Reviews from previous shows have concentrated on the important
'guts' of the Concert - set-lists, descriptions of a rather fantastic stage
and light show, and things that Robert may or may not have said in concert.
This review will offer a slightly different angle of the current Swing Tour,
aided greatly by the pint of vodka which I foolishly consumed in the Arena
bathroom :) -- as a result, I will not discuss the actual songs (...seeing
that I didn't quite remember what was played when!).
        The tone could perhaps have been set by the events of the previous
day: for the first time in seven years, the Band agreed to appear for an
In-Store to promote the album and Tour, and they managed to escape the mob
unharmed by nights end...  Would the Band be exhausted for this gig?  Would
they forever hate the people of the Bay?  Would they also have to pay the
$10 it cost to enter the parking lot at the state-of-the-art 'Shark Tank'?
By 6:00pm, the herds of fans were in line, all peacefully coexisting as one
- a colorful blend of the gothic, the frat-boys, and hockey fans(?)...  At
the Will-Call window, there were the usual freaks asking for their imaginary
Guest Passes...a humbling experience for those trying to impress their
dates.  After the doors had opened at 7:00, there were people partying it up
out in the parking lot -- well, at least myself and two friends were.
Perhaps tail-gating before Cure gigs has fallen by the wayside, just like
Robert's hair did after the '85 Tour...
        A mere thirty minutes before the scheduled 8:00 start time, there
was plenty of action side-stage: One computer programmer for the Cure was
furiously attempting to get the high score on his backgammon game, while a
colleague nearby lost at solitaire.  The security studs from BGP (the
Promoters) were busy flexing their muscles and fixing their hair, just in
case...you know those crazy Cure fans...  I was told that the Band would be
on at 8:15, perhaps to allow a tremendously meager crowd to grow, and at
least fill up half of the Arena.  The minutes passed.  People in the front
row were surprisingly not the raucous fans as some of us may be.  Some had
received their hot seats from the local station 'LIVE 105' that very
morning, who happened to have a surplus of these primo seats.  Others up
front had connections with BGP, so deserving of such great seats -- they
probably even knew several pop tracks off of 'Standing On A Beach'...
        Not surprisingly, the smoke machines kicked in at 8:27, and the
short-haired Roger led Jason, Simon, Perry, and that other guy who was
decked out the Shark's home-jersey, out onto the stage, as "Want" began on
tape.  The Band was greeted by the roar of the Bay Area's finest.  So far so
good.  As the fourth track, "Push", blasted out, I made my way out to my car
to get a few 'necessities'.  I asked several fans sitting on the curb what
they were doing outside.  They responded by asking who the opening band
was... (DOHP!!!)  Back inside, I listened to one of my personal favorites,
"Pictures of You", from the Men's restroom. The original seat I was issued
was way up in the 200 section, so I was not in any rush to re-enter.  I
rushed back in when my new favorite began, "Treasure".  By now, the Arena
(Cap:15,217) had maxed out at around 10,000 fans. Some even dared to stand
up and dance...
        By the 9th track, "Heaven", the floor sections were all standing --
I concluded that either they were into the show, or else they just couldn't
see with people standing in their way.  The lazy fans up on the sides
remained seated during many songs (with only a few exceptions), and did not
do much for their role as the Bay Area's best.  The upper-deck was...well,
you get the picture.  Following a slow but forever-brilliant "If Only
Tonight", the up-beat segment of the show played out, with "Strange Att.",
"Mint Car", "Lovesong", and the great light show for "Fascination St.".  I
admit that when the next song began to jam, it took me a second to realize
what it was...the U.S. debut of "Shiver & Shake" -- a neat lil bonus for us.
A quick "Prayer" update: only 21 seconds long (such a let down!).  The most
solid segment - as is quickly becoming standard for this Tour - closed the
main set, as the impressive "Deep Green Sea" gave way to "Bare", which led
into "Disintegration".  Spotting four seats open on the side of the front
row, I made my way down on the floor unhindered, to boogie up close.
        Less than 60 seconds after leaving the stage, the Band was back on
for their first encore, which featured the marvelous live rendition (great
keyboards from Roger) of "Catch", followed by "Hot, Hot, Hot", "Close To
Me", and "YCIBU" (By the way, all of these song titles are exactly as they
are printed on the set-list provided to the Mixing Crew).  The second encore
was limited to "Boys", "10:15", "Arab", and "Forest".  This evening's set
did not touch many of the ancient classics off the early albums, seen on
other shows.  [One note on these encores:the Band each night determines
exactly how long the encores will be before the concert even starts.  They
will play up to the allotted curfew each night,which was 11:00pm in San Jose]
        As the night was ending for most of the fans, I was fortunate to
have mine just beginning.  I had no Back-stage pass to my name...but it does
work wonders when you know the right names.  After a short delay, I was
allowed to join the rest of the A.S. group in the hospitality room -- a
make-shift area which was actually the hockey dressing rooms.  Inside, Roger
was already out talking to the group of twenty.  Perry soon appeared in
humorous fashion, donning a Shark's jersey with his name and #96 on it, and
he signed autographs with his roller-blades on :).  I asked him if I could
take him on one-on-one in roller-hockey on Friday in Vegas, and with a
smile, he commented that the Band was actually very limited in their free
time, referring to their soccer gig before the Philly show as one-off and a
rare occasion.  
        Confirming previous notations, Roger, was indeed the most talkative
member.  When confronted with a complaint about the Band's publicist, he
very kindly complimented M.Pagnotta and RMR on the great effort they have
given so far on this Tour.  A large concern with the Band has been the very
inconsistent local promotion of this Swing Tour - a painful realization
which set in amongst the fans back-stage.  When confronted with the question
about how the Band felt about this lack of promotion, Roger informed us that
they felt "Bad. It's such a good show...and it should be being seen by a lot
of people..." :(  The lengthy  conversation rolled on.  Kudos to all of you
fans who lit up the first show up in Worcester, as well as...yes, Rosemont
Horizon in Chicago, both singled out by Roger as impressive.  We were also
informed that the reason the Band went on stage nearly 30 minutes late was
because they were actually doing phone interviews across the country right
up to start-time.  We were then so rudely interrupted by the head of
security (j.k., Brian!) that "Robert had said for the rest of the
hospitality lot to come down into the dressing room..."  Alas, the night was
still young...
        The 70's funk music which blared out of the Band's portable music
console made Robert even more hard to hear, with his already 'fragile'
voice.  There was a battle amongst us to see who would provide Rob with the
cigarette he craved.  When asked what his impressions were about the 'Bay
Area's finest', Robert commented: "...tonight was different, because we did
the In-Store yesterday...so the whole group, before we were going on stage,
we felt that we knew 2,000 people in the audience..." -- a very safe
position, much less critical than my own interpretation after I was asked by
some punk to sit down during the show...yeah, whatever you say buddy.
        This marked the first time in a while that Robert actually greeted
the after-show fans, and as you may tell, the experience was quite
interesting to say the least.  He took care of all of us, spending about
30-minutes talking to us, signing, and posing for a few photos.  Jason was
in and about, and Simon finally stumbled in, had Robert sign a beer bottle,
and stumbled out, but not before signing someone's tour book with a comment
clarifying the actual meaning of the word 'Fag' (cigarette, in England)...
Before the evening came to a close, Roger mentioned how they were excited
about riding "that ride at that Hotel" in Vegas -- I'll believe it when I
see it (...which I will!).  I thanked a bunch of people for their generosity
(especially you, Darryl, for your kind patience and understanding), and
exchanged a zillion business cards to the wonderful people I met and will be
meeting at the shows coming up. This evening had many highlights (which
included that incredible artichoke pizza the Band had back-stage!).  I
finally got to meet the Band which I have greatly appreciated for the past
12 years (H.O.T.D. album), but I took it in stride and just  absorbed the
wonderful atmosphere.  No drool, no tears, and no regrets.  I'm quite aware
of the fans which have immortalized Robert as a demi-God.  I'd like to
assure you that, yes, he too is simply just another person like you or I
(...except he's much wealthier - a deserved reward for his exceptional
artistic creativity).
        The 1996 Swing Tour is now half-way over, and although it is quite
clear that the Cure have struggled in their ticket sales so far, it is
obviously not due to lack of talent or the dreaded 'old-age' syndrome --
they have more than made up for it in their ability to stage an
extraordinary performance that has satisfied the most important critic, the
Fans.  At this stage in their musical career, they have successfully found
their own way to stay not only inspired, but to remain inspiring to those
listening.  When was the last time Depeche played for 3 hours?  When was the
last time U2 obliterated their set-list for each different show?  These guys
are honestly having fun at what it is they do so great.  Those people
(pseudo-fans) who have so far stayed away have missed out on a refreshing,
memorable, and ever-changing Tour (which I thought might not be able to
match the strength of the powerful "Wish Tour") -- it is their loss, but I
suppose it gives us true fans more space to dance! :)  Coming up: SLC, Las
Vegas, L o s  A n g e l e s (3), San Diego, and Phoenix.  Whether this is
their last Tour or not is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that
they are HERE, and NOW -- this fan does not plan to miss any of the upcoming
regional shows.  I hope to see you, your friends, your friends' neighbors,
and your friends' neighbors' relatives, at the shows.  Isn't it about time
we start filling these arenas like they should be? If your local radio
station is not promoting the Cure too well, let them hear your voice...
Stay tuned for more!

The Cure's Robert Smith may be happy and cheerier these days,but what blew
away the San Jose Arena audience Monday night were his songs about gloom and
doom.

And blew away are the operable words here.Smith and his latest version of
the Cure gave an almost packed house the kind of show fans of alternative
music,who have had to settle for mostly mediocre live performances,haven't
seen in years.

The five-man band played for two hours and 45 minutes-33 songs,with barely
a break in between.There was no posing,no posturing,no sing-a-longs,no
pandering,no play-three-hits-and-leave-the-stage - all of which have become
stock in trade for modern rock bands without nearly 20 years of great
material behind them.

They did what too few do anymore:They let the music speak for itself in 
songs that were often long and dreamy enough to be movie scores.

It was a great relief to see musicians stretch out after several weeks of
bands giving the minimum at multi-group festivals.

Smith(backed by Simon Gallup on bass;Perry Bamonte on guitar;Roger O'Donnell
on  keyboards;and Jason Cooper on drums) drew from all of the Cure's albums,
including  its latest,'''Wild Mood Swings,''' which was a good description
of the show.

There were some lighter moments that had an audience of all ages dancing,
such as '''Hot,Hot,Hot!!''' and '''Just Like Heaven''';and there were the
songs of alienation,wistful longing and regret that no rocker does better
than Smith,such as '''Disintegration,''' '''Prayers for Rain,''' '''Want'''
and '''Pictures of You.'''

All were played elegantly and precisely.The skill of Smith's backup 
musicians sometimes gets overlooked(his last guitarist,Porl Thompson,went on
to keep up with and occasionally outshine Jimmy Page on tour).The arena's
acoustics were perfect,not too loud and very clear.

Something different

To be sure,Smith,36,who spent hours the night before signing autographs at
Tower Records in Campbell,seemed different than he did in his last two
appearances here,at the San Jose Civic Auditorium and at Spartan Stadium.

The heavy raccoon eye shadow was gone and so were the all-black clothes.In a
Sharks jersey,with his hair fluffy,not starched,he looked more like John
McEnroe than Edward Scissorhands.

But no one will confuse him with Tom Jones or Bono.He played in shadows and 
rarely drew a white spotlight.The visuals were centered around a brilliant
Floyd-like light show that created the illusion of tapestries one moment and
bizarre,troubled faces the next.

Smith so seldom moved on stage that he got a big round of applause toward 
the end of the set when he uncharacteristically walked over to both sides
and looked out and flirted a bit with the audience during '''Close to Me.'''
He spent most of the night standing in front of his mike like a sagging 
marionette.

But don't think I'm complaining here.This show was about intelligent,
sophisticated music,with strains of sitars,Indo-influenced guitars and
melancholy,lilting vocals-not the usual trappings of pop.

In fact,I never know what is more surprising about the Cure:the fact that it
didn't quite sell out the Arena,or the fact that the band can attract
enough fans to see them in such a big place.

Smith is one of the most unlikely pop stars this side of Morrissey.His music
is gothic,permeated with alienation and dark as Wagnerian opera.He sings
about love and passion like a prisoner unable to make real contact.It seems
too intelligent,personal and pained to be this popular.

Striking a chord

In '''Pictures of  You''' his love is gone,and he must shatter his remaining
pictures.'''Bare''' is a tribute to regret and frustration.
'''However hard I try,I will always feel regret,''' he sang in a chorus he
kept repeating.'''However hard I try,I will never forget.'''

In '''If Only Tonight We Could Sleep,''' he is denied even the most basic
refuge from his pain.

In '''Just Like Heaven,''' he is madly in love with a woman who is dead or
gone.

You might expect Smith,like Brian Eno or Robert Fripp,to be loved only by
critics and musicians.But he has hit a chord with the masses.

Perhaps his cries of helplessness are what makes him so attractive to teens
who often feel like prisoners in their own homes,overwhelmed by emotions and
forced to accept yearning in place of freedom.

There were dozens of young fans dressed like the old Smith,refugees from an
Ann Rice novel,with pasty white faces and vampire clothes.And there was an 
older contingent who either grew up with the Cure or stumbled upon these
movie-score-like longer songs on college radio.

On the way out,I heard a few younger fans of European industrial music
complaining about Smith selling out and playing in an Arena that actually
had - O! the horror! - yuppies in it.

Hey,no one said this is Joy Division or Front 242 or some other slice of
industrial angst-but it was a rare treat to see so many people enjoying the
more sophisticated side of pop.

  The Cure's "Swing Tour": Smith shows staying power

  The tickets said "seated," but by the end of two hours,
  Robert Smith had close to 10,000 people in the San Jose
   Arena standing up and dancing.

   No small feat for someone who, some have suggested, at
   37 is too old to remain the leader of his cape-wearing,
   black-lipsticked followers -- a world he pioneered more
   than a decade ago, when punk and mohawks were still the
   rage.

   Following Monday's powerful musical exhibition, Bay
   Area Cure fans have much cause to disagree with these
   skeptics.

   Avoiding the preliminary warm-up band set-up, Smith
   walked on-stage shortly after eight, clad in a San Jose
   Sharks t-shirt. The show commenced with flawless
   performances of the first two tracks off "Wild Mood
   Swings," "Want" and "Club America," before the band
   plunged into their older material.

   All in all, only seven of the 14 new tracks made it
   into the show, but this decision provided diversity and
   energy for a powerful musical experience. Die-hard Cure
   aficionados were appeased with lesser known songs like
   "Prayers in the Rain" (in which Smith held one note for
   25 seconds!) and "Push," while more recent fans were
   elated with chart toppers like "Boys Don't Cry,"
   "Catch" and "Pictures of You."

   Even Smith seemed to be enjoying himself, alternately
   dancing around on-stage during upbeat numbers and
   shedding his guitar and hanging on to the mic for
   support during slower, more mournful songs.

   Despite fairly recent member additions, the band played
   remarkably well together. When Smith cut off
   keyboardist Roger O'Donnell during the intro to "Why
   Can't I Be You?" and "Young at Heart," O'Donnell's only
   reaction was to walk smilingly around the stage with
   his arms in the air. Following the conclusion of those
   two songs, Smith said, "I'll hate myself for this," and
   broke into an exuberant rendition of "Lovecats." The
   band picked it up quickly and expertly.

   Not only were the band members' performances musically
   stunning, but cleverly orchestrated lighting enhanced
   the show's quality. Green, purple and blue were the
   colors of the evening, and the myriad of beams
   criss-crossed to form a spider web of light. During
   "Jupiter Crash" a projection of Jupiter twirled across
   the screen, visually accompanying the lyrics of the
   song.

   Fans were even treated to a news-breaking event: the
   Swing Tour's debut of the song "Shiver and Shake." The
   momentous occasion prompted a heartfelt audience cheer.
   With this tour Smith is silencing naysayers who felt he
   couldn't touch the energy of the 1992 Wish Tour. He is
   also proving himself a giant and a legend among musical
   artists. Who else performs for nearly three hours,
   rewrites set lists for each concert, and impresses
   audiences wherever he goes 19 years into his career?

   In the post-concert words of one awed and starstruck
   fan, "The Cure are amazing, the vibes were great.... I
   hope they come back soon!"

 
A Night Like This  (Standard opening, seemed a little "nervous sounding"
Push (great fast version!!)
Pictures of You  (played faster like Entreat, rather than
lethargic like Show!!!)
The Walk- (before this Robert said, "I can't believe we're actually going
to play this...this is a wild mood swing!")
Just Like Heaven  (always a pleasure!)
If Only Tonight...  (before this Robert said, "We don't play this one
nearly enough")
Shiver & Shake !!!! (Must've been thinking of Lol)
Return (Roger was intense!)
Prayers for Rain (held the note for 25 seconds)
...Deep Green Sea (so INTENSE...easily the highlight of the show!!!)
Bare (beautiful)
Disintegration (an easy runner up for the highlight of the show)
Why Can't I...w/ Young at Heart & Lovecats (at the beginning of this,
Robert totally cut off Roger's opening keyboard part,and Roger threw
his hands up in the air and walked around in circles for the first verse.
He looked like he was smiling, so I don't think he was pissed.
Also, after the snippet of Young at Heart, Robert said, "with that thought
in mind, and I'll hate myself for this..." He started to play Lovecats on
the keyboard and then the whole band busted into it.)

Altogether, it was a 2 hour and 45 minute show that went by in a flash.

Phenomenal playing, and energetic performance all around!!!

Totally exceeded any expectations I've ever had about their live shows!!!

   I just wanted to drop you a quick note on some other details of the show
in San Jose that the two reviews left out.Not only did they do "Why Can't I
Be You?" with "Young at Heart" and "Lovecats",but right after the "Young at
Heart" section Robert said "With that in mind.You're going to hate us for
this!",and he broke into an impromptu version of "Do You Know the Way to San
Jose?".Roger tried to figure out his part on the keyboards,but had a rough
time of it.  It was pretty funny none the less.With that in mind, I think
the set list should read "Why Can't I Be You?" (Young at Heart/Do You Know
the Way to San Jose?/Lovecats).Then at the end of the show Robert said "I
finally know my way!", referring to the famous line.