No hit album. No opening act. No sell-out. No umbrellas.

No problem.

Appearing on what could be called a "Giving fans their money's worth tour,"
England's the Cure serenaded a throng of loud loyalists with a two-hour set
and a half-hour of encores at The Summit Friday night.

Performed upon an elaborately decorated stage with perhaps the best light
show The Summit has ever seen, this was the kind of nonstop marathon one
associates more with Bruce Springsteen in his prime than an aging five-man
band long pegged for its gloomy "mope rock."

The rains outside certainly signaled dreariness -- compounded when Summit
security personnel told fans they couldn't bring umbrellas inside (a policy
that was inconsistent at different entrances).

But inside it was dry and hot, hot, hot, as the Cure charged into a set
ranging through its 18-year recording career. At times it was surprisingly
vigorous, and at others ponderously heavy.

Opening with the ringing, dramatically building Want off its new album,
Wild Mood Swings, the band played amid twisted roller coaster tracks and
beneath a decaying carnival canopy.

The vivid lighting -- which compensated for static showmanship --included
colorful flashes of playful psychedelia and intricate webs of pinpoint
spots.

The sound mix was dense and muddied up front but far better at the back of
the arena.

Robert Smith was, of course, the focus, doing all the singing and often
playing lead guitar, both electric and acoustic.

Smith augmented his usual wild-mane, lipstick-smeared look with a large
green Houston Aeros jersey. Bassist Simon Gallup stole a bit of his fashion
thunder, wearing a short black skirt over red leggings.

Though the set wound down with a thunderous aural assault, it was more
often marked by the kind of lilting, even joyful pop that's long belied
this band's dark image.

Songs such as Just Like Heaven, Friday I'm in Love, the new Mint Car and a
jazzy encore of Why Can't I Be You? had fans dancing at their seats.
Another encore, the brassy and sassy Let's Go to Bed, sounded like Duran
Duran's snappy Girls on Film.

Like that group, the Cure is an '80s band bravely carrying on in the '90s,
when platinum (if not gold) album sales are but fond memories. Yet its
stout and costly presentation Friday night showed no signal to surrender.

     If life gets any more perfect that Friday, August 23, 1996, then 
I don't want to know about it.  The events which I am now recounting 
to you still leave me in awe.  Yes, I AM speaking of THE CURE's 
brilliant performance at the Houston Summit....and a bit more!
     When we arrived at the Summit, it was raining and just shortly 
before the projected starting time of 8:00pm.  We took our seats at 
7:50, only to find that the band wasn't quite ready to begin.  
Slightly after 8:30, the lights went black and the arena filled with 
the unmistakable introduction of the now classic "want".  The crowd 
went absolutely berserk, while chills crept down my spine.  The set 
proceeded along after that much as it has in the past few months- 
"club america", "fascination street"(cool intro), and 
"lullaby"(simply haunting).  Then, Robert announced that the next 
song had not yet been performed during the present tour.  As the 
light crackling of chimes were let loose, the band launched into 
"high".  Surprisingly tight, and expertly done, it was refreshing to 
hear.
     Afterwards, "this is a lie"(lovely percussion) was played, 
followed by an impressive rendition of an old favorite, "piggy in the 
mirror", because as Robert explained, "This is the way I feel tonight.
..."  Meanwhile, a number of fair-weather "fans" behind me, females 
all, were getting impatient and rather annoying.  "LIKE, this is 
boring!  Where's just like heaven?!" was the call from these 
ungrateful wrenches.  Unfortunately, their request was granted almost 
immediately as "JLH" was next.  In quick succession, "jupiter 
crash"(cool space background), "round&round&round", "lovesong"(very 
sad, indeed), "mint car", "strange attraction", "catch"(no flaws), 
"FIIL", and "return"(great keyboards, roger!) followed.
     Then, just as suddenly as it started, the mostly pop-oriented 
portion of the set ended, bleeding slowly into a truly astounding 
masterpiece of melancholy.  "treasure" and "trap"(wow!) initiated 
this dark crossroads.  Robert paused for a moment and then explained, 
"This next song really hasn't been played much in the past 9 years.  
It's called the kiss."  With this pronouncement, the arena exploded 
into shrieks of approval.  "the kiss" far exceeded my expectations, 
with Robert unleashing a barrage of intensely guitar riffs which 
forced my emotions to the surface like it never has before.  "prayers 
for rain" quickly added to the ferocity of the moment (Robert's "rain-
yell" lasted about 13 seconds BTW).  an equally abusive version of 
"shiver and shake" followed, building the crescendo of despair to an 
apex which left me in tears.  Then, a tension release: "inbetween 
days".
This lasted for but a few few moments, however, as the band reverted 
swiftly back to gloom with an emotional rendition of "from the edge 
of the deep green sea", which, incidentally benefit ted from a 
spectacular guitar solo courtesy of Perry (thanks Perry!).  A 
beautiful "bare" crept along next, with a demanding version of 
"disintegration" closing the main part of the show.
     Now, the encores were fairly routine as far as this tour is 
concerned: "hot! hot! hot!", "let's go to bed" (dance contest time!), 
and an absolutely hysterical "why can't i be you/young at 
heart/witchcraft/moon river/lovecats" medally.  The second encore 
concluded the performance with "three imaginary boys", "boy's don't 
cry", "10:15", "killing an arab/foxy lady" (driving!), and one of my 
very favorites: "a forest".  Robert included two sets of extra lyrics 
into the ending of this song and began it by chasing Simon back and 
forth across the stage while they were playing.  The total song time 
length was about 15 minutes.  Simon pounded his bass furiously at the 
end and walked off the stage.  Robert said goodnight and it was over..
..for most people!
     Without going into too much detail, due to the still mysterious 
efforts of my sister, my fiance' and I found ourselves being escorted 
backstage as guests for the aftershow party with the band.  I was a 
nervous wreck and only the constant reassurances of my sister and her 
friend (who were already on very close terms with several band 
members) kept me from having an over-expectant breakdown.  Roger 
arrived first, chatting happily with several of the guests.  Perry 
quickly followed, bringing with him drinks for my sister and her 
friend and introducing himself to my fiance' and I.  I was struck 
with amazement at his genuine warmth and graciousness throughout the 
night.  After a short time, we were separated from the other guests 
by Roger and Perry (much to the chagrin of more than a few obsessives 
who did not want to go home) and taken just outside of the room where 
Robert was recovering from the show.  We stood and conversed for a 
while, weaseled autographs, and took silly pictures together.  Then, 
quite suddenly, Robert emerged from the room looking completely 
exhausted, as well as a bit intoxicated.  Perry introduced me to him 
and we shook hands, a shy smile spread across his face.  Before a 
conversation could develop, however, Robert was whisked off to the 
tour bus in order to head to the hotel (Simon had already left with 
his new girlfriend).  Perry, Roger, and Jason were intent on going to 
a club for the night and because I reside in Houston, my judgement 
was requested on where we would go.  We quickly came to an agreement 
and departed for an evening of drinking and dancing.  I was really 
shocked at the friendly and down-to-earth nature of the entire band.  
It was SO easy to feel completely at ease with them.  Unfortunately, 
my fiance' had to work in the morning a resultingly, we left the band 
at about 3:30am.  My sister and her friend stayed on, though 
(hmmmmmm!). 
     During the 10 years that I have followed the band I never ONCE 
believed I would ever meet Bob and the Boys.  I survived adolescence, 
graduated from college, and became a teacher, all along using THE 
CURE's music as an emotional guide and trying not to embarres Robert 
by becoming an obsessive.  Now, after this wonderful evening of music 
and amazement, I believe I can just about die a happy man, indeed!

Thanks Perry, Roger, Simon, Jason, and of course, Robert for 
everything!!!

(Sorry this isn't much of a review,I'll try to write a better one for New
Orleans.)

I got to the Summit at 6:30 in time to hear the soundcheck of 100 years,
Shiver and Shake,and what sounded like Plainsong,but I'm not sure on that.

Doors open around 7,as Mr. Metal Detector and his frisking friend come
to check the crowd.I make a quick exit out of line to ditch something,
and don't get in untill  7:30.Small crowd,but it fills up to about 85 or 90%
of capacity eventually.

The setlists were taped to the stage at 8:05.The first thing I noticed was
how long they were as compared to a normal setlist.A good sign.

It's getting close to 8:30 and still the band isn't out.I'm getting worried
that we'll get a short show.Then....

Want-Lights out at 8:30 and the taped part starts,great opening song and I
love the opening scream.

Club America-I really dislike this on the album,but this was good.I've had
the chorus in my head all day. 

"Thank Q and hello again.This is from Disintegration,it's called 
Fascination St."

Fascination St.-Not as good as the 89 or 92 versions.Robert did a different
opening guitar bit.This is the only song where I thought Jason's drumming
was a bit off.Maybe it's me.

Lullaby-1st time the spiderweb backdrop appears and the cones descend.Quite
good.

"This is..I usually don't say "this is" so much until I'm drunker,which will
come later.This is the first time we're doing this one on this tour so...
(makes a squirming motion,as if he's expecting it to be bad),it's called
High."

High-A nice surprise.Very good for the 1st time,and it was less "poppy" and
more laid back.It also sounds like Roger added a new keyboard part in the
middle which really sounded nice.

"A real mood swing.This..is..a..lie."

This is a lie-Excellent,one of my favorites from WMS.Jason upfront on the
extra drum set,Perry on Roger's right helping with keyboards,and Simon on
his knees for the whole song.

"This is a song we don't play very often.It's from The Top album.It's called
Piggy in the Mirror"

Piggy in the Mirror-I'm glad they played this one.Great version,probably as
good as the Prayer Tour.Great keyboards from Roger and Perry.

Just Like Heaven-Robert,Simon,Perry have a meeting in front of the drums,
Simon comes bouncing out to start the song.Great version,but I was
distracted by all the "fans" rushing back in to hear 1 of the 2 songs they
knew.

Jupiter Crash-I like this song,but found it to be flat live.Great backdrop
though.

Round+Round+Round-Why do they bother playing this one?Next song please.

Lovesong-Now we're talking.This beats the 89 and 92 versions straight out.
I love the way Robert is extending the lines.Really downbeat and sad.My kind
of song.This is also when the crowd seemed to really get going.

"These are supposed to be happy songs,but that one makes me cry.This one
however..."

Mint Car-I don't like this song,but it was done very well.Roger walking
over to the fans on his right while playing his tambourine.

Strange Attraction-I like this one a lot,but it's much better live.The added
guitar gives it a bit of an edge it doesn't have on the album.Great backdrop
again.

"This ones from the Kiss Me album.It's a single.It's called Catch"

Catch-Another nice surprise.Done expertly.No lyric screw-up's that I can 
remember.

(Mumbles,mumbles)"I really enjoy doing this song on a Friday." 

Friday I'm in Love-I don't like this song either,but again it was done very
well.The crowd was still really into the show,so it was hard not to get
caught up in it.

Return-Much better live than on record,but still only an average song.Crowd
starts losing interest.

Treasure-A good song,but a bit plain live.Crowd sits back down.

Trap-Wow,I'm surprised how good this sounds live.The crowd is back into the
show from this point forward.

The Kiss-Stunning!Robert strangling his guitar.Great red and yellow lights
all over the stage.

Prayers for Rain-Not as good as the Prayer Tour version,but no complaining 
from me.Raiiiiiiiin is held for about 10 seconds.

Shiver and Shake-Unreal!Done very fast,but long.Incredible playing by Robert
and Perry.Trap-Shiver was the highlight of the show for me.

Inbetween Days-Good version,but it seems out of place in the set.It
breaks the intensity set by the previous 4 songs.

Edge of the Deep Green Sea-A very good version of a great song.It was just
a notch below the Wish Tour version,but nobody can play like Porl.

Bare-Great version,very moody.Robert using the different voice for the 
"different ways" part of the song.It's done in a sort of mocking the person
saying the line type voice.

Disintegration-A nice semi-slow version tonight.Robert of course forgets
some of the lines and can't quite get the solo right.It still sounds great
though.The last 3 songs make for a strong ending.



"Thankyouverymuch"

Hot Hot Hot-The beginning of a classic Idiot Pop Songs encore.Perry really
shines on this one.

"Time for the Idiot Dance Contest.People in Texas like them...Only 2 songs
I can dance to,this is one of them"

Let's Go to Bed-I thought I was tired of this,but it was really great
tonight.Robert only sang the 1st and last verse,he forgot the rest of the
song.He went to Roger's side of the stage first and started shaking hands
and doing strange little dances.Then he came to Perry's side,but couldn't
find a way to get close enough,so he walks on the speakers to stand on some
of the equipment cases.

Why Can't I Be You-Fantastic!Even better than the Prayer Tour versions.Where
to start?Robert starts the song,walks along front of the stage,then reaches
out to get a bunch of flowers from the crowd.When he gets to the break where
they add the different songs,he's on the right edge of the stage playing to 
the crowd as he sings Witchcraft followed by a great version of Young at 
Heart.Then Robert does a sort of crumbling motion,while Roger plays the
opening piano part of The Caterpillar.Robert looks over to him as if he's
trying to figure out what he's playing,then launches into Lovecats.Then he
gets back onstage as the band start playing Lovecats and sings it again.
After his manic race through of that,we get "We are the Champions" and Moon
River before they start WCIBY again.Absolutely brilliant and fun.

"This is for Bridgette.On her birthday."

3 Imaginary Boys-I was shocked at how many people knew and sang along with
this one.Another very nice surprise

"This is for ? on HIS birthday."

Boys Don't Cry-The crowd was as loud as the band.I believe this is the song
where Roger was being chased behind the drums by a crew member while playing
his tambourine.     

10:15 Saturday Night-How many times can I use the word great?
Another strong version,with drips that seemed to last forever.

Killing An Arab-Really powerful version of this classic.Excellent guitar
work,great vocals.

A Forest-Normal keyboard/guitar opening,followed by a different guitar part
before the start of the vocals.At the middle of the song Robert adds the 1st
set of new lyrics,but I couldn't make them out.Then the new part of Jason
drumming while Robert and Simon stand in front of the drums playing softly.
It sounds like Robert is playing 2 different songs in this part,but I didn't
recognize them.Then Robert adds another set of lyrics before the band go
back to the regular pace.Then it's the classic Simon ending.Robert and Perry
take off their guitars and watch as Simon does the extended exit,until he
gets to the very end and he shoves the bass against the amp and creates a
great blast of feedback before he attacks the bass.Brilliant.

"Thank Q.  It was fuckin' excellent.  We'll see you again"

An amazing end to a brilliant show.I can't wait to see what they give us
in New Orleans on Sunday.