Just a momentary glimpse of  Robert Smith,  caught in a stray spotlight
asthe  Cure  mounted the otherwise blacked-out stage, was enough to send the
audience at America West Arena into a screaming frenzy Sunday.
 
   Smith, the epitome of cult hero in his deathly pallid complexion, Tiny
Tim makeup and a Phoenix Coyotes jersey, carried the show. 
	How he did this is a bit of a mystery. After all, he didn't jump around the
stage or assume the poses of a guitar whiz. Mostly, he stood there and sang
in his dolorous voice and played his distinctive, ethereal guitar lines --
slow, melodic and deliberate. He even apologized to the audience for not
talking much between songs.
 
   Even so, when it was time to call for encores, the chants of "Rob-ERT!
Rob-ERT! Rob-ERT!" filled the half-capacity crowd.
 
   The mix and acoustics of the arena made mush of some of Smith's vocals,
and the instrumental sounds often smeared together.
 
   Still, Smith and the band -- bassist Simon Gallup, drummer Jason
Cooper,guitarist Perry Bamonte and keyboardist Roger O'Donnell -- possessed
an insistent way with a sinuous beat. The audience bobbed and weaved to the
trance-inducing numbers.
 
   The band sometimes exhibited a raw, overpowering edge that's smoothed out
some on its records.
 
   The stage set, featuring a video display, an ominous "ceiling" and a
wrecked roller coaster, underscor
ed the fever-dream atmosphere of most of the songs.  Parts of the ceiling
undulated to some of the song
s.
 
   Picking and choosing from a catalog of songs that dates back to 1979,
Smith (the only original member left) indeed painted a picture of Wild Mood
Swings, which happens to be the title of the  Cure's  current album.
Including two encores, the  concert  encompassed 30 songs from the band's
earliest single to
its latest hit.
 
   The show was well-paced, avoiding some of the more obvious ploys of rock
shows. For instance, the jaunty, current hit, Mint Car, came about midway
through the show instead of near the beginning or near the end.
 
   Highlights included a dreamy, yet hard-driving Fascination Street, the
paranoia of the controversial, Albert Camus-inspired Killing an Arab (the
band'sfirst single) and the upbeat Friday I'm in Love.

Craig's Rating: C

     After seeing this show I am really glad that I went on a road
trip because if this was my only Cure experience I would be very
depressed.  A completely standard set, with a crowd that was not into
it at all really.  They jumped around for FIIL and a couple others,
but that's about it.  Aftershow with just Roger was short too.
 I am unsure of the setlist because I didn't even
arrive at the arena until Trap (1:15 hrs into the show).  Hey, I was
talking to Simon on the coast of the Pacific ocean at 3pm and even
going 100mph I couldn't get there in time!  It was worth the
sacrifice.  The band flew to phx BTW.