On the parking lot before the show, Marie and I saw a goth mom holding a 1 year old baby that was dressed in a black lace dress. The husband looked like a priest in a black robe. Interesting. "I wish I could've seen the Cure when I was 1 year old" I jokingly said. "I did" the comic book character said. "And I want to give the same experience to my daugther." Wow! Now I know I wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought I was about the Cure. Maybe I was just really into their music. Am glad.
Krassy Can Listen To It: "M" by The Cure
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