Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2008 > June > 09 > Entry
Review: The Cure at Austin Music Hall
Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
- Check out pics from the show in our Live from Austin 2008 gallery
- A-List: The Cure at Austin Music Hall
Robert Smith is old school.
The man’s been in the music business for 30+ years, smearing his lipstick, teasing his hair, fluttering his raccoon eyes and wearing large guitars and black shirts to hide his muffin-top girth longer than many of his newer fans have been alive.
So when fans have paid more than $50 for a general admission ticket in Austin Music Hall, Austin’s least pleasant venue (think bikram yoga studio), he’s going to give them their money’s worth.
Which means a three-hour show.
Yep, three hours that reached all the way back to the band’s 1978 debut “Three Imaginary Boys,” which let the band pack in a mess of new songs without sacrificing any hits. New material (“The Only One,” “the Perfect Boy”) was seamlessly integrated into sing-along alt-classics such as “Pictures of You,” “Fascination Street” and, of course, “Just Like Heaven,” simply one of the most perfect rock songs of the past 30 years.
All of this worked because, this time out, the band stripped back to a four-piece: Smith, guitarist Porl Thompson, bassist Simon Gallup and drummer Jason Cooper. The two former players have wandered in and out of the band since the beginning; the latter is a 13-year vet. No keyboards on stage, which forced Thompson to turn, say, the synth-rush of “Inbetween Days” and “Just Like Heaven” into a sharp lead.
Between them, Thompson and Gallup were present during both the Cure’s early ’80s high Goth phase (“Seventeen Seconds/”Faith”/”Pornography”) and their mid-80s biggest-mopes-in-the-world stretch (“Head on the Door”/”Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me”/”Disintegration”).
This made for a hardcore Cure nerd’s dream set list - lots of surprisingly heavy post-punk guitar thrum, light on the sugary synth-pop. There’s nothing wrong with the latter, but it was thrilling to hear the band’s proggier tendencies pared back to rock-band parameters - songs such as “Lullaby” and “Primary” are shockingly well-constructed.
And it speaks to Smith’s singular blend of tongue-in-cheek showmanship and genuine chops that he can announce a double-encore of really old material with “Come with me for a trip back through time” and not make you wanna blanch. A four-song set from “Seventeen Seconds” and a seven-song set (!!!) from “Boys Don’t Cry” followed.
In spite of brutal claustrophobia and sweltering temperatures, for the 30-somethings in the crowd for whom “Disintegration” was their generation’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” it was (sorry) just like heaven.
Click below for a full set list.
The set list:
open
fascination street
alt.end
torture
the end of the world
lovesong
the big hand
pictures of you
lullaby
catch
the perfect boy
from the edge of the deep green sea
the figurehead
a strange day
sleep when i’m dead
push
doing the unstuck
inbetween days
just like heaven
primary
the only one
signal to noise
the hanging garden
one hundred years
end
Encore:
at night
m
play for today
a forest
Encore 2:
three imaginary boys
fire in cairo
boys don’t cry
jumping someone else’s train
grinding halt
10:15 saturday night
killing an arab
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.
By Stan
June 9, 2008 12:26 PM | Link to this
The sound has improved 100% at the venue, but yeah, it was hot.
Great show, 3 hours, it was pretty amazing.
By Joseph
June 9, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this
Perfect review of a perfect show. The end set was AMAZING! Why did I stop wearing black?
By Eric
June 9, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this
The Cure was amazing.
Totally disappointed in the Music Hall. You’d think they would know how much AC they would need for a summer sellout.
By Robert
June 9, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this
Accurate review Joe. With a 36 song set I shouldn’t nitpick but I’d love to have heard Close To Me, Lovecats, Why Can’t I Be You, and Let’s Go To Bed. Also, given the temperature in the Hall, Hot Hot Hot would have been an appropriate song choice. The sound under the deck on the first floor is still muddled but when you get out from under the overhang it was better. I think the place would work better with 500 less capacity in reference to your accurate claustrophobia observation. Allowing fewer people in the place might help with the AC efficiency as well and possibly make sight lines easier. But enough griping, it was a good show overall.
By stan
June 9, 2008 1:37 PM | Link to this
open, fascination street, alt.end, torture, the end of the world, lovesong, the big hand, pictures of you, lullaby, catch, the perfect boy, from the edge of the deep green sea, the figurehead, a strange day, sleep when i’m dead, push, doing the unstuck, inbetween days, just like heaven, primary, the only one, signal to noise, the hanging garden, one hundred years, end, e1: at night, m, play for today, a forest, e2: three imaginary boys, fire in cairo, boys don’t cry, jumping someone else’s train, grinding halt, 10:15 saturday night, killing an arab
By Freddy
June 9, 2008 2:01 PM | Link to this
It was like been in a time machine. I felt like I was in my early 20’s for 3 hours. Hell of a show. I had seen them before live in 1996 in Austin, but been 4 “rows” from the front was truly special. The Cure is a great live band. Not something you expect from listening to their records. Live, Smith is able to interact with the audience in a way that is very difficult to explain, but is very personal. Regarding the temperature, we kept moving forward closer to the stage, because people were bailing out from the front row. It was super hot and it matched the energy of the audience. I never wanted it to end.
By Alan
June 9, 2008 2:27 PM | Link to this
Austin Music Hall is awful. Worst place in Texas to hear music.
I’ve experienced better facilities at an all-night Muay Thai fighting arena.
By Logan
June 9, 2008 4:07 PM | Link to this
Graduated from UT in ‘91 and one thing that made my college experience awesome was the music. The two biggest bands at that time on the 6th St. scene were The Cure and INXS. Given that I didn’t have the chance to see The Cure in concert until last night, I almost couldn’t believe I was there watching them. That was one of the most awesome shows I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a bunch. I agree with Freddy, I also felt like I was in my 20’s for 3 hours. It seemed that literally everyone was dancing the whole time. A major party. At the end of the 2nd encore, someone in the audience begged Robert Smith to keep singing - he just smiled and grabbed his throat and said that just couldn’t. He gave it his all (in spite of the heat - he was sweating to death!). An awesome experience!
By Brent
June 9, 2008 5:54 PM | Link to this
The cure sounded great, Smiths voice is still perfect. everything was great but the piece of sh**T venue, Austin music suck feast hall.. What a horrible hot venue. They over sold the place by like 800 people. There wasn’t any seats and ever one on the first floor stands on a flat cement flour. IT was a sweat pit as well.. That place SUCKS!! need to finish building it.. sorry about the ***** but I paid like 130 dollars for that show.. The Cure rules though.
By Bill
June 9, 2008 6:25 PM | Link to this
The show blew me away! I was worried that they would focus on new material and the sugary songs they are known for by the masses and 30+ yr old women. But, they sang alot of the dark material that is very testosterone driven, especially with Simon’s hard bass lines. Thompson was great, too. That guy is a trip! I stood about five rows back and I felt like I was attending my own private show. The crowd was totally into the show and showed no signs of giving up for one more encore. It was also a trip to see so many hispanics at the show. I never would have thought The Cure would be a band they would like. The band and the crowd were awesome, although they need to bulldoze down the Austin Music Hall and start from scratch. It seems every public building you go to in Texas is overly airconditioned, but you could tell the Hall’s thermostat was set at 90 degrees coming on for a minute or two every thirty minutes! I also felt bad for Smith as the sound was horrible and he was so hot. Promoters should stay away from this sorry excuse for a venue. The show was great, though!
By John
June 9, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Seeing The Cure in a venue of that size is something I never thought I would be able to do again. Truly an unbelievable show and the set list only proved the depth and breadth of their work. It was so f’ing hot “Like a party in Hell” as Robert Smith said to the crowd. I can only imagine what was spent on the remodel of that facility - I can’t understand why they couldn’t have pumped a little more A/C in as well. Someone should be really embarrassed…
By Dave
June 10, 2008 7:06 AM | Link to this
Hey Joe, is anyone at AMH aware of all of the complaints about the sound and temperature? Do they care?
By Kent
June 10, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this
Awesome show, terrible venue. Unless you are over 6 feet tall or in the front row it sucks. Every angle is terrible. Even up in the balcony you struggle to see unless you are dead center. The sides don’t help either. Austin needs a good amphitheater.
By jb
June 10, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this
1- AMH was oversold by at least 300 ppl. Never been so miserable at a show. 2- Fix the f*ing air conditioner. 3- Get faster bartenders. 4- Spend money on new sound gear 5- As a 25 year Cure vet, I am shocked that was Porl on guitar. How does an accomplished musician like Porl Thompson miss that many notes in simple (yet crucial) phrases. Dude, I could play the key melody from “From The Edge of the Deep Green Sea” with my toes while drinking grain alcohol. But he managed to murder that? Sad…..
Robert & Simon, however, was absolutely on their game….
By BirdMadGirl
June 11, 2008 12:51 AM | Link to this
Best concert EVER. I’ve seen Cure 3 times and this was just the best one. I loved the fact that it was in a small venue, just didn’t expect to be oversold and so hot. People that weren’t actually fans were there taking the real fan’s spots. I guess they were there just to listen to Boys don’t Cry and Just like Heaven! Guys, if you go to a good concert like that, enjoy the show and don’t chat all the time or take obnoxious pictures of yourselves during the show, go smoke your dammed pot and get drunk in your trailer.
By Angie
June 11, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
That was a spot on review of an AMAZING show!!! If it wasn’t The Cure, I would never have gone back to Austin Music Hall! That is the worst venue in town!
By Greg
June 11, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this
I’ve seen every Cure tour since 1987 and this was by far the best show I’ve ever seen them perform. As they played The Figurehead and A Strange Day off of their 1982 album entitled Pornography, I turned to the fan next to me, also in his 30s, and said, “And remember. At the time these songs were written, REO Speedwagon and Journey were ALL THE RAGE over here in the States.” It is a testament to how far ahead of their time The Cure were and how significant their musical influence has been for the past 30-plus years. Even today, Porl Thompson looks like a character out of a Sci-Fi movie from the next century.
As for the venue. It was hot. As for the sound … the person who designed the venue needs to stop being defensive and think about this FACT: Robert Smith has been touring and playing music for more than 30 years, and on at LEAST four different occassions he looked exasperatingly over to stage left, pointed his finger at the microphone, and then pointed his finger up. He did it after the very first song. He did it again a few minutes later. He vocalized his displeasure with the sound in between songs and continued to look at his sound guys. He pointed to his microphone YET AGAIN after one of the encores, in a final desperate plea to increase the volume of his vocals.
Earth to ANYONE over at the music hall who will pay attention and actually DO SOMETHING … There are PROBLEMS with the sound at the Austin Music Hall. FIX IT! Let go of your FRIGGIN’ EGO and GIT ‘ER DONE!
By iana
October 22, 2008 3:41 PM | Link to this
this was the best show of my life. ive only seen the cure three other times, but this one far outweighed the other three. and definitely kicked everyone else’s ***.
being there was hell. and there were a lot of jerks around us. but they still managed to turn it into the best live performance ive ever seen. imagine how good it would have been in a nice venue surrounded by nice people!