Oct. 31st,1997 - New York, N.Y. (Irving Plaza)
Review by Eric Arnum for Addicted
To Noise :
Cure's Hauntingly Memorable Halloween Gig
Robert Smith and the men in black perform every single from 'Just Like Heaven' to 'High.'
Addicted To Noise Correspondent Eric Arnum reports : NEW YORK -- Forget Christmas. The best time to see this wacky town is on Halloween night. Especially a Halloween night that is filled with rock 'n' roll from the Bowery to the Empire State Building.
As half a million people marched in the most insane collection of costumes for the annual Halloween parade down Sixth Avenue, the reunited Jane's Addiction suffered another "relapse" in Midtown, and the Cure brought their own brand of costumed crazies to downtown's Irving Plaza.
Black lipstick was in heavy demand all over area. It was tough to tell whether the fans awaiting the Cure's show were celebrating the holiday, dressed for the band or if they just always look that way. Draped in black velvet, with skulls and crosses hanging from necks and ears, on any other night in any other town they'd be easily mistaken for the members of a cult.
Maybe this was the scene Al Jourgensen of Ministry had in mind when he penned those lines "I dress this way just to keep them at bay, 'cause Halloween is every day." Then again, Robert Smith says he never intended to develop a brooding goth image.
The Cure is not goth, he told Addicted To Noise last month. Still, that's not necessarily true of his fans, who appeared in dark clothing and pasty white faces. Even Irving Plaza was swept up in the gothic spirit of the season, draping skeletons and shiny metallic streamers from the rafters.
The Cure took the stage, kicking into two of their most popular rockers from 1987, "Why Can't I Be You" and "Just Like Heaven." Packed to the walls with bodies swaying and surging, the only place to dance was up. It was a celebration, not only of Halloween, but also of last week's release of the Cure's second singles compilation, Galore, covering some of their best tracks over last decade. Hard to believe, but the Cure's first single came out in late 1978: "Killing An Arab," backed with "10:15 Saturday Night," both on Staring at the Sea their 1986 singles compilation.
On this night, leader Robert Smith drew almost exclusively from those two greatest hits packages: 14 tunes from Galore and 10 from "Staring." In general, the older the song, the better its reception.
In quick succession, he and his band delivered "Fascination Street" and "Lullaby," and then a dreamy "High." A few more recent tunes, then it was time for the oldies. When they began, 1983's "The Walk" or 1985's "In-Between Days," fans danced in a frenzy, screaming like people possessed. In contrast, they greeted "Mint Car" from the last album and "Wrong Number," the new track on "Galore," more reservedly, with a smattering of applause and a polite listen.
Smith remains the sole charter member of the Cure, some 18 years into their rock 'n' roll run. Known for his positively inconsolable lyrics in the early '80s, he's cheered up remarkably well to carry the band into the '90s. But he still dresses in black, Halloween night or not.
He wasn't the only darkly-clad Cure member. Besides Smith, Simon Gallup provided the pounding melodic bass lines and Perry Bamonte, wearing his trademark floppy hat, delivered the delightfully infectious guitar. Roger O'Donnell sat in on keyboards to the right of Smith, and new drummer Jason Cooper pounded away in the rear. All wore black.
The concert was broadcast live on the radio and on the World Wide Web, so short was this tour (N.Y. and L.A. only) and so small was this club (1,000 capacity). For some reason, the broadcasters had asked Smith to keep the chat to a minimum, so it wasn't until "A Letter To Elise" that he actually introduced a song.
Later on, during the encores, he apologized for being so quiet all night. There was no need. The people were there for the music and the very best of his music is what he gave them.
"Pictures Of You" was perhaps the prettiest song of the night, prompting many of the gathered to sway in unison to Smith cries of longing: "I've been looking so long at these pictures of you that I almost believe that they're real." From there, it was time to dance. The Cure broke into "Close To Me" then "Let's Go To Bed," two more gems from the early '80s. After one more song, Smith announced that the band was taking a break for radio station identification.
Now here's the mark of a man that cares about his fans: While all the radio stations announced their call letters, Smith grabbed an acoustic guitar for a solo rendition of "Jumping Someone Else's Train." He could have fetched a drink or taken a breather, but at this Halloween night show there was to be no dead air. The show ended 20 minutes later with a pair of darker tunes, the brooding rhythms of "A Forest," and a long and improvised "Forever," a Cure rarity available only on the 1984 live release Curiosity-Cure Anomalies.
While the band ducked backstage for a minute or two, everybody was asking each other what song that was, is it new, what's it's name?
Then the Cure returned for the first triplet of encores, "Friday I'm In Love," "Charlotte Sometimes," and "Boys Don't Cry." The bodies were bouncing off one another by now, stopping only for a moment as the Cure walked off, then walked on again to do a surprise "Catch," followed by "10:15 Saturday Night" and the perfect closer "Killing An Arab."
You couldn't hear yourself think.
For two hours, the Cure had held everyone in their spell, packed into the small black box of Irving Plaza. For two hours, the world was a song. [Mon., Nov. 3, 1997, 2:30 p.m. PST]
Review by Kevin Raub for Rolling Stone :
Robert Smith loathes playing in clubs. He says the lack of space on stage limits the mental scope the band needs to pull off its epic songs live. Which explains why the Cure steered away from such expansive songs as "The Same Deep Water As You" and "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea" during their Halloween night show at New York's Irving Plaza, one of two club dates the Cure performed to celebrate "Galore," their post-1987 singles compilation. Instead, fans and industry fluff (to the disgust of hundreds of fans, tickets were split evenly among the two) were treated to a two-hour barrage of classic Cure; appropriately for the venue, all 25 songs in the set were of the energetic and snappy "Just Like Heaven" variety.
Images of Jamie Lee Curtis in John Carpenter's original "Halloween" interspersed with goth-friendly music like the Sisters of Mercy entertained the packed venue for nearly two hours before the Cure appeared. Ironically, the show began with "Why Can't I Be You?" the song that -- through MTV and the budding alternative radio format -- first brought the Cure out of the clubs in the first place. Regardless of the intimacy of the venue, Smith developed no more of a rapport with the audience than on recent stadium tours supporting "Wish" and "Disintegration." At one point, he even apologized for his lack of profound Smithisms, calling between-song banter "dumb." Despite Smith's passive demeanor, the slightest moves on his part elicited Sleepy Hollow-esque shrieks of passion and delight from the audience. It quickly became apparent that in 1997, much like 1987, Mr. Smith could do no wrong.
"Just Like Heaven," "Fascination Street," "Lullaby" and "High" followed in a seemingly endless but unintentional display of self-gratification; so much so that the show seemed more like a reunion or retrospective than a mere dabble in the live setting before the band heads back to London to finish its 14th studio album. The show's apex came during "A Letter to Elise," when Smith's wanton sentiments toward a failed relationship slithered over Simon Gallup's driving bassline in a surreal, picture-perfect outpouring of emotion. At other times, the band's current line-up -- guitarist Perry Bamonte, keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, recently added drummer Jason Cooper and Gallup -- did well to retain the haunting vibe of early Cure tunes like "Charlotte Sometimes." Between "Love Song" and "Wrong Number," Smith treated the crowd to an impromptu acoustic rendition of "Jumping Someone Else's Train" to kill time between radio commercials (the show was broadcast live to a national audience).
By the night's end, the Cure had torn through 15 of the songs on "Galore" and nine songs -- including a beautiful, slightly unhurried version of "Boys Don't Cry" -- from their pre-1987 greatest hits package, "Standing on a Beach: the Singles." The still politically incorrect "Killing An Arab" halted the greatest hits onslaught with one thing proven: Despite dismal album sales of nearly every preeminent '80s band, the Cure will not go quietly. On a night like this, their legacy goes deeper still.
Review by Michelle Wong for Ticketmaster :
Review It! Spotlight: The Cure Play Club Show in Los Angeles
At the first of two stateside shows until their next full-length tour, the Cure made a stop in Los Angeles this past week to play to 500 lucky ticket holders at the Hollywood American Legion Hall. In town to promote the just released "Galore," a hits compilation of songs from 1987-1997, The Cure have been on a heavy promotional schedule that started on Monday. As many fans listened intently to the live interview with Robert Smith and the band on radio station, KROQ, Smith announced that the tickets would go on sale the next day at 2:00 for this rare event. After an in-store appearance at the Virgin Megastore at midnight that night, they hosted a live cyber-chat from the House of Blues before the show that night. With a line that stretched almost three blocks, many of the fans who already had spent the night in line just to get tickets could hardly wait to get in. Hanging out in the bar downstairs were Marilyn Manson and his entourage, (including Twiggy Ramirez and Billy Zane were Simon Gallup (bass) and Perry Bamonte (guitar) who were cordial and friendly to just about anyone who approached them.
In the hall that was comfortably crowded, people of all ages and the usual slew of "goths," and Robert Smith wannabes talked of their Cure experiences through the years. At 10:30 the band - Robert Smith (vocals, guitar), Simon Gallup (bass), Perry Bamonte (guitar), Jason Cooper (drums) and Roger O'Donnel (keyboards) - took to the stripped down stage to play a two-hour set. The first hour was dedicated mostly to their hits such as 1980's "Boys Don't Cry," "The Walk" from 82's Japanese Whispers, "Inbetween Days" from 85's Head On the Door, "Just Like Heaven," and "Why Can't I Be You" from 87's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, "Pictures of You" and "Fascination Street" from 89's Disintegration, "Friday I'm In Love" from 92's Wish and "the 13th" from 96's Wild Mood Swings.
Smith was in his usual playful persona and making faces at the audience as screams came from the back of the hall the moment he changed his stance. Another highlight came when Reeves Gabrels, longtime guitarist for David Bowie, joined in on their latest single "Wrong Number" and "Close To Me," playing a spellbinding guitar solo but going almost unnoticed by the majority of the audience. Leaving the stage for two encores, the Cure came back to play songs from deep into their catalog like "Charlotte Sometimes," from 84's Concert Live, "10:15 Saturday Night" from 79's Three Imaginary Boys, "A Forest" from 80's Seventeen Seconds and closed the night with a hard and intense "Killing An Arab."
Review by Sara Kerns :
I'm just now recovering from what I consider to be the best weekend of my entire life. Nothing can compare to the happy cloud I've been floating on since last Thursday. I was one of the unfortunate fans who waited for 20 hours at Irving P for tickets only to watch as the last wristband went on a girl four people in front of me. It was a great experiance anyway as I met some awsome people, Linda, Marita, Brian, Lauren.... and many more. But when I was ushered away from the scene on Friday morning by the NYPD I was feeling rather pessemistic about people. I had no where to go a utnil 6pm as I had traveled 6 hours by bus just to get to the city. I wandered around by myself and cried and questioned many things once held to be true. When I finally arrived home and read all the post to babble about everyone else's experiances I decided that I had to go back for Halloween.Nothing could stop me, it was simply something I had to do. I'm sure many of you understand exactly what I'm saying. So thursday afternoon began my pilgramage. I bussed from Colgate University to Albany New York and met up with my friend Matt who i met through babble a few years ago. (we went to the first show on the swing tour together, Worchester, and had second row seats...aaahhhhh) we went to a club called City Limits where they have "goth/industrial" night every thursday. That night was a Cure/ Halloween party. we danced all night to the best music, they even played Wrong Number, Disintegration, and songs of equal greatness. The d.j Joe was a huge cure fan and was giving out bootleg copies of Galore mixes so i managed to get a copy of that. :) The next morning my friend Shelby came to pick us up and we drove to Pokeepsie and then took the train to Grand Central Station. thennnnnn taxied directly to Tower Records. We arrived at around 4 and took our place on line. I saw Linda and Marita from the last week and we all hugged and shared in our excitement. Marita had managed to find a ticket through one of her friends but Linda, like us, was relying on some kind of miracle like us. We helped some guy with an experiment of sorts by watching a preview of a new Jim Carey movie with cool cyber glasses and that passed some time. Others on line I'm sure know what I'm talking about. Matt was convinced that the best way to get into tower was to go in at that time and stay until the band came. i was hesitant but decided to go inside and check out the situation. We wandered around the store for a bit but I was feeling a little sick about the whole situation. When we went back outside we got on line with Linda and Marita only to find that they had given out numbers while we were inside. Oh no.... We talked to the security guy and he told us just to stay on line. so, we did. We waited there for some time and K-rock came around with a ticket raffle which of course we all entered. when they started calling off names we all crossed our fingers. I was waiting to hear my name. they called this guy Brian who happened to be right behind us on line. He was so happy. Him and his girlfriend (dressed up like a lovecat) were jumping and singing and happy and I felt really happy for them. After the excitement died down they started talking... to these women I assumed to be their mom's too. they turned to us and offered to sell us the tickets because they were only 15 and couldnt' get into the show anyway. Matt and I were stunned. we couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true. I just opened my wallet and pulled out some cash and the ticket was mine. I was crying and hugging Brian and Matt and Shelby and anyone else I could find. But had mixed feelings because Brian's girlfriend was so upset and Shelby and Linda were still without tickets. While we waited I pulled out a present I had brought for Robert to show to everyone. It was one of the tin toys. It's a large space carousel with spaceships that spin out when you pull a little lever. It's the only thing I have ever seen or owned that I feel would be worthy to give to Robert as a gift. Finally someone began screaming "oh my god, there's robert!" Sure enough, we jumped up on the window and there was the band descending the stair way. we waited in excited anticipation and finally came to the entrance to Tower. The security guy was so nice to let Shelby, Matt and me in. There they were. The band I have love for so many years. first was Simon, then Perry, Robert, Roger and Jason. we moved up in line and I just watched them all. When it was my turn I passed my inlay of the Wild Mood Swings album to Simon who looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back. I looked to Robert and as he was not busy I went to in front of him. I placed the box that held the space carousel on the table and mumbled somthing about bringing him a present. He just sat there so I took it out of the box and then spun it. It was the wierdest thing. He just sat there and stared at it and had this really cure confused look on his face. oops.. I mean cute there... so how we are, cute, cure, whatever..... He looks up at me and I says "are you giving this to me" in his accent. I was like a puddle on the floor. Well yes I said. (if anyone has ever seen the movie adventures in babysitting, picture the girl sara giving her helmet to Thor and he asks if she's giving it to him and she replies, well, yeah, you're my hero.. that's how it felt ) He smiles and asks about the box. I was still a little out of it but I think he asked if he could keep the box. I said something silly like I was sorry that it was a little falling apart but I had been holding it in my arms all afternoon. He smiled again and said something like that was okay, it's easier to get it back inside anyway and by that time I was being pushed away from the table. I looked at Roger and Jason but they were all looking in the opposite direction so I took my signed inlay (Perry even wrote to: sara on it) and stepped aside. I looked back over at Shelby and Matt only to see Robert looking around people at me and he smiled again and said "Thank You" in that accent we all know and love. I smiled and shook my head and allowed the Tower people to push my out the door of Tower. I was floating. It was like, after years and years of me spending coutless minutes thinking about The Cure and their music... I finally got to share a moment with Robert. I know it's a silly thing but I kind of like to think that a little piece of me, as little as it might be, touched robert. Matt aparently talked to Simon. We all walked to Irving plaza in silence and stopped at the ATM to get money for a ticket for Shelby. We found the first scalper we came to and unhappily handed over 100$ for a ticket. Once it was in our hands though all worries disappeared. Shelby and I screamed and hugged and twirled ourselves around the street. We all had tickets. The impossible of all impossible dreams was still working in our favor. We got on line with the others at Irving Plaza and found linda and Marita on line again. Linda had gotten a ticket over at Tower from another Cure fan who won tickets from Krock but couldn't come to the show. WE love K rock!!!!! so perfect. As we approached the door the manager was out front telling everyone that if thay had scalped ticket s to leave the line... that they were identifiable and that they would not be allowed in. I recognized him from the week before. I really hated him for sending us all away. Shelby grabbed the back of my shirt and we stayed in line. Luckily she got in. We checked our stuff in and headed up stairs. Matt and Shelby had never been to IP before so they were really amazed and happy to see how small it was. I just kept pinching myself. I really couldn't believe I was there. After so much trouble... and it had all worked out. They played some fun music and old horror movies including a favorite of Matt's Evil Dead II on the screen. We watched all o the people and inched our way closer. I have never been so happy as the moment when the lights went out and the band walked on the stage. The crowd was wild. everyonethere had been through so much to be there. It was great. I won't talk much about the show as most of it has already been said but it's highlights were Forever (very powerful), Jumping Someone Elses Train (this has always been one of my favorites. I just couldn't belive it. My mouth just dropped open and I looked back at Matt and we were like, is this for real? ) Friday I'm in Love (he dedicated it "to all the fans who managed to get in tonight, including us." ahhhh) And 10:15 followed by Killing an Arab. The place was going absolutly wild. It was the most unbelievable thing. You could just drink the energy coming off of everyone... and it was such a loud and drivin performance by The Cure. god I love them. When they left everyone put their hands in the air to say goodbye. Truely magical. We said goodbye to everyone and Matt, Shelby, and I went over to the wall and sat down. we were exhausted from being in the middle of all the action. We got some expensive water and watched the place clear out. we went over to the cases as the roadie guys packed up the stage and lovingly touched Jason's drum set and the guy lowered it inside. We knew the band was still aroung because IP guys were bringing bucket loads of beer and wine up the elevator in the back. We sat around for a bit but knew that the band would more than likely only be upstairs. So we left and walked to Grand central were we layed about until morning when we could catch the train back. That is pretty much the conclusion of my cure trip. In albany we went to see Evil Dead II at the theater and called everyonbe we knew to tell them about the trip. I called my parents and they said they had gone out and bought Galore and had spent the evening with t the lights low dancing together to the whole album. They love the band as well. I thought that was really sweet. well, there you go. I hope this wasn't too long for you. I just wanted to share with people I know understand and to thank everyone who helped make everything so perfectly wonderful. dreams really do come true.... I'm so happy.
Review by Michele Mayo :
Hello! I've finally been able to get through most of my mail after an incredible weekend and I thought I'd share my Irving Plaza experience with you. It was truly the most amazing Halloween and the most incredible Cure experience I've ever had and will not soon forget. The only thing that detracted from the experience was the fact that I had to work until 5 on Friday. Otherwise I know it could have been an even better day devoted to the Cure in its entirety. I knew that they were doing KROCK at 3 and since the station is one block from my office, I thought I might have a chance to see them arrive. So I took a late lunch and waited in anticipation. I knew it was just too easy though. There were only a couple of other people waiting and it was just too perfect for it to happen. The band is usually late to everything and I had factored this in, but I never expected them to be an hour late. So 3:35 came and I had to leave. No sighting and I was greatly disappointed. But at least I knew that I had the evening to look forward to. So I went back to my office and had to console myself with listening to them on the radio at 4 like everyone else. Finally 5 came (the longest day of my life!) My husband met me after work and we went straight down to Tower. There were already at least 75 people on line probably more. So we got to the end of the line and knowing what we did about the Virgin fiasco, just prayed that we would get in. It was after 7 and they still hadn't arrived (no surprise.) I was getting anxious and decided to see if I could go up front and wait to see their arrival. I thought the cops would be really nasty but they weren't bad at all. So I just kept an eye out for about 20 minutes or so. All of a sudden a dark blue van pulled up and I knew it was them. Tower opened a private entrance door about 15 feet from the main entrance and security came out there. I walked over there and was amazed at how few people came over. I guess the people that were at the front of the line didn't want to lose their places. So these big guys just stood on either side of the entrance and formed a chain with their arms so nobody would rush the band naturally. I couldn't believe it because I was right there! I had never seen the band this close before and they were about to walk within 3 feet of me. Simon came out looking pretty glum. I yelled Hi Simon! But nobody else really said much. The rest of the band went in and then there he was- Robert! As he came around the side of the van he was kind of looking at the ground not really noticing anyone. As he approached I said "Robert! Hi Robert!" Then he looked up and was looking past security to see where the voice came from. His face was within two feet of mine then. He looked right at me and said "Hello" with this slight smile on his face and walked in. AH!!!!!!!! I could melt right there. Seeing him so close and hearing that wonderful British voice directed at me was a dream! So then I got back in line and waited to go into Tower. After about 15 minutes it was our turn. And there they were all sitting at a table. It was so unreal! Simon was sitting there looking pretty bored. I think the people in front of me were only concerned with Robert. So I said Hi Simon! And he came out of it. I talked to Perry and mentioned his great smile at the camera on Leno. He laughed and said "Yes, I've heard about it but haven't seen it yet." Then it was on to Robert who was seated in the middle. As some of you have commented already, (sorry guys) but my first thought was how beautiful he looked. He really looked good and was not pudgy at all. He signed some stuff for me and I mentioned to him how I had waited 20 hours to get tickets for the show. His quick response, "Boy that doesn't put too much pressure on now does it?!" Ah!!!! It was great! His eyes were amazing. So direct, so dreamy, they just shoot through you and send waves of warmth through your body. Then he shook my hand and our meeting was over. I wanted to stay there forever, didn't want to leave. But alas...... On to Irving Plaza....there was already a huge line of people when we got there. They had just opened the doors. It felt so good once we got inside after such a crazy week of waiting for hours in the cold, hearing about the LA happenings and now the moment had arrived. Well...not really though because I got my body into the crowd at the front of the stage about 10 feet back and had to wait another 90 minutes or so for them to take the stage. Fortunately, IP played some cool music and played these wacky horror clips on this movie screen. And finally the house lights went down and there they were! I won't go into the show, you've already heard how great Robert's voice sounded and how energized the band was. I was thinking about how Robert said he gets so nervous with club shows, but he was so so into it! He was extremely animated, acting out many of the songs. The experience was amazing, our bodies were slammed together, it was incredibly hot. There were girls right in front of me who had to be carried out of the crowd. But most of the people near me were pretty great. Even though I had started the show with two really tall guys with "Robert hair" in front of me, by the last third of the night there was only one girl in front of me. And that was just like heaven. When it was all over, I was tired, and soaked with sweat, but so exhilerated! Many of us waited around after the show to see if they would come out and IP played some more cool music. Finally we decided to go outside. I heard that the van had arrived so I knew they would be leaving. After a long wait, Jason and Perry came out. And then finally Robert. Security surrounded him and I expected them to rush him into the van. But he stopped! There was a good crowd of people by then and he actually signed alot of stuff as he moved slowly to the van. And once in front of it, he still didn't get in for a few minutes. He was so nice, so considerate, talking to people and trying to sign as much as he could. It was an amazing night. And a once in a lifetime experience that was worth all the initial chaos and frustration. The show was amazing. Robert was amazing and it was such a pleasure to see how much he tries to give back to his fans. I collapsed in bed at 4:30 AM still high from all that had happened......
Review by Christina :
My Halloween weekend started with an anthropolgy exam (yuck) but it got better and better as the day wore on. My friend and I took the bus to NYC where we ended up being 49 and 50 in line. We were ecstatic cos we thought that tons more people would've been in line (I was an IP victim so I was expecting the worst). Anyway, we made friends with Nidia and Jonathan (missed you guys at the show- hope you're doing well!) and their friends Dve and Lori. Jesus, I thought D'Lynn and I came a long way (from DE!) but N&J flew in from Texas and D&L came from Michigan! Yikes! so....we were chatting it up with these people all day, taking pictures, watching news cameras take pictures of "the freaks," it was fun. To those girls with the recordable-voice polaroid....what did the band think of it? Was Robert amused? It gets better....KROC was giving tickets away! We thought they only had one pair but they had several. They called Jonathan's name but he'd gone to IP, so Nidia had to recite his entry form info, and she got tickets! (Sorry, Nidia, if I am spoiling your story. I was just-and still am-excited for all of us) Then Lori's name was caled and she got tickets. Well, Lori and Dave had already bought tickets so she turned and gave them to me for no charge!!!! Needless to say, D'Lynn and I were speechless, we were going after all! Damn, we were on a roll. So we get in and they're all sitting nicely at this table and I am unusually calm. I've only seen them once prior to this, at the spectrum in Philly last July, and although I got some autographs, I was separated from the band by a huge fence. I got my swing tour program signed cos I felt it only fair since everyone was included. Robert looked great, he was chatting it up with people. He shook my hand (!) and I then I was whisked away. Ah, bliss. Then we get to IP after making an unnecessary trip to Port Authority to loom for lockers and taking the short way through China back to the club. It was so amazingly tiny! But I ended up near the front and took lots of pictures (I only hope they came out). I finally got to hear Lovesong live; it was fabulous. The scaled-down JSET truly surprised me. Simon was bouncing around the stage so much so that he reminded me of Tigger. Robert talked a lot, said something along the lines of "talking to a large group is stupid" (please correct me if i am wrong) said Catch wasn't really an encore song but played it anyway. Oh, the show was excellent, I mean I had no plans on even seeing it, so everything was a bonus. Was there anyone famous there (like MM in LA?). I especially loved the cheesy horror film clips they showed before, and the music they played afterwards. We all stayed around and danced- I saw the best clothes, lots of velvet and drapes and satin. My night was unbelievable. Thanks again to Lori and Dave (we love you) for making it possible. Also, I manged to get third row seats for the Tower show. For those that don't know, the Tower is relatively small (it used to be a vaudeville theatre) and there's a balcony. All the other shows I've seen there had no seats in the pit, but obviously that has changed for this show. Um, due to miscommunication, my friend has 3 extra tickets in the balcony- BUT WAIT!!!!! Before I get hordes of mail with offers for the tickets, I need to find out if her friends are buying them first. I WILL LET YOU KNOW.
Review by Friar55:
Ok after more than 24 hours on my feet and a horribly-awesome day i will try to give you my review of the day as a whole. Arrived in manhattan at 7:20pm and rushed to W.4th street to see the live performance and signing (that i thought i had no chance of getting close to)i walked closer to tower records i saw no line..i saw a bunch of people in the front but no lines. So my freinds and i walk in the store nonchalant and act like we have no idea whats going on..as we walk to the back of the store..I SAW THEM!!!...Oh my they looked so awesome from a foot away..right after,a guard told us that the store was now closed and we had to leave..OH MY GOD!!..we were steaming but we had other plans..we walked up to the exit and there was a guard there..(by this time the line to meet the cure was only about 5 people left..we begged the guard to let us in..(since the line was so short and no one else was in the store)after about 5 minutes of non stop harrassing the guard finally say's "look i'll let you guys in only if you buy the cd!" YES!!! (my freind hadnt bought it yet anyway so we were set)we bought the cd and got on the line.i had a cd and so did my freind who just bought one and my girlfriend had a peice of cardboard that read "friar needs cure tickets!!" we were the last ones to talk to the guys so we talked a little longer than others..as soon as my girlfreind got there and freaked out her and robert started laughing over her peice of cardboard robert say's."hey we could use this on the website..it would be a hot item..curecardboard!!!"we laughed and my freinds and i basically drooled for about five straight minutes" Now for our next quest ..WE MUST GET TICKETS!!!...the number of scalpers that were selling fake tickets was unreal..luckily i knew what to look for in the tics and made the guys let me check all the tickets they were selling..as time went by i thought that no one had tics..showtime rolled around and finally i found a winner!! Three tics for $90..thats face value!!!(oh my god is this amazing or what..after all that waiting on line i guess this is gods way of saying good things do come to those who wait!!)
We get in the show and its just about to start cause the lights are dimmed and the smoke is pouring out!!The boys walk out and the place explodes!!They open with "WCIBY"they are so close and sound so good.The boys (as well as about the whole place)are all in black..the show goes on for about a song when suddenly the new york comes out of the crowd and a guy starts pushing and soon after security jumps out and beats the living shit out of the poor guy.Oh well the boys are playing in top form (the songs are still a bit blury)but of course another fight breaks out about two songs after the first ..this time two girls ..its stopped by their boyfreinds quickly..why do people come to these shows to start trouble like this? well the highlights for the show for me are when robert says something to the effect of "well the radio and the guys are gonna take a break but...." then he broke into an awesome acoustic version of "jumping someone else's train"so amazing..Also they played forever esp. good tonight..(AWESOME IMPROV DURING THIS SONG)they did two encores and the second included "catch"which is pretty rare for a cure encore..
Well this is my 5th time seeing the cure and it was by far the best..such a small venue,etc.I went from no chance of seeing them at all in concert to seeing them in concert and meeting them live..it doesnt get much better than that!!! (and now after writing the longest review i have ever wrote in my life i must now go pass out!!)
Review by Holly :
ok, i was lucky lucky lucky to get a ticket to the irving plaza concert from someone i know who actually works there, so i saw everything.... i was hanging out inside at about three in the afternoon, millling around.. the cure were going to do a live chat session on the computer that afternoon, but they cancelled.. they were at krock doing the radio interview and stuff while i was at irving, so me and this really cool girl i'd met (whose boyfriend had sold me the ticket) decided to leave and hang out in the city for a while... at around 6 o'clock me and her were back in her boyfriends apartment getting ready for the concert, dressing up putting make-up on for halloween, that kind of stuff, when we got a call from him... he said he had this really important errand for us to run, and that it was GOOD. well, we tried to get over there as fast as we could, but we were like twenty minutes 2 late from, (get this!!!) going to the cure's hotel room and rummaging through their stuff to find a receipt that they had left there!!!!!!! imagine!! going through the cure's luggage!! i was soooo disappointed to miss that chance i almost fell on the floor in shock from what could have happened! anyway, i was really bummed at this point, so i just started milling around looking for something to occupy my time, when i hear a faint howling in the distance under some guitar feedback.. my stomach dropped to my feet when i realized who it was.. :D
i ran up to the balcony (the floor was off limits for the time being) and watched the cure do soundcheck!!! they played snippets of inbetween days and pictures of you and even... wrong number!! it was funny cos robert didn't sing the words, he just kind of spoke them in rhythm.. very interesting, cure rap! heheh.. anyway, the soundchecked until about seven thirty and i was thinking of all of you babblers and descenters waiting in line for tower records thinking to myself, 'umm.. robert, maybe you and the others should get going..' they finally went downstairs at around quarter to eight and i just milled around some more.. then i start walking down the back corridor, and ohmigod! they pass right by me!!!! i couldn't even let out a peep, i was in complete and utter shock.. so i just stared at them, completely dazed, as they walk out the door to go to tower...(stupid stupid i should have said hi or something..) ok, more waiting...
at around 8.30 i ask one of the people who works there if i can put a picture i drew in the cure's dressing room.. they said ok, so i went in and laid it on the couch with a little note for robert... ok, nine o clock rolls around and they start letting people in... i run to a spot at the baricade right in front of the microphone and wait as the crowd quickly grows around me... more waiting... almost two hours to kill. i did meet some reallly cool people (mr pink eyes!), and all the while, a dj spun some cool tunes while they showed these clips of classic horror movies on this screen that comes down in front of the stage... at around quarter to eleven the screen comes up, the smoke gathers, and the cure walk out onto this seemingly miniature stage!! the crowd behind me runs up and starts to push... i can tell there will be a price to pay for such a good spot in the audience... well, as has been said before, a lot of people reviewed the actual songs played so i won't go into that, but by the end of the show, especially during killing an arab, people were pushing like there was no tomorrow... a few girls had to be lifted out of the swarm of writhing suffocating bodies during the show (i think one girl was even hyperventalating very badly, but i heard later that she was ok, thank god).. i was determined to make it until the very end, so i just pushed back on the wall as hard as i could just to breathe..
the whole concert was just phenominal, especially forever.. simply brilliant.. i even got each of the band members to look at me at least once during the concert :).. the camera for the cybercast was right in front of me most of the time, i even think i acidentally banged it a couple times from just jumping around so much (oops!).. and what was really cool is that the camera turned around and was actually on me for some of the time, (one of my friends who was watching the cybercast in gettysburg saw me straight in front of the lense!! (i was the girl in short black hair and the new black tour shirt next to the girl with the red devil horns..)) hhehe! o
k, so the concert ended.. sadly enough, and i waited around for about two hours for the band to actually come out of hiding in the dressing room on the upper vip level and start talking to people... roger and perry were the first ones out.. both looked very tired so i didn't bother them.. much.. ;) i got roger's autograph at least and a picture of me and my friend with him.. simon left right away, just ran out of the room ;( and jason and robert didn't even leave the dressing room.. (slippery little suckers, aren't they?) well, after pleading with the security guard to let me in backstage to see them, he said robert was not in the best of moods, but that he did get my picture and that he liked it (cool!):D so, after like an hour or so, the band all went back into the dressing room to get out the back way... i ran down the stairs and out the back door to try and catch them before they all left. when i got there, i just saw them sitting there huddled in a black minivan..
i didn't see robert though, which i thought was fishy, so i went back inside and asked the lady by the back stairs if robert had come through yet.. she said yes, but then i was like, yeah right, then why are the rest of the band still out there waiting?.. she finaly confessed that he was stuck upstairs still, after being acosted by some fans... so i stood there, staring at the staircase.. a couple minutes later he came down, looking very tired and worn out.. i tapped him on the shoulder and finally got up the courage to ask him for an autograph and a picture.. he agreed and after he signed the back of a postcard i'd given him, i stopped to take the picture, but you could tell he just wanted to get out of there so bad, that he told me to walk with him as i was taking the picture.. THIS was funny! imagine him walking backwards towards the exit as i'm walking forewards towards him trying to take the picture!! well, it came out a bit blurry, but it is still him! and he's even almost smiling! heheh.. then he ran into the van and they drove away... phew! well that's it...i hope we all learned something here... i dunno about the rest of you, but i learned that next time, i have to take more pictures!!! anyway, if i sounded like a complete idiot typing my story, i assure you that i'm really not, at least in the daylight hours when i'm actually awake! goooooodnight everybody!
Review by Obscura :
I was able to obtain a photo pass for The Cure show last night at Irving Plaza. It was rather insane because there was a huge problem with scalpers - but the problem wasn't that people were scalping tickets, but that they were all fake. I saw at least 30 or 40 people refused entry because they had bought fake tickets (anywhere from $65 - $90 a piece). When i was finally escorted to the pit, I was also told that we could only photograph for the first 3 songs (which is standard) but we had to leave the venue afterward. That was horrible, it was such a tease. The place was packed, people were getting crushed, but robert was robert...... at least the first 3 songs were amazing - it's too bad i couldn't stay for the rest.
Review by Emma :
I hope everyone else who went last night had as great a time as I did. I had no idea if I had tickets or not til 3 pm yesterday, when I found out I had two. Yay! My friend and I got put on the guest list, and so my boyfriend bought a scalped ticket. All looked well, until it turned out that his $80 ticket was *fake* and they wouldn't let him in. I cried, and a VERY nice security guard let him in. I love the people at Irving Plaza! They were so sweet.. And the show itself was incredible. I don't have a set list, but I know that they played everything on "Galore" except "the 13th," "Strange Attraction," and "Gone!" It was so great..they also did a lot of stuff from "Staring at the Sea," such as "Charlotte Sometimes," "A Forest," "The Walk," and of course "10.15 Saturday Night," "Killing An Arab," "Boys Don't Cry," and Robert played "Jumping Someone Else's Train" by himself. He's so cute!! I don't know how the aftershow thing was, because I had to leave at 2. But the concert itself was simply breathtaking, and I hope the bootleggers on St Marks Place have a copy of it soon! If anyone can find it, I suggest you buy it. The show could hardly have been better. And it was very nice meeting you, Flor!!
Review by Carin Cirigliano:
Review by AMTORRESSANC :
well, i don't think there's a great need to review the show itself, as most people, i think, will have already heard it by now... i mean we all agree it was amazing, right?
i just want to say hello and thank you to all the cool people i met - flor especially who is the nicest person in the entire universe - also bluegoo and mr. pink eyez and everybody else who i was in line with - ah well.
i clung to second/third row at the show, right behind/next to flor... it was rather amazing, very close up. um, fare-thee-well robert, were you wearing a red shirt, by any chance? cos this guy in front of me at the middle of the show suddenly decided to leave which gave me a chance to slip myself a bit to the front...
oh now i remember, when i was not quite in the front i remember thinking, why are there so many damn tall people in the first three rows? i mean i am by no standards short but for some reason i couldn't see a thing (well there was this guy in front of me who was like 6'5", the bastard, but everyone else was also huge) and then suddenly as i pushed closer and closer to the front i suddenly reached this step and rose like two inches on it... which made me happy, cos i could see everything down to robert's shoes (black high tops, surprise surprise) but it sucked for the girl behind me who was like 5' and could not see a thing. i was truly sorry...
well to anyone who was standing between teddy and simon, i was the girl with the short hair and black clothes who sang along to everything and ended up quite sweaty and gross (hee hee, i know i'm being quite specific...)
well what more is there to say? i had a great night and i think part of the reason i'm being so incoherent right now is that i'm still dazed from it. last night (saturday) i had a radio show at my college station and i did a cure-special simply because i couldnt concentrate on anything else... it was fun although i think only one person was listening (i mean besides me).
mmm what else? i think that's it for now... it was a great night, everything worked out better than i expected, the cure were in a great mood and robert was being extremely silly, even simon was smiling here and there...
oh i was the one that shouted 'happy birthday roger!" although i don't think he heard me.