Fluir (April 1987)

The Cure Live

In an of the most intelligent sentences than I already heard, Lobăo (note: a brasilian artist) said that the rock wandered. But in the case of The Cure, we can affirm that the rock got right and it produced one of the best bands of all the times. The good of this group is that it is not pre-anything nor pos-anything. It is a sound that reflects the well today reality. Dense, heavy, cheerful, romantic sometimes - this is The Cure. It is a sound with vitality, energy, and necessary vibration for the most varied publics' pleasure.
The show was marked by the competence and professionalism. Illumination needs and a lot of communication to the public. Robert Smith and his friends should not have been believing in the people euphoria and, in a certain moment, he commented: "It is the larggest public that we ever had". I don't know if he referred to the Brazilian tour or the band history... I just know that was the best rock show than I already attended, better than The Police show one year ago in Rio de Janeiro, and much better than Siouxsie & Banshees, that recently came to Brazil.
...The show could not have been better. The emotion of see them playing "Shake Dog Shake", "A Forest", "Killing An Arab", "Inbetween Days", "The Walk", "Night Like This" and some unreleased ones were indescribable. Still, the show happened in the best possible climate without mess or violence among the people. There been all the types: punks, gothics, girls, surfers, skaters... everybody in a cult to The Cure.
In the moment they played "Inbetween Days", of the album Head On The Door, the Ginásio do Ibirapuera almost fell down, one of the show high points, because in spite of the barriers of the language what we verified was the public singing the whole music, what checks the group universality good music.
Although Robert Smith showed economic in the guitar, he proved that is a master in the instrument and, during "A Forest" and "Killing An Arab", wasted technique and versatility. Who has the album Concert knows how good are those guitars. The other musicians are also good, especially Boris Willians, an excellent instrumentalist.
There was who thinked the band 'cold' on the stage. I don't agree. I believe that they are followerses to a style that offers the exact dimension of the group personality. They are not stars (although they are very brilliant inside black clothes). Robert Smith passed the whole time smiling, too free for a perfect show in every details... Robert showed dazzled by enchanting thousands of people. Phenomenon that also happened in Porto Alegre and in Rio de Janeiro. In any moment Smith showed unfree for being playing for so much people.
Summarizing, the show was incredible because it unites the group gloomy side to the luminous side, allowing that several tendencies and styles people enter in the same syntony stippled by guitars and almost magic synthesizers. The Cure cannot be the most influential band of the world, but surely brings to the music what it offers of better: creativity, good lyrics and an unique and own instrumental. It is not the cure because, fortunately, the rock was never sick.
(Alceu Toledo Júnior)

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