Out Of This World, Watching Me Fall, Want, Fascination St., Open, The Loudest Sound, Maybe Someday, Shake
Dog Shake, Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, Inbetween Days, Sinking, Prayers For Rain, One Hundred Years, End,
39, Bloodflowers

1st encore: There Is No If, Trust, Plainsong, Disintegration
2nd encore: All Cats Are Grey, Faith (extra lyrics)
3rd encore: Lovesong, Play For Today, Just Like Heaven, A Forest.

Soundcheck: Boys Don't Cry, Fire in Cairo(?), Just Like Heaven, Push (with great vocals), and Out of This World
(twice)

THE CURE
Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto
Monday, June 12, 2000

TORONTO - Let's hope the one-and-only Robert Smith --he of the teased black hair, white makeup and red
lipstick fame -- is rethinking pulling the plug on his gloriously gloomy British goth-pop band The Cure.

Last night's well-attended concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, which drew an impressive 11,500 people -- making
it one of the outdoor waterfront venue's best-selling shows so far -- would seem to indicate the veteran outfit has
found new life via its latest release, Bloodflowers.

The 41-year-old Smith has been saying that steeped-in-melancholy album, -- released earlier this year as the final
instalment in a trilogy that includes 1982's Pornography and 1989's Disintegration -- would be the group's last.

That would make this current roadtrip, one would assume, the last Cure tour.

Smith, who founded the band 24 years ago, has already spoken about plans to record an instrumental solo album.
And the April suicide of a fan at a concert in Prague, who shot himself in the washroom during the show, couldn't
have been very encouraging.

NOT READY TO SAY GOODBYE

However, T.O. fans have spoken loud and clear that they are in no way ready to say goodbye. Dressed as if they
were all headed to a funeral instead of a concert, the black-clad crowd of all ages were up on their feet, shaking
their hips and raising their arms in the air from the opening strains of the new song, Out Of This World, played at
a punishingly loud volume.

At times, you wished you had a tranquilizer gun for some of the more enthusiastic members of theaudience but --
hey -- even I couldn't resist the infectious rhythms of oldie-but-goodies Fascination Street and In Between Days.

And, truthfully, it was somewhat inspiring to see the emotional outpouring -- whether it was two guys arm-in-arm,
singing at the top of their lungs, or couples engaged in full makeout sessions.

Joined on stage by bassist Simon Gallup, guitarist Perry Bamonte, keyboardist Roger O'Donnell, and drummer
Jason Cooper, Smith was a mild-mannered frontman, despite his trademark makeup and hair.

He kept the stage banter to a minimum for more than two hours and let the songs -- mostly long, rambling,
seriously sad numbers with deep grooves -- speak for themselves.

Twenty-seven million in album sales can't be wrong. Can they?

By Ben Rayner
Toronto Star Pop Music Critic

If Robert Smith is serious about The Cure's recent Bloodflowers album and concurrent Dream tour being its
swansong, he's giving the band an appropriately funereal send-off.

The chilly gloom that hung over Sunday night's performance by Don Henley at the Molson Amphitheatre would
have been better employed as a backdrop for the nearly three-hour set through which Smith led the latest, perhaps
final, incarnation of his increasingly long-in-the-tooth Goth-rock ensemble last night.

Despite a slightly draggy start, the band's unrelentingly sombre set was a powerful indicator of just how much it will
be missed if, indeed, this is the last voyage into darkness Smith sees fit to mount.

Keeping the self-conscious (and self-deprecating) pop smarts of latter-day Cure albums to a minimum and instead
concentrating on the dense, deliberate and luxuriantly despondent epics with which the nearly 25-year-old band is
most closely identified, The Cure threw out an unfailingly absorbing wall of sound that compelled the 15,000-strong
crowd of aging, but still fashion-conscious mopers (that's not a slight: The Cure got me through high school) to hold
out for three encores.

Fittingly, apart from sinister early-set stabs at ``Fascination Street'' and the musty ``Shake, Dog, Shake,'' the band
waited until after sunset to rouse itself from a program of elegiac misery and rip into the more . . . well,
aggressively miserable reaches of its songbook.

A run at the deceptively sunny ``In Between Days'' gave way to churning darkness in ``Prayers For Rain,'' and
plunged vigorously into abject hopelessness with a stunning, assaultively hopeless reading of Pornography's ``One
Hundred Years.''

The title track from Bloodflowers followed, swollen to an appropriate, whirling majesty that nicely set up the encore
- a grim tour through the new album's lineage that peaked with an exhaustingly intense version of ``Disintegration''
and the title track from Faith, before letting a little light in with a sampling of poppier Cure outingslike ``Lovesong''
and the gorgeous ``Just Like Heaven.''

 Smith and the band maintained the fervour by closing with the haunting classic, ``AForest.'' They could have played
for another three hours.

It's a mark of how much The Cure's passing - if it happens - will be mourned that so many people can get so worked
up over feeling down.

I would just like to say that this tour was a dream come true.  I was lucky to see the Chicago, Detroit, and Toronto
shows during a fantastic, but exhausting 4 days!
As for a lot of peoples comments on dissapointment on the croud, I agree to a point on a majority of people being
there to hear singles (which are great songs), or to be seen, but this concert was put on for the true and loyal fans
of the cure and I believe the cure knew we were all out there.
 
The highlight of the tour was the Toronto show.  Me and my girlfriends seets began only 8 rows from stage just a
little to the right, but by the end of the night we were lucky enough to be right in front of the stage only about 3 feet
to the right of Robert!!!! Wow!
 
I was also luck enough to be 1 of only about 2 or 3 people Robert greeted during plainsong. He was right infront of
me on stage, and all I could yell was "Thank you Robert" over and over.  He heard me and we both made a effort
to reach each other and shook hands.  He then thanked me!!!!!   Being a die hard fan this was the moment of my
life..............and the memories will NEVER fade!

I've just returned from Toronto (yes, the only Canadian date this time...), and am somewhat at a loss for words.
Mainly because I'm confused about how I felt about the show.

The highlights for me included Want, Open (always fun), Shake Dog Shake (ha ha ha!!!) and an incredible version
of 100 years.  I really felt the band was tight and aggressive as it should be.  I could almost imagine the
Pornography tour.  I've only come into the loop since 1989's Prayer Tour.  I was pleasantly surprised by 39
(excellent sound, and indeed better than the album), and good to hear BF.  Very interesting All cats are grey, but a
bit overdone?  these early songs should sound more minimalistic.  Faith was incredible, probably the highlight.
Excellent sound, and a dazed Robert adlibbing.  He ends with "There's nothing left".   I found myself enjoying Play
For Today too.

So many highlights, and yet I'm disappointed.  There was something about the atmosphere that was missing.
Playing in the sunlight is really too paradoxical, and only accentuated the very lifeless crowd.  I only managed
section 400 seats, and everyone seemed bored, or too busy streaming in and out with beer, pizza etc...  Why are
you all here, if you miss it all????

I felt like the band was not very into the show, giving us a very standard setlist. Yes the songs were played well,
and emotionally, but almost "expectant and too punctual"  The emotion seemed rehearsed.  I've had a problem
with this ever since they asked which songs to play. Maybe this should be the Prostitution tour.  All those beautiful
songs I'd longed to hear for over a decade now, all juxtaposed in standard sets and standard emotion - it felt
somewhat contrived, somehow.  If the band just played what they wanted every night, well then I think it could be
more believable.  But knowing this was the end somehow made it a parody of itself.  Suddenly the Cure no longer
stood for all those feelings of being different and better (not Jumping Someone Else's Train), and was reduced to
Performing.  God, Robert was prancing and smiling as "the lover of the crowd and the three cheers from
everyone". Yes, all those numbers were played excellently, but I found that I really had to try to retrieve the
wonder.

I walked away and grew old.  Somewhere along the way, these songs that represented years of clutching at the
wonder in the world, became just songs.

I already miss The Cure.

The Toroto was great, but the crowd was terrible. The Cure seemed to be only in to the encores.  It was obvious
they were feeding off of the crowds energy.

The set-list posted at the sound board was great, but unfortuantely the show started about 15-20 minutes late.  It
seemed to be due to the lack of people in their seats.

Anyway ... the main set was not ammeneded.  But the encores were. Originally, they were supposed to play 4
encores !!  4 ENCORES !! Listed on the setlist was:

There Is No If, Trust, Plainsong, Disintegration

Cold, A Strange Day, Pornography

All Cats Are Grey, The Drowning Man, Faith

M, Play For Today, Just Like Heaven, A Forest.

As u , know by the actual set list from other fans' reviews, they played Disintegration encore, Faith encore, minus
the drowning man, and replace M, with Lovesong.  NO PORNOGRAPHY.  I was very, very upset after the show.

I must say, I've been to one Cure show in my life, which is in 1996 in Montreal for the Swing Tour, I'm not one of
the biggest fan, but I do like many songs a lot, and know most of their songs since Disintegration. I have to put
myself in listening to earlier albums, I know.

What I really have to say is, the band did the best they can, but I've never seen such a bad crowd in a show. I
guess most people were'nt expecting this type of show, I was since I saw the setlist on this website, but I find it
very bad for the band seeing people not dancing (except 2 girls in front row with antennas with lights on them, I
have no idea how they survived the show dancing like they did!), not singing, going for pizzas, or where ever
people were going, but I was sick of letting people through when I was trying to watch the show.

My experience in shows in Toronto is limited, I've seen New Order in 1993, but the crowd was great there. So I
think people were really expecting the hits, and not so many people were real fans. I must admit that I was thinking
we were October 31st when we got there, I saw people with angel wings, people with chinease hats, people with
fru-fru, people in latex, people with Stone Temple Pilots looks, up to people with caps and backpack. Let's say this
was a really mixed crowd. We had people in their 40s in front of us, and there were teenagers besides.

But I must admit, it seems we were the only one singing on play for today, putting our hands in the sky in From the
edge of the deep green sea, and all the typical events you can expect in a cure show. The crowd showed sign of
interest only on the band hits, like Lovesong, Just Like Heaven and Inbetween Days. For the first time of my life,
I got out of a show able to speak and listen, and not in sweat, so where 99% of the crowd.

Enough on this side, the show was a great one if you are a real Cure fan, and know songs on the albums, and not
the singles themselves. This is a great way to do for a final tour, and I must say that The Cure is very good for their
fans. Wow, a 3 hours show, find anybody doing so many songs, I'm waiting... I would have liked to ear Pictures of
You, A Night Like This and Close to Me, but I was really happy to listen to different things. It was a trully
alternative set, beside the last encore, and I must admit that I prefered the encores to the main show, but maybe
that's just me. The first encore, with slow songs was fabulous, the 2nd one, I admit, I don't know those songs as
well as the others, but they were good, and the final, well, it's because what was left of the crowd was then great
(can you beleive people were leaving while Bloodflowers was playing?).. and it gave a final energy boots, enough
for the 5 hours ride back home afterwards.

As for the songs themselves, I think Sebastien resumed it correctly, since I was with him, I'll leave it this way.

Well, last night was my first live cure experience and I have to say that it far exceeded my expectations.  I was
stuck in the 200s, off to the side but I was able to move to the centre of the 200s without too much difficulty. It
was unfortunate that the venue had a curfew so that the show could only go until 11.  The band was playing
extremely well and robert's singing was absolutely amazing!  Some of the highlights for me were: open which was
played with remarkable intensity, sinking (i enjoyed the camera as well), bloodflowers(always very emotional), all
cats are grey and faith (neither of which i expected to hear).  also, plainsong was pure gorgeousness, the ground
moved! faith had interesting improvised lyrics though i couldn't make many of them out. even though the show had
a very dark tone, i left remarkably happy. also, i heard an excellent version of push during the soundcheck.

I have nothing significant to add to what's been posted (certainly not another song by song analysis of the entire
show) but feel compelled to express a little dismay at Sebastien B's view that the 96 Montreal show was in any
way better than this Toronto outing. That concert (the Montreal one) almost stopped me from attending this one.
Over the years I have seen The Cure a number of times and its always been great. But the 96 Montreal
performance was (I thought) uninspired and sad (and not in the good way). The friend I went with was also at this
one (Toronto) and shares my surprise at Sebastien's completely opposite experience. Of course, its all different
tastes and opinions and no one is right or wong, But I am certainly amazed.

Last night's show in Toronto was simply exactly what makes The Cure great. Who cares if it was a fashion show
for some or a beer tent for others. And given that it was not sold out, no one was being denied a chance to attend
(as implied in one of the other posted reviews).  A lot of the people posting here should stop being little whiney
snots and trying to prove who's the bigger fan and so on. You didn't need to know "All Cats are Grey" on the first
note in order to feel you deserved to be there. You just had to buy a ticket.

Well, I read the reviews on your website about The Cure show last night and, I have to say, that Sebastien's was
by far the most accurate.  Compared to the last tour, this one was absolutely amazing, with the band doing songs
that most die-hard fans could only dream of hearing live.  The highlights for me were the brilliant performance of
"Bloodflowers" and "Trust" and "Plainsong" back to back, which was incredibly emotional for me.  Also, the
loud and bright version of 100 Years was amazing as was From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea (where,
unfortunately, only about a dozen people put their "hands in the sky").  The 2 major downfalls for me were the
crowd and the "Swag Shops".  Sebastien was exactly right in his impressions of the crowd at Molson Amphitheatre
- too much concern about clothing and socializing and not enough focus on the band!  I couldn't believe the number
of people who kept milling around and watching other people throughout the show - it was insulting to the band and
the real fans, not to mention distracting.  I'm sure there were many people who would have loved to hear The Cure
live, but lost out on buying tickets to these concert goers, who had the attention spans of flies.  The only times they
seemed to move were when "radio favourite" Cure songs were played, like Fascination Street, In Between Days
and Just Like Heaven.  I don't think 3/4 of the crowd even recognized some of the songs that the band played.
The Swag Shop's prices were astonishing and ridiculous - $50 Canadian for a short-sleeved t-shirt and $65 for a
long-sleeved one!  I must admit though, I am guilty of indulging in one of these shirts, as well as a necklace, but I
know that these Swag Shops feed off of people, like me, who look forward to some kind of material memorabilia to
take away with them, along with the memories.  Despite the outrageous costs, though, the memories themselves
were priceless.

I just wanted to add a couple things to the reviews and stuff on the Toronto show...

First of all, on the sound check, I'm sure I heard Boy's Don't Cry AND an amazing slow, dreamy thing that I didn't
recognize until he sang "burn like fire in cairo"!!!  I haven't seen Fire in Cairo in the tour set list or in the warm-up
stuff... This was a slow version I've not heard...

And I and my cohorts put OUR hands in the sky too, the other reviewers were not alone... we were in the 300 seats
and could see quite a few scattered arms here and there... but there should have been more.  We also were singing
along enthusiastically in "Play for Today"... but felt lonely...

The intro music was Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", which, as a classical musician, I found quite freaky.

This was my first Cure concert after more than a decade of waiting... I was devastated when they left after the last
encore... Crowd was mostly DULL but was more interesting on the singles...  Guy behind me made me sit down,
when I stood up again (cause I could't SEE) the ushers had our whole section sit down...  The middle section pretty
much sat down the whole time, while the sides and the 'mosh pit' area were standing up.

When they finished Robert smiled and smiled and waved and smiled some more, said "Q!" like three times.  Lest
very slowly, stretching his arms and looking very tired and human.

First of all, on a personal basis, me and my friends drove the 5 hours ride from Montreal only to see the concert in
Toronto since they weren't going to play our city this time (which is strange since The Cure only skipped Montreal
on one tour, the Wish Tour, since 1985). Throughout the week-end we had the pleasure to meet cool Cure fans such
as Madeleine, Theresa and especially Rebecca from Buffalo, and also Tammy from Syracuse (New York). We also
met a bunch of other Montrealers in rest areas in the middle of nowhere on road 401, and they all came back from
the Cure show. They pretty much endorsed the following opinions I expressed :

THE CROWD: BEFORE the show started, I thought a lot of the crowd members were very funny because of the
way they dressed. For some, it seemed to be "Goth night" at the Molson Amphitheatre. For some others, it just
seemed they thought it was Mardi Gras or Halloween. I thought a lot of them seemed ridiculous in the way that
even the Cure members do not dress like that in any way and they haven't for years ! But somehow, it seems a lot
of people still think that "The Cure IS GOTH". What also was ridiculous is that before the show started, the
temperature was quite chilly, but most of the "goth" people didn't want to ruin their look by putting a shirt on.
"Anyway, they have cold blood", did I tell myself, ironically.

DURING the show, I thought (unlike John Manley), that the crowd was disappointing ! A lot of people were sitting
all the time, and I still can't believe how many people went out 3 or 4 times for pizza, beer, or whatever they thought
of, right in the middle of the concert. They didn't seem to care much, really. A lot of them didn't seem to know half
of the songs that were played and they seemed impatient. What I expected emerged when In Between Days got
played and all those people finally got off their seats and started moving. The same thing happened with Lovesong
and Just Like Heaven. So my conclusions are: these people were expecting POP HITS and they obviously were
very surprised not to get as many as they expected. Also, during the concert, most of the people in the
amphitheatre weren't dancing nor clapping nor singing much. It just lacked a lot of ambiance, really...at least until
the last encore, which really got the crowd to react... but it was the end already !
 

THE MUSIC ITSELF:

OOTW: nice reaction of the crowd... at least for those who were seated and not looking for pizza.
WMF: Everybody's sitting for that long one that caught the crowd's attention but didn't EXCITE them.
Want: Was great, but ruined by the fact that it was still daylight around the stage. It just didn't seem to fit with the
mood.
Fascination St: The first song that got the crowd to get up. Well played, although Roger seemed to have a problem
with his keyboard since he was waving at the technician at the other side of the stage and then was looking at
Robert trying to explain him what was going on. Weird noises (samples ?) seemed to came out of that song and
follow the beat. Don't know if that was the problem Roger was having or if it was meant to be that way.
Open: Very well received from the crowd, especially from the two jumping girls wearing "litten antennas" in front
of the stage. :-)
Loudest Sound: A beautiful moment. I wish that was recorded and released on a live CD.
ShakeDogShake: Unexpected by the crowd, and most of the people around me (Section 201) didn't seem to know
that one.
MaybeSomeday: The crowd cheered up when hearing that one, which they obviously known much better than the
last one !
FTEOTDGS: "put your hands in the sky" said Robert, and WE DID AS WELL, Mr. Manley ! But we were the
only ones.
In Between Days: Everybody went up again and started moving, if not dancing.
Sinking: It was done perfectly. Nothing else to say.
PFRain:  A very looooooooooong and loud "Rain" at the end. We all liked it.
100Years: The light effects were perfect on that one.
End: "she stopped loving me, I was none of those things".
39: It created a nice mood and the fire was starting to burn in the amphitheatre.
Bloodflowers: A VERY GOOD version. I LOVED IT. The way Robert was singing it was very emotional, singing it
very slowly and dramatically, putting a lot on emphasis on some words. I was mesmerized by that one. After the
song, Robert just held his head between his hands for a long moment and he seemed very emotional when he went
offstage. I think he was playing his persona, though. He did it very well, too.

There Is No If: That beat added to it fits perfectly with the song and I thought "that version should be released as
a single".
Trust: For that moment, the crowd seemed very united. It was done perfectly.
Plainsong: Cool light effects to go with the schimes. Robert disappeared for one minute on a dark part of the stage,
to speak to the fans.
Disintegration: Mr. O'Donnell, where were the breaking glass samples ?! Good version, as always (because it's a
good song), but they didn't came out as if they were putting their heart into it.

All Cats Are Grey: The sound was not right for the first half of the song. There seemed to be too much bass in
there... but it got better towards the end. Roger O'Donnell's loud piano notes at the end really created a cool
reaction in the crowd. One of the fine musical moments of the night!
Faith: INCREDIBLE VERSION FOR AN INCREDIBLE SONG. Musically, it sounded perfect from A to Z.
Lyrically, Robert came up with new lyrics (but the first part of them was not audible for us). And then he started to
play the 6-string bass for a 1 minute instrumental part, and then came back and said ONE WORD to the
microphone and stopped, as if he wasn't sure what he was gonna sing. He waited a littlee bit and then said, very
slowly and with a lot of emotion in his voice: "I'm misunderstood"... and then waited for 8 beats again to repeat:
"I'M MISUNDERSTOOD".... and went into another instrumental part with the 6-string bass to complete with:
"There's nothing left but.... faith....... there's nothing left but.... faith...............there's........ NOTHING LEFT".

Lovesong: Like I said, the crowd loved it.
Play For Today: Everybody was dancing, but... it seem we were the only ones around singing the
"Whoo-Hooo-Hooo" keyboard part as on the "Paris" CD. "Is it because we're french-speaking ?", I wondered.
Just Like Heaven: That song created the best reaction of the night and everybody was singing outloud. I couldn't
believe my ears !
Forest: A nice version, although the guitars weren't loud enough in the intro. Nice ending from Simon, as always.

All in all, I think it was a very good concert, but I was not as enthusiastic with the whole thing as I was back in 1996
(see my review of the Swing Tour concert in Montreal, July 4th 1996). The crowd was disappointing for the first 2/3
of the show, and I think the setlist could have used one or two more songs from the Kiss Me album. As Robert said
himself, it's never enough.

I was really looking forward to seeing The Cure. Even though I've been a fan since December of 1993, I'd never
seen them live. I had gone to a couple of concerts in the past with my father, so he decided to come to this one with
me.

I had started out with 2 300 level seats (section 305 in seats 11 and 12 in row A), but had bought 2 200 level tickets
the morning of the show (section 202, seats 5 and 6 in row A).

My father and I got to the show with about 15 minutes left before the doors opened. I regretted not bringing my
camera or a tape recorder, as security was so lax that you could have been packing a full nuclear arsenal and they
wouldn't have noticed. They had been told to use discretion. They did. The tore off the ticket stubs, smiled, and let
us though.

There was band playing on a small stage next to the entrance. I have no idea who they were. They were dressed all
in black, looked sort of gothic, but sounded like a pretty decent alternative band.

When my father and I were looking for our seats, I saw a couple friends, the members of Buffalo goth band
Twilight's Mistress, who do an amazing cover of Siamese Twins when they play live. After talking to them for a
minute, I found my seat and talked to a few big Cure fans from Syracuse. I also found myself talking to the list
owner and a moderator of the Babble mailing list. Very cool.

Anyway, now to get onto the songs.

Out Of This World- Pretty good. Played cleanly, but nothing special.

Watching Me Fall- very nice live

Want- totally amazing. It's the best version I've ever heard

Fascination Street- I know I wasn't imagining this when I heard a sample of Robert's voice saying "Bourbon,
bourbon" a couple of times before he started singing. The images on the screens were those of porn shops and
strip clubs

Open- I was hoping that they wouldn't play this, but oh well. Around the time that he normally sings "and all the
drinks that I mix" he instead sang "and all the books that I burn". I found that unusual, as Robert is an avid
reader. I wonder what it meant. Also, the guitars drowned out Robert's voice partially during most of the song.

The Loudest Sound: Not bad. During part of the song Robert looked like he was going to cry, and he walked away,
his back to the crowd, and just stood there for a little while

Maybe Someday- solid, but nothing special

Shake Dog Shake- No "Ha ha ha!!!" at the beginning, but nonetheless amazing. Robert said the "sh-sh-sh-sh"s
slowly

From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea- again, solid, but nothing special. Robert didn't really seem into the
song. He got crossed up towards the end and had to hurry the last few lines

Inbetween Days- The crowd got very bouncy. Towards the end of the song, Robert began to poke his head with
one of his fingers

Sinking- Very nice, especially with that camera that was attached to Robert's microphone, showing his image on
the middle screen

Prayers For Rain- We got a nice Prayers For Rain, with the long "Raaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnn!!!" The song was
so different from all previous versions that at the beginning I started to wonder if the band had decided to play a
new song.

100 Years- very violent. Images of death and violence were plastered across the screens during the song.

39- Wow. Very very nice. Most of what you could hear was Simon's bass. He must have had it turned up a few
notches, as it totally dominated the song. Images of fire were on the screens

Bloodflowers- Very very good version of Bloodflowers
-------------------------
1st encore
There Is No If...- I liked this more than the album version. It was rather  impressive

Trust- Images of flames from candles danced on the screens. Perry left his guitar and took to the second keyboard.
It was absolutely lovely.

Plainsong- I don't know why, but I was expecting Apart. ANyway, Robert started the song offstage to the right,
then sang the few lyrics there were in the song, and wandered around the stage after that

Disintegration- decent, with images of broken glass on the screens
-------------------------
2nd encore:
All Cats Are Grey: My initial reaction was to say "Oh My God!". Very very  very nice. Robert started the song
offstage, with Perry again taking the second keyboard. after he sang the lyrics, Robert kneeled at the left of the
stage and accepted a couple of gifts that were thrown to him. He just stayed there for a minute or two befire
standing up. Then he walked in front of  Jason, with his back to the crowd, and just danced slowly to the last
minute or so of the song.

Faith: Nice. This version was about 9 1/2 minutes long. The band was bathed in red. Contrary to what another
review said, Robert did NOT sing "nothing left, not even faith". I was looking for that, and didn't hear it. He did
add some lyrics though, such as "how I used to feel", "idea of perfection"(spoken, not sung), "never let go", and
"years I waited". He really sang them like that, in a very disjointed manner. Is he trying to send a message to us?
At the end, he spoke "There's nothing left/but faith" instead of singing it, and he did it in a surprisingly slow and
deliberate manner.
-------------------------
3rd encore:
Love Song: Amazing. the cover of the Love Song single was on the middle screen

Play For Today: solid

Just Like Heaven: The crowd (at least the ones in the 100 section) went nuts and started hopping around like
crazy. Robert altered the lyrics slightly, singing "Yooouuu, soft and only, lost and lonely..." instead of the usual 2
"you"s. He also did that at the end.

A Forest: The low point of the evening. I was disappointed and very pissed, because this version lasted just 7
minutes, barely more than the album version. I felt that the band should have gone at least 10 minutes, considering
that this was the last song of the night. Perry seemed to have problems with his guitar towards the end, as he
stopped playing for a minute and fiddled around with the cord, dials, and strings.

All in all, the band seemed really into it, with the exception of a couple of songs.

After the show I made my way through the crowd. I came to the realization that I was the only one in the entire
venue who was dressed and looked like Robert(well, Robert circa Conan, with red dress shirt and black dress
jacket, and with slightly longer hair) except of course Robert himself. I must have done a good job, because
several people looked at me and smiled.

I was able to make it to a merchandise stand. As this is was in Canada and I was paying with American money, I
asked what the exchange rate was. The guy that I talked to said 20%. Compare that to the normal exchange rate
of 45%, which translates to $1 US=$1.45 Canadian (I know this because I live right across the border in Niagara
Falls, NY and go to Canada frequently). Sucking down my extreme displeasure, I spent $115(US) on two extra
large t-shirts, a poster, and a tour book. I still think it's highway robbery. Maybe it's good that Toronto is their
only stop in Canada. One note about the merchandise: they either ran out of or weren't carrying the Bloodflowers
dog tags.

All in all I guess the night was good. I had to make an effort not to cry during the first two songs, and was in a
trance for most of the rest of the show. It was so unreal it was like I was listening to one of my live albums or
watching a live video. Maybe that's why it's called the Dream Tour.

On to Jones Beach! (maybe)

Thank you Toronto, I love all you people!  The crowd was huge and great.  The venue was packed, you couldn't
even see the lawn. The tribal music had us rolling into our seats.  The show started about an hour late, but it was
better(darker).  I had great seats, I was the guy in 12th row center with the spiky brown hair and the black sweater
dancing like a fool. The show was brilliant, the band played perfect and Robert seemed to be having fun even
though his soccer team lost just before the show, hey maybe thats why they were late..

OOTW: beautiful opener, the crowd really loved it
WMF: i cant say enough about this song live, so much energy and emotion, incredible
Want: Robert was really into this song
Fascination St: great images, the crowd really got into it, played perfectlly
Open: started with some of Tape then the band gave it their all, all four with guitars, a personal favorite
Loudest Sound: majestic, beautifully sung by robert
ShakeDogShake: Robert just screamed it out, energy!!
MaybeSomeday: Crowd went nuts, played the album version
FTEOTDGS: "put your hands in the sky", but I was the only one, its ok Toronto, I forgive you
InbetweenDays: Dancing, Dancing, with our hands!!
Sinking: long version, robert smith cam was great, you could really see him feel it
PFRain: RAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNN! the longest ever!!! Robert held his hands up in the air and stared
at the image of the skeleton
100Years: great images of war, bright white lights, the band has perfected this classic
End: "she stopped loving me,i was none of those things"
39: the lights and fire were powerful, noise guitar
BF: great set closer, robert sang it very slow
ThereIsNoIf: beautiful new beat to it, i was skeptical but it is great
Trust: Roger has taken the song to a new level with his keyboards
Plainsong: Speechless!! Robert touched the fans and said some hellos, and some goodbyes, perfect
Disintegration: Robert changed the pace until the last verse where he grabbed the mic off the stand and just
sank into the somg, screaming!!
AllCatsAreGrey: dream come true, beautiful purple lights, robert performed it even better than album
Faith: two extra verses "nothing left, not even faith"
LoveSong: i was with my sister and its her favourite
PlayForToday: dancing and singing
JustLikeHeaven: the crowd EXPLODED, i think even Robert was blown away by the reaction, best version i've
ever heard
Forest: Simon (in his french buret) closed the night

The concert was unbelievable, Robert had fun, Simon was pretty serious all night, Roger was just chillin', Jason
played great, perry awesome.  I hope its not the end, but if it is they sure know who to go out!!

Ahh, at last.  It's been since Seattle in 97 since I've seen them.  No Vancouver on this tour, so Toronto it was.
Main set tonight was standard, with Open coming after Fascination St. this time.  Sinking was extended a bit before
Robert started singing.  Some Kiss Me stuff, or Siamese Twins would have been nice, but I certainly won't
complain.  Shake Dog Shake was suitably vicious.  PFR had a "raaaaiiiin" almost as long as Entreat.  End was
good, and sounded very solid despite some reports ("She stopped loving me, I was none of those things").
Bloodflowers was stunning.

1st encore was very good, and all were perfectly played.  Robert wandered around the wings before singing in
Plainsong, but the spotlight did not follow him?!?  Perry's new 6 string bass sounds just great and he played the
Plainsong parts flawlessly.  Roger's keyboard were monstrous!  I've seen Disintegration played w/ more emotion,
but it was still very intense.

All Cats Are Grey!!  A great song, wonderfully played by this lineup.  First time for me.  Roger's keyboards were
perfect.  Then Faith!!  Quite long tonight, but I didn't time it.  Two story breaks and some good six string work.  At
the last story break, he approached the mike, the spot came on him, but he didn't say anything.  He seemed at
quite a loss.  You could tell he wanted to continue, because he didn't back away, but he didn't say anything for
about a minute.  Finally, he whispered some things I didn't understand, and finished w/ "There's nothing left but
Faith" several times.  Jason played on his own for quite some time getting slower and slower.  VERY cool.

Final encore was well played, but not spectacular.  Forest finished quite manically though.

Overall, the mix wasn't perfect, but the outdoor amphitheatre had pretty good sound.  I could nit pick about the
mix, but I can't be too critical, it's the Cure!!

Robert wasn't very talkative, but seemed in a good mood if not somewhat wistful.  Other reports of him lingering
before leaving the stage are not exaggerated.  He doesn't seem to want to stop.  Someone I was talking to before
the show said that The Cure had had trouble coming into Canada (customers?).  If this affected them, it was only to
take them until Sinking to REALLY get rolling.  I do hope we'll get some sort of live release from them on this
tour, it seems to be bringing out the best in them in all respects, setlists, playing, emotion.... etc.  Jason is spot on
with all the songs, Simon seems to be really energized (feeding off Robert's emotion?), Perry is more animated,
than I've ever seen, and his guitar playing keeps getting better (highlights were WMF, FTEOTDGS, PFR, 39,
Bloodflowers and Disintegration), and Roger is as professional and supportive as can be. They've really made an
effort to capture great sounding keyboard sounds, not just "ones that will work".  Of course Robert's guitar
playing is non-pareil and he had a very good night tonight, didn't really seem to blunder any lyrics either.

Thanks to the cures for giving it their all.  It is appreciated.  Now back to real life.

i just thought i'd take a moment and come to the defense of the "passive" toronto audience that apparently doesn't
measure up to the high standards set by the "dedicated" cure fans, some of which reviewed last night's show.  first
of all,  three hours is a long time to stand, no matter how much you love a band.  people paid money for seats, and
dammit, they were going to use them.  secondly, the cure is hardly a band that makes you stand up and dance,
especially with the setlist they performed last night.  the cure is all about absorbing the sounds and getting into a
groove.  don't get me wrong, they play a very emotional set, but for some reason i can't see 10,000 people getting
up and dancing to "all cats are grey" or "plainsong".  i've been a huge fan for 13 years, and i was more than
content (thrilled, in fact) to be lounging in my seat, high as can be, allowing the majestic sounds to wash over me.
this seems like a better way to enjoy the cure's music than standing up and dancing like a fool to songs that aren't
meant to be danced to, not to mention the fact that once one person stands up , everyone else directly behind them
is basically forced to as well.  i was unlucky enough to be sitting in a section that had two overzealous fans standing
for the first encore.  i've never seen a crowd more pissed off.  as soon as i yelled "sit down" during a quiet moment,
the crowd directly surrounding me echoed my sentiments, one fan actually resorting to throwing pennies to get the
two to sit down. (nice shot, by the way).  when the two finally left to go elsewhere, the group surrounding me stood
up and cheered.  now is it really worth it to stand up and dance around like a goof when you're angering and
hindering the view of over 70 people behind you?  probably not, unless you're a selfish bastard.

lastly, i really don't think it's fair to criticize the crowd for not singing along with every song, or for being unaware
of what each song is.  i went to the show with a couple of friends who have only begun to enjoy the cure over the
last two years & other than the material from disintegration and bloodflowers, they had basically never heard any
of the set list (in between days & just like heaven excluded). for the majority of their show, they sat in their seat
and observed, applauding and cheering when appropriate. after the show however, they were both speechless -
both agreed it was one of the most tremendous shows they'd ever witnessed.  now does their enjoyment of the
show not measure up to the enjoyment that a long-time (or obsessed) cure fan experienced?  i don't think so.  they
simply enjoyed it in a different way, which is what is so great about the cure.  so many different walks of life
can enjoy their music on different levels.  just because you sat in your room and memorized every word to
"sinking", it doesn't mean someone not dancing or singing along isn't enjoying it as much as you.  don't be so
damn self-righteous.

now that that's out of the way...  the show was absolutely incredible! it would be tragic if an official live release
didn't come out of this tour.  every song sounded so epic (with the exception of a forest... it needed more guitar)
and the band was really tight.  definitely the best of the three shows i've seen.   robert has the most amazing stage
presence... absolutely mesmerizing.  and despite what you've read elsewhere, the crowd was most definitely into it.
everyone i came with and talked to was absolutely blown away.  my eternal thanks to robert and company for a
great evening and for 20 years of beautiful music.