ROBERT SMITH was on a mission Tuesday night to make the title of The Cure's new album, "Wild Mood Swings," the theme of the band's show at Nassau Coliseum. Long celebrated as the prince of postpunk gloom, the pale, lipsticked frontman delivered so many dementedly optimistic ditties in addition to his trademark fatalistic dirges that it seemed he'd swallowed a pharmaceutical highball of uppers and downers. Smith should have left his chipper tunes at home. His heart clearly belonged to his brooding, claustrophobic ballads about heartbreak, existential angst and loss, while his cheerful chirpings about life's joys seemed as vapid as the clouds of smoke swirling across the stage. "The sun is up, I'm so happy I could scream! And there's nowhere else in this world I'd rather be than here with you!" Smith chanted mechanically in "Mint Car," with neither the irony to make the song sinister nor the sincerity to make it pop. But when he wailed, "I'm sick of it all!" in "Trap," he reveled in his pain and turned his anguished lows into the audience's high. In the last two decades, The Cure has been a revolving door, with at least one different member on each of its 16 albums. Since its last U.S. tour four years ago, the British doom group has lost two key, longtime members. But apart from occasional synthesizer overdoses and a few inspirational lapses, the band played tightly. Guitarists Smith and Perry Bamonte produced delicately cascading minor-key riffs in such ballads as "Jupiter Crash," then wailed and arched in the swaggering "Club America." Newcomer drummer Jason Cooper gently massaged the waltzing "This Is a Lie," while veteran bassist Simon Gallup turned "Strange Attraction" into an offbeat dance tune. Crashing chords from returning keyboardist Roger O'Donnell added a menacing undertow to "Prayers for Rain." It was Smith's grief-drenched voice and persona, however, that dominated the show. Limp, knock-kneed and contorted like a puppet whose master had lost half the strings, he shuddered, hugged himself and groaned with enough agony to inspire a whole new generation of morose Visigoths - many of whom already were in the audience, judging from the abundance of teenagers of both sexes sporting chains, black eyeliner and fluorescent hair. Smith's oversized Islanders' sweatshirt, black jeans and hightops enhanced his adolescent image and highlighted his ghoulish lipstick and clownish mop of hair. And the psychedelic carnival set - ice-cream cones that descended from the ceiling, broken roller-coaster rails and shifting light beams - smacked of a teenage fantasy run amok. But as Smith delivered songs both old and new, it became clear that the 37-year-old songwriter has matured both professionally and emotionally since he blubbered lines like "It doesn't matter if we all die!" on The Cure's 1982 album, "Pornography." His juvenile whining has given way to stronger laments about life's passage, loves lost and damage that can never be undone. "I've thrown my sweetest dreams away," he confessed in his somber new dirge "Bare." Smith's new lite tunes suggest that The Cure wants to retain its relatively new spot in the commercial mainstream. Fortunately, his new depressive offerings contain enough substance to ensure the band still has a place in the musical underground where it once loved to dwell.
WOW...another great performance by the world's greatest band. Tonight they changed the set list to include some great old songs, including Piggy in a Mirror and Charlotte Sometimes (i know they've been playing CS, but they didnt when i saw them in worchester, and its one of my favorites - actually, i havent seen them do CS live since Edinburgh in 1985). Robert was in a wacky mood - he adopted an alternate persona for the first of the three encores - he began by clearly articulating a thank you - rather than the usual k-you, he said THANK YOU VERY MUCH, proceeded to sort of introduce the band and in general acted like an MC - it was quite a hoot! Then he did this wierd mumbling thing with Roger, and made up some funny lirics to Why Cant I Be You. Simon jumped like a monkey, Jason played great, Perry's shoes were glued to the stage (but he did groove a bit), and Roger waved his dorky wave to the audience. Roger plays great, and he's been very helpful and accessible on line, and we love him dearly, but he is a bit dorky....and he really should give that tambourine a rest Oh well, off to bed before my ears stop ringing....
Piggy In The Mirror was definitely a pleasant surprise, as was Primary. A Strange Day was also an incredible performance. Before Pictures of You, Robert asked, "Did anyone go last night?" (lots of cheers) "Good, then you didn't hear this one". After Killing An Arab, he said, "Good night, and see you in September, maybe." OH PLEASE LET IT BE TRUE! I managed to get one of Jason's drumsticks. I'll treasure it forever. Whoever's going to the Philly show tomorrow night are in for a great show. enjoy!