The Cure show at Riverport was far from perfect. First off, the band didn't play every one of its hits, only most of them. On top of that, Robert Smith and the boys split way too early. Sure, the three-hour set was a solid hour longer than most concerts, but couldn't they see the audience was begging for still more? And why does Smith insist on wearing scarlet lipstick when the whole world knows a subtle mauve gloss would better suit his complexion? But for concert-goers who were unfazed by those blunders, Thursday night's show was one of the year's best and the highlight of a Riverport season dominated by classic rock has-beens. The Cure seemed to be teetering on the edge of has-been status itself. After, all it's been four years since the band's last studio release - 1992's passable though hardly groundbreaking "Wish." But Smith with longtime cohorts Simon Gallup and Perry Bamonte came through this spring with "Wild Mood Swings," a strong collection of high-energy pop and brooding laments. Not bad for a band that's as old as Foreigner (19 years) and only three years younger than Styx and KISS, all acts shamelessly cashing in on the nostalgia card during summer tours. Well, wait a second. This show was about nostalgia too. As much as fans cheered for the new material, they came for the big-time hits. Smith, with the cheeks of a teddy bear and the stare of a lunatic, delivered. "Killing An Arab," "Close to Me," "Boys Don't Cry," you name it - if the song was ever popular, it probably got played. Smith, so eager to please this St. Louis crowd, even wore a Blues jersey. (Could it be that his everyday-Joe look disappointed those gussied up in that "homeless person en route to funeral" style that's still favored by young goths?) Of course, the downside of a really good live show is that fans must go home to CDs that can't capture the stage's washes of light and wall of sound. Oh, the music still sounds good. But the Cure on disc is something like what "Independence Day" will be on the small screen: thrilling, but incomplete.

Fun show.  No need to describe it that much, though.  It wasn't that
different from anything else that has been described.  I was really glad to
see the band, of course, and they played well, but it was one of the most
pop-singles heavy shows I've ever heard of .  I don't think a single obscure
old song was played.  Prayers for rain was nice, and the little bit of
lovecats that melted into Why can't I be you was really cool.  A Forest
closed the show, and it was really uninspired.  The St. Louis 92 show when
they played this song was like a religious experience, but this time around
it just sounded good, but with little passion.

Last time I saw the Cure here the show was packed.  This time, the lawn
seating area was almost completely empty.  It looked like two thirds of the
lawn area was free.  
Anyway, it was about as much fun as I've had in four years.  I'm really burnt
out on the song Lets Go to Bed, but I actually found it was one of the most
fun performances of the evening, and Killing an Arab was very intense.

One thing at the show that I'd never seen or heard of was sign-language
translators at the front of the stage.  They were a lot of fun to watch,
signing the words and dancing and making faces and motions that kind of
indicated the music tone.  I had never thought about being deaf and at a
show, and it seems kind of odd, but then, you could FEEL the music very well,
and it was a beautiful show to watch. . .the lights and colors were intense.