THANK YOU ROBERT SMITH. AND DISINTEGRATION IS THE GREATEST ALBUM EVER!!
So, I've been meaning to post here for over a week about my experience at the Cure concert and this damn thing called real life kept getting in my way. Work the last week has just kicked my ass. I just spent a very nice relaxing weekend in Farmville though, so I'm rested up, recharged, and ready to write up a few thoughts about the Cure show.
The Cure played the Patriot Center last Friday, the 9th, up in Fairfax. I had a super long day that day because it started in Grand Rapids, MIchigan, where I had to attend a big regional meeting for Coke and give a presentation (which went well, thankfully). Then I had to make my way via plane from Grand Rapids to Detroit and then on to Dulles. Made it back without a hitch, kicked around Fairfax some before the show, headed into the arena about 7 and caught the opening act, 65 Days Of Static at 8. They were...okay. They ripped through a 30-minute set in which every song was an instrumental. They rocked out, though some lyrics would have been nice. Still, they held the fort nicely while people shuffled in and out, ticket in one hand trying to find their seat, beer or wine in the other hand.
The Cure came on just a little after 9 and started with some of their more downtempo, atmospheric material like "Plainsong" and "Prayers For Rain." During "Prayers," Robert got in touch with his inner-Celine Dion and belted out the word RAIIIIIIIIINNNNN at the top of his lungs and for about a good 10-15 seconds. Maybe even longer. It seriously sounded like he went on forever with that one note. I was extremely impressed, considering Robert is more generally known for his hair than his voice.
Let me talk about Robert for a second too. To most people, The Cure is Robert and Robert is The Cure. Watching the show at the Patriot Center, I saw a band that was probably the most cohesive and together unit I have ever seen. Porl, Jason, and Simon were all on the same page as Robert the whole night. But you couldn't escape the cult of personality that has formed around Robert. The crowd just had their eyes on him the whole night, cheering and applauding every little thing he did, whether it was nailing a guitar part or something as simple as taking a step back from the microphone.
For the rest of the nearly THREE HOUR concert, the Cure rocketed through some lesser known songs like "M" and "To Wish Impossible Things" as well as all their big hits, such as "Friday I'm In Love," "Love Song," "Lovecats," and "Just Like Heaven." The last one provided a great moment as the entire crowd sang along word for word and note for note. The band even pulled out three encores and whipped out "Grinding Halt," one of their earliest songs and a song which just kicks ass live.
Now let me come to my one complaint about the evening. The people. Drunk, stupid and happy, almost everyone around me looked to be having a great time. But they showed their support for the band by...sitting...for almost the whole show. They fucking sat there! If you've never seen The Cure live, you may be surprised to find that they are one of the most energetic shows you'll ever see. I know when I'm at a Cure show, I can't sit still. As the evening goes on, I just get wrapped up in the music more and more and more. A Cure concert is, for me, the closest thing I'll ever come to a religious experience as I just lose myself for three hours in their music. So, it was VERY hard to have to sit there because everyone of the morons around me wouldn't get up. It wasn't until the end of the show that they finally got up and stayed there, including for all 3 encores. I had been forced to tap my feet and bop my head and pretty much look like I was having an epileptic seizure in my seat up until then. It really pissed me off the whole show. I posted here at LJ a few months back at how annoyed I was at the Goths at the Birthday Massacre concert for just standing there, but at least they STOOD! The people in Fairfax just sat there! I had been up and going since 6 in the morning and had to travel 3 states to even got TO the show but I kept going the whole night and then drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Richmond after the show, getting home around 3 AM. Lazy fucks! Fuck you Fairfax!! FUCK. YOU.
*Phew*
Now that I got that annoyance off my chest, I'll skip over calling out the people who DIDN'T go with me and just say that everyone of you missed an awesome show, not to mention the world premiere of 3 new songs...
And how fitting, as I finish typing this, the video for the Cure's "Charlotte Sometimes" just came on TV...nice...
The Cure played the Patriot Center last Friday, the 9th, up in Fairfax. I had a super long day that day because it started in Grand Rapids, MIchigan, where I had to attend a big regional meeting for Coke and give a presentation (which went well, thankfully). Then I had to make my way via plane from Grand Rapids to Detroit and then on to Dulles. Made it back without a hitch, kicked around Fairfax some before the show, headed into the arena about 7 and caught the opening act, 65 Days Of Static at 8. They were...okay. They ripped through a 30-minute set in which every song was an instrumental. They rocked out, though some lyrics would have been nice. Still, they held the fort nicely while people shuffled in and out, ticket in one hand trying to find their seat, beer or wine in the other hand.
The Cure came on just a little after 9 and started with some of their more downtempo, atmospheric material like "Plainsong" and "Prayers For Rain." During "Prayers," Robert got in touch with his inner-Celine Dion and belted out the word RAIIIIIIIIINNNNN at the top of his lungs and for about a good 10-15 seconds. Maybe even longer. It seriously sounded like he went on forever with that one note. I was extremely impressed, considering Robert is more generally known for his hair than his voice.
Let me talk about Robert for a second too. To most people, The Cure is Robert and Robert is The Cure. Watching the show at the Patriot Center, I saw a band that was probably the most cohesive and together unit I have ever seen. Porl, Jason, and Simon were all on the same page as Robert the whole night. But you couldn't escape the cult of personality that has formed around Robert. The crowd just had their eyes on him the whole night, cheering and applauding every little thing he did, whether it was nailing a guitar part or something as simple as taking a step back from the microphone.
For the rest of the nearly THREE HOUR concert, the Cure rocketed through some lesser known songs like "M" and "To Wish Impossible Things" as well as all their big hits, such as "Friday I'm In Love," "Love Song," "Lovecats," and "Just Like Heaven." The last one provided a great moment as the entire crowd sang along word for word and note for note. The band even pulled out three encores and whipped out "Grinding Halt," one of their earliest songs and a song which just kicks ass live.
Now let me come to my one complaint about the evening. The people. Drunk, stupid and happy, almost everyone around me looked to be having a great time. But they showed their support for the band by...sitting...for almost the whole show. They fucking sat there! If you've never seen The Cure live, you may be surprised to find that they are one of the most energetic shows you'll ever see. I know when I'm at a Cure show, I can't sit still. As the evening goes on, I just get wrapped up in the music more and more and more. A Cure concert is, for me, the closest thing I'll ever come to a religious experience as I just lose myself for three hours in their music. So, it was VERY hard to have to sit there because everyone of the morons around me wouldn't get up. It wasn't until the end of the show that they finally got up and stayed there, including for all 3 encores. I had been forced to tap my feet and bop my head and pretty much look like I was having an epileptic seizure in my seat up until then. It really pissed me off the whole show. I posted here at LJ a few months back at how annoyed I was at the Goths at the Birthday Massacre concert for just standing there, but at least they STOOD! The people in Fairfax just sat there! I had been up and going since 6 in the morning and had to travel 3 states to even got TO the show but I kept going the whole night and then drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Richmond after the show, getting home around 3 AM. Lazy fucks! Fuck you Fairfax!! FUCK. YOU.
*Phew*
Now that I got that annoyance off my chest, I'll skip over calling out the people who DIDN'T go with me and just say that everyone of you missed an awesome show, not to mention the world premiere of 3 new songs...
And how fitting, as I finish typing this, the video for the Cure's "Charlotte Sometimes" just came on TV...nice...