Out of This World, Watching Me Fall, Want, Fascination St., Last Day of Summer, Where the Birds Always Sing, Maybe Someday, A Strange Day, Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Inbetween Days, Snakepit, Shake Dog Shake, Shiver & Shake, 100 Years, 39, Bloodflowers

1st encore: Cold, The Figurehead, Pornography
2nd encore: Jupiter Crash, M, Play for Today, Just Like Heaven, A Forest
3rd encore: Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab.

After what I consider a sub-par experience at the Holmdel, NJ show on Friday, I kept my expectations of this
show on the low side. NY, the final US Dream Tour stop, was looming, and I decided to put all my chips on that
show as far as anticipation was concerned. So last night, I was just going to roll with the punches. So boy, was I in
for a treat!

I loved the venue right away. It was far smaller and less intimidating than PNC, and my seats were better. I was
way on the outside aisle of the venue, which would suck if you hadn't already seen the show several times, but for
me it was fine cuz I'm always too busy dancing to watch the darn thing anyway. The area in which I sat was not very
heavily sold, and as soon as the intro music started, everyone moved in toward the center, where the view was
better. I, however, remained behind, so I had this bizarre sensation of being ALONE at a Cure show. There was no
one in the row in front of me to block my view, no one behind me to complain, and the closest person in my aisle
was about 25 seats away. Needless to say, I was a dancin' groovin' fool!!!

I needn't have worried about people complaining behind me, however, because I'd say 75% of the audience was on
its feet from the moment the band walked onstage until the closing notes of "Killing an Arab." It was such a relief
after the Holmdel show! The band seemed the feel the difference, too, and the energy onstage was prolly about the
best I've ever seen it. The set was a bit heavier on the new album than others I've seen, but who can complain? In
a review for an earlier show, someone mentioned how "Watching Me Fall" had yet to be truly realized, that it could
pack the wallop of "FTEOTDGS" if fully realized, and I agreed. But last night, finally, it CLICKED, and the
difference was stunning.
"Bloodflowers," which has always been good, was flawless (OK, I shed a tear or two...). "Want" was amazing as
usual (IMHO, the "I want the sky to fall in..."verse is one of the most intense in Robert's lyrical canon, which is
weird since WMS was not one of my favorite albums. Whenever he gets to that part in the show, I practically
convulse.) Other highlights in the main set were the gorgeous "Snakepit" and the "Shake" duo, which was great
fun. I was particularly happy to hear The Top represented, as I believe that to be the Cure's most underrated
effort.

The Pornography encore was amazing as usual. I think that hearing those songs live was what this tour was all
about for me. In high school I constantly had a walkman with me, and I carried exactly two tapes every day. One
was a very upbeat alterna-pop album, and the other was "Pornography." My best friend, who knew me then, still
jokes about the weird combination. But that album DID something for me. It sucked me in, you know? So hearing
"Siamese Twins," "Cold," "A Strange Day" and "100 Years" live (I don't think I've been at a
"Figurehead"-enabled show yet, but there's still hope for tomorrow night) really brings my fandom full circle.

The highlight of the "catch-all" encore for me was "Jupiter Crash." While I heard it several times on the WMS
tour, it comes over like a breath of cool air in the context of this tour's general setlist staples. Robert's guitar was
very crisp, and when I hear it, I feel like I can see the place the protagonists were sitting when they had that
"conversation." I've never been superfond of "M," but this tour has changed my mind about it, and I really dug it
last night.

The punk-era encore is just too darn fun. The neat-o high-pitched guitar work over Simon's relentless bass in
"Killing an Arab" fills me with glee. (Yes, I'm aware that the song isn't exactly a laugh riot, but you have to admit
that Robert's guitar line has a great "slippery dancing eel" quality to it.) One of the only times I heard another
person speak at the show was when a young girl (16 or so?) near me recognized the opening chords of "Arab" and
yelled "NO WAY!!!," obviously thrilled that they'd pulled that one from the vaults. (She obviously doesn't read
this page religiously-tee hee). It just made me smile at how the Cure continues to reach new audiences. That song
is older than she is, and she not only found it, but she embraced it. And that's what will make the Cure live forever.
Very cool. Very, very cool.

Well, one more show to go. New York. My home. My idealist side is dying for "homesick," my official nomination
for Greatest Song Recorded By Anyone Ever (ten years running!), but I know it's a lot to ask. My realist side is
simply pulling for a Faith encore, which I haven't heard since Munich.

This is it, guys! May you go out with a bang worthy of your 20+ years of brilliance. I'll be there, "to see how we're
ending our last dance together..."

The venue was pretty far from us this time, so it was a nice drive over, taking about 6 hours round trip. It was
raining very heavily before the show, and it subsided at the begining of the show itself wich we were lucky for.
The flooding in the roads were a pain to get over, but we made it there in one piece 8^).

The show started with the standards for the tour - Out of this world, Watching me fall, Want, and Facination st.
They were all done well, but it took a little longer to really get into last nights show. The entire crowd was standing
from what I could see, so by the time facination st. ended everyone was pumped for the night. Last day of summer
was good, done very mellow with a nice flavour, always good to hear. Where the birds alawys sing was great. First
song of the night that was different from the 16th at the PNC. They do this really well live, and you could see alot
of people getting into it. Maybe someday is also a nice live staple, nothing good or bad about the song. Now this
is where the show really heated up. It was great to hear A Strange Day again, theyve been doing pornography
stuff very wellthis tour. Edge of the Deep Geen Sea was very powerful, and i was fnaly able to enjoy it without
any interfierance 8^) (although a friend told me there was yet another drunk guy around where she was sitting,
hehe). Inbetween days got the crowd jumping again, very dancy and happy version. They then went into an awsome
version of Snakepit, Robert introducing it saying this is where he gets to play his favorite instrument. It was hard
for me to see it, but i think it was a flute that he was playing... very eerie and captivating, and the lights were done
very well for it. The second they kicked into Shake Dog Shake i flipped out. I really wanted to hear this song, and
they did it increadible live, it was a real treat. That followed by Shiver and shake and 100 Years was just insainly
powerful, they had lots of energy tonight and it was going to good use. When I heard the opening sounds of 39, i
knew the set was almost over, but i enjoyed the closers. Bloodflowers was also done very well. The only thing that
bothered me throught the set was these idiots all the way in the back of the lawn who were standing in front of a
giant light so that their shadows reflected off the top of the venue. they just stood there shadow
boxing/fighting/humping and it was distractiong at first, but we ignored it after a while.

They come out for the first encore and go straight into Cold, wich is great to hear live again. I was very happy to
hear The Figurehead, very strong version. Again, Pornography just out does all of them on the energy factor, its
just the most mind-blowing thing to see live.

Back again for the second encore, Robert joking around saying "I dont even know why i tell you what we're going
to play. This is why i dont talk much" or something to that effect. The first chords of Jupiter Crash are heard and it
was great. Its such a great song to hear them do live. Afterwards they go into the same encore that they did for
PNC - M, Play for today, Just like heaven, A forest. All of them done exeptionaly well, Simon smacking the shit
out of the bass again for A Forest.

It was nice to see them come out again for the 3rd encore. I honestly was happy not knowing what they were going
to play (i frequent this site so much that i get a good idea of the shows). Robert introduces the next song as "The
girl from eponima", and that got a few laughs before he went right into Boys Dont Cry. It was great hearing that
song for the first ime live, along with 10:15 (Robert said Sunday night, hehe) and Killing an Arab. Killing An Arab
was done soooo much more powerful than i expected, it was a great way to end the set.

Honestly, even though there ewre some great surprises in the show, i enjoyed the PNC Bank show alot more. Part
of it was cause of the weather I guess. Last stop for me is the last stop of the tour, Jones Beach on the 20th. At
least it'll be easy to get to 8^). Im hoping to hear Sinking, Faith, The Kiss, Open/End... But i would easily settle
for Same Deep Water as You and warm dry weather instead.

Okay, Camden.......what can I say about Camden?  A big disappointment for one.  The setlist was no where near
as good, they played four songs in a row off the new album, and played only one song off of Disintegration.  The
atmosphere sucked, I was hoping that with the rain pouring down, it would set the mood for a dark deep show.
The peope who were at Camden, that were in the back of the ampitheater where I was, were complete assholes.
They got pissed if I stood up, everyone was sitting down, and no one seemed to be into the show, and that includes
me.....  I guess after seeing such an incredible show on Friday, my expectations were a little to high.  I just thank
god that I saw them on Friday, so I can carry that with me, in case this is the last tour, instead of Sunday, because
Camden, felt really incomplete..........no emotion, no strength no ora.  Robert kept going ahhhhhhhhh as if his
voice hurt.  (maybe it was)
        Who knows if this is the last tour or not, Robert is so unpredictable.  It's like he wants to stop, but at the
same time he doesn't want it to end.  I think it's a love hate kinda thing.  Hopefully, greed will succeed...............

Why the Camden, NJ show sucked.

while the band did well, there were several factors contributing to this statement.

#1 - the rain.  i drove several hours that day and it did not start raining until i stepped out of the car.  those of you
that were there around 6pm know how much it started pouring.  from walking from the car to the venue, even
wearing a poncho, my pants, boots, socks and the sleeves of my shirt from the elbows down were soaked.

#2 - the venue.  i don't know what they did there last night, but it smelled horrible.  i didn't really notice
immediately, but where we were sitting smelled like vomit and a lot of the rest of the venue (seating area) did too.

#3 - the security.  well, there was no security really going in. nothing different than any other show.  the people
inside, however, were a different story.  down at the front towards the middle, the security walking up and down
the isles decided that they should look up and down the isles and shine their flashlights on anyone sitting down, as
if it's a crime to sit  down.  it was incredibly distracting, not only to the  people sitting down (light shining in your
face like that can't be that enjoyable -- though i wasn't one of the people sitting down), but for other people, if you
see someone shining a light at/near you it's kind of hard to pay attention to the show..they got a little better about
it towards the end of the show, but for the first hour or so, they were doing this every few minutes... from both
sides of the isle.

#4 - the crowd.  i have no problems with people cheering, clapping, yelling, etc.... BETWEEN the songs.  how can
you listen to the music if you're doing nothing but screaming during the songs?  i must have had all the worst
people in the venue around me.  directly in front of me, there was a huge guy... 300+ pounds and taller than me,
despite being slightly lower than me he was higher than me.  not only was it hard for me to see normally with him
just standing there, but he decided to try to get roger/robert's attention every 2 minutes by waving his arms in the
air whenever he thought they might possibly be looking his direction out of the corner of their eyes.  then during
some songs.. he was "dancing"?  he mostly just waved his arms around, nearly hitting me several times... at some
points it looked like he was acting like he was swimming. i really dont' know what the fuck he was doing.  then
behind me, were a bunch of drunken idiots, who while they weren't all THAT loud (like the people behind me at
atlanta), they carried on conversations throughout the show.. and were kicking the backs of our seats and even hit
my girlfriend in the back with something..  not only that, but one was playing "air guitar" on the backs of our seats
as well as "air keyboards".  i don't really find it comfortable to have some drunken moron leaning way over the
back of my seat.. when he wasn't doing that, he was flailing his arms around, beer in one hand (spilling it
constantly) leaning way over the seats. it seemed as if he was in our row or something.  because of all their beer
spillage, everything we had on the floor in  front of us is now beer soaked and smells like a combination of beer
and vomit... which was 2 backpacks and a poncho.
then there was the girl in the row in front of me and slightly to the left.  she got there late, which didn't bother me a
bit, though it was more distractions from the people with the flashlights while they found t heir seats.. but this bitch
did not shut up the entire show. i have no problem with people cheering, clapping and screaming really, but why the
fuck are you going to do it DURING the songs...CONSTANTLY?  i fail to see how you can actually hear the music
very well if you're screaming every 20-30 seconds like clockwork. the only time she didn't scream was when she
was taking pictures, drinking her beers, or was gone to get more beer.  when someone finally yelled at her to shut
up, she only screamed more.  she screamed "WOOOO"  "WOOOHOOO" "ROGEEEEEER"
"ROBEEEEEEEEERT" "WOOOHOOOHOOOO".. but mostly it was just "WOOOHOOO" so to her, though i
don't think she's competant enough to use a computer, i'd like to say 'fuck you'.
i could have tolerated everyone else around me, had she not been there.  thankfully she left after the 2nd encore
(at least left the seats).

#5 - the traffic/cops afterwards.
generally there are traffic problems after shows. that is 100% reasonable and understandable.  holmdel probably
has had the least traffic problems of all the shows i've been to (i've been to more than one show there too).
however the police department of camden nj is incredibly stupid.  at one intersection near the venue, everyone
was trying to get through to go accross the ben franklin bridge.  a large portion of traffic was coming one street
and needed to turn left. another large group of traffic was coming to the intersection to go straight-through to get
to the bridge. there was a cop at this intersection. instead of having the lights turned off and directing traffic
himself because the volume of the traffic was not sufficiently controlled by the light, he just stood in the
intersection and waved the people "straight-through" that were coming from the direction of the masses that
needed to turn left. we sat at that intersection (at various places) for nearly a half hour. since they have concerts
there pretty often, one would think that they'd be able to control the traffic afterwards, but obviously this is not the
case.

#6 - minor complaints about the setlist.   i know this is mostly a bloodflowers tour, but i'm just a little bored of
hearing some of the songs.  generally by the time it gets to  39 i'm just waiting for the set to be over so they will get
to the encores.

Another GREAT setlist!  What I didn't get to hear at Holmdel, I got tonight and then some.  While the overall
performance didn't quite have the fire of Friday night, I thought they were totally tight, played wonderfully, and
had me hanging on every note.  The sound system here was rich and dark, yet the band shimmered from OOTW
through (sigh) Jupiter Crash! I completely fell in love with Last Day of Summer all over again.  I had honestly
hoped and prayed for Shake Dog Shake, Shiver and Shake, and Figurehead, and somehow managed to get all
three.  ESP once again!! And I swear I wondered off into another dimension during The Snakepit (dig that
flute-thingy, RS!).  I thought for sure we'd get a 4th encore, as the audience was whipped into a frenzy by the end
of the night and there was this pregnant pause before the house lights came up, but alas ... the dreaded
Faith-robbing curfew!

I'm going to miss all the years of seeing this band live; from hearing, no... *feeling* their music and the
"community" of fans, to the scent of clove cigarettes and patchouli and the blinding, fog-lit psychedelic lighting.

I must admit - I almost didn't go to the show.  Okay, truthfully, anyone who believed me when I said I was skipping
it must not actually know me at all. But I was a serious holdout, for a number of reasons, including the fact that
the last time I saw The Cure they were so superb I couldn't imagine they could even come close to that mark, let
alone surpass it.  I was wrong. I walked to the show, sort of.  I live in Philadelphia so I walked from my house and
then caught the ferry across the river to Camden.  We had experienced some amazing thunderstorms that
afternoon (another sensible reason to skip the show that I didn't pay any attention to when the thought of actually
missing it entered my mind).  As I was walking a gigantic rainbow  appeared over the venue as if guiding the way.
City rainbows are pretty rare - it was the first I've seen in 4 years.  It had to be a sign of what was about to occur
there.  So I hopped the ferry and got to the venue just in time to get my ticket.
It was an outdoor show, and the sound was amazing.  It was impossible to control the acoustics since they were
lacking a back wall to bounce everything off of, yet they still sounded better than any recording I've ever heard of
them.  It was cocky and loud, seemingly the perfect version of every  single song.  It became more remarkable as
the evening went on - I kept wondering how on earth they could keep it up as the hours ticked by.  But they didn't
disappoint, never missed a beat, and got more and more comfortable as the night went on.  Robert was positively
chatty.  Amazing!
I believe that the people who were seated, while closer to the band, missed out on some great elements that the
people on the lawn enjoyed.  One was the rain, which for the most part stayed in check, but along with it came the
occasional lightening burst which always seemed to be in perfect time with the music.  They also missed the
dancing people shadows on the venue wall above the stage, which were the best lighting effect I've ever seen,
though entirely accidental.  Just imagine the brilliant purples and oranges of The Cure's fantastic lighting scheme,
and above it extended and ecstatic shadow people dancing furiously. And, of course, to watch and participate as
the entire hill of people rose as one to dance to "Just Like Heaven" was incredible, it was just one of those truly
joyous experiences we all crave. Every song was a surprise, a gift.  Each encore was longer than the last.
And Robert seemed very much to want to stay right there on the stage - he didn't want to leave when it was over.
Nor did we.  I'm so glad I went, you would never imagine.

This was my second Cure show and was a little bit better than Holmdel although it was still too loud and I could
hear mostly bass, drums and vocals with occasional glimpses of what Perry and Robert were doing with their
guitars, not to mention Roger's almost non existent keyboards (again). Well, I guess it's the norm but one would
think that with today's technology and 20 years of doing concerts it could be done right. Maybe it's just me but if
I don't hear all instruments in the way I can tell them apart on the records I get disappointed. Anyway, the setlist
was great and the band seemed to be in top form. The best moments for me (i.e. the best sound) happened during
the encores (Cold, Figurehead, Jupiter Crash). Absolute highlights of the show: A Strange Day very early in the
show, Shiver and Shake, Shake Dog Shake, Snakepit, A Forest,  Bloodflowers, and powerful Killing an Arab
version. I'm still waiting patiently for Sinking, Charlotte Sometimes and Push, as well as for Disintegration - Faith
- Wish segments of the concert. Perhaps at Jones Beach. Since this is the last show I hope they play more than 3
encores.

camden was a great show!!  i was in the third row behind the pit, dead center.  everyone around me was very much
into the show.  the stage was set high above the pit and a fence was up that separated the band from the crowd by
about 6 feet.  robert walking up and signing things and taking things from the crowd was not going to happen.  but
he did walk out to the edge and look out a lot and people threw things to him.
the set list was really good.  again, it was very popish and upbeat for most of the set.  i was glad to hear the last
day of summer again.  that is a wonderful tune.  a strange day was great too.  but what really set me off tonight
was the snake pit!!!!!!  i was hoping to see this during my few shows i was going to and tonight i got lucky!!!   it
was the coolest!!!!!!!

all the encores were good.  cold and the figurehead were really great back to back and then here comes
pornography!!! the 2nd encore was the longest and had a wide variety of songs in it.  i know this probably gets
over stated but i've got to say something about a forest.  last night's performance was really good.  they jammed.
towards the end it was a dueling guitars thing between robert and perry until finally perry dropped out and robert
slowly screeched to a halt and finally its just simon.  that song gets better and better every time they play it.

Picture yourself as roberth smith, the lead singer of the cure, a band who has been gracing ears for well over 20
years.  12 studio albums, tons of b-sides, and songs that reach all kinds of emotional ranges. the pure pop bliss of
"inbetween days", the sullen melancholy of "m", the raging angst of "100 years", the spacey nostalgia of "out of
this world" and the sorrowful tale of "the edge of the deep green sea" are all just some of the examples of the
arsenal of songs that the cure have at their disposal.  all of them are wonderful in their own way.

so what do you play when you only have 2 to 3 hours plus a bunch of great *new* tracks that are just as worthy of
a live treatment?  as is expected there were plenty of songs i had hoped to hear but for everyone that i wished i'd
heard, there was one other song that i didn't expect to hear.  ultimately the pleasant surprises won out with a few
exceptions: "faith" which i'm heartbroken to hear was played the night before and the 1-2 punch of "plainsong"
and "the same deep water as you" which was played 2 nights before as an encore. when i think about it there was
only *one* song from disintegration played last night...  :-(

how was it?  you know it's funny.  you would think that a band whose music i fell in love with when i was 14 or 15
(over 11 years ago) would also be a band that i've outgrown.  yes and no... i still love the music when i hear it, but
i geuss as you get older you find other sources of strength.  several years ago i suddently turned around saw that
every life crisis didn't require listening to "faith" or "disintegration" to get me through it.  suddenly music
complements and enhances your life more that it keeps you afloat.  bottom line though: i can still remember what
that felt like and hearing the cure play so incredibly well last night brought it all back for a few hours.  it really was
impressive how tight they were as a band, especially considering how varied and different their setlist has been
from night to night.  the cure played superbly with passion and energy.  if you've seen concert footage like "in
orange", i felt like i experienced something just as good and just as special.

the new stuff was wonderful to hear.  the cure really played up to their strengths and they way they managed to
avoid most of their singles (but not all) was wonderful.  each song was incredibly powerful in its own way.  the
whole thing started around 8:15 and ended around 10:55 which seemed to go by all too quickly.  there almost was a
4th encore because the crowd just did not want to see them leave the stage.

well, here's the setlist and i think it speaks for itself.  it's really sad when you realize this is all coming to an end,
but it was a brilliant goodbye....