Info:

Line up:
Robert Smith- guitar, vocals
Simon Gallup- bass
Perry Bamonte- guitar
Jason Cooper- drums
Roger O'Donnell- keyboards

Reviews:
POSTED TO DESCENT:
Show yesterday? Sums up the Cure these days: So-so. Not memorable - jut "there".

Neat setlist, including such potent songs as "The Figurehead" ('I can lose myself in Chinese art and _English_ girls...'), "A Strange Day" and "One Hundred Years"; 'competent', 'honest' performance.

>From a front-row view: Robert ever-so-lovely; Jason playing remarkably well - though in some songs one does miss Boris for his characteristic touch; Roger mixed too low - you could barely make out his part in "Disintegration", for example, and that is normally so loud; Perry sober delivery; Simon, lively and amazing as ever - possibly the last remaining Cure figurehead from a golden era, smiley.

To those eagerly awaiting for the forthcoming shows: don't hold your expectations too high.

This Cure bears no resemblance at all to that of the '80s; it's a self-indulgent one - in it for the fun of it; not anymore for the sheer passion for what they're doing. And art loses out when that happens...

Lacklustre performances is the key idea here, consistently so after the "Wish" period.

"Here are the young men/ a weight on their shoulders"...? - Ian Curtis would have applied it perfectly in here; it's been too many years and cycles since '79. You can feel that their age has insidiously set in, as much as they might not want to admit it (or think of it).

To the new Cure fans (post-'92, I mean): sorry - you came in just too late. Unfortunately, you never caught a glimpse of what the Cure was once capable of conveying - especially during those rapturous days around '87 and '89.

The Cure as it was known then, is over - the cult, the dedication; the perfume of something so uniquely delicious and profound. What is left now is just respect and admiration... and a band living in the shadows of their past; and battling their own ghosts.

I can only wish they're gracious enough to know when to call it quits, when they should've done it already after "Wish". To keep at least the magic of a career intact.

POSTED TO DESCENT:

Having been in the front and in the middle of the Astoria I could not fail to notice the bands expression. Having received copious emails expressing that the Cure are past it and don't look enthusiastic I would have to comment that is a load of cobblers!! Just because they don't put every body emotion in it doesn't mean they don't put their heart and soul into it, I could definitely see a lots of heart in what they do. After the gig I went to the aftershow party at Gossips and nearly everyone asked if I liked their latest stuff (wms) and I was so surprised to find that hardly anyone likes it. Early Cure was great, fantastic stuff but like all of us we grow older and change and I love their older stuff just as much, at least they didn't sell out. Well don't know about you but I'll be at HMV on Monday morning- enjoy everyone.