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, 100 Years, End, 39,
Bloodflowers

1st encore: There Is No If, Trust, Plainsong, Disintegration
2nd encore: M, Play for Today, Just Like Heaven, A Forest
3rd Encore: Faith (with a bit of 2 Late).

Soundcheck: Jupiter Crash , bits of End, There is no if, Out of this world.

The music wasn't the right Cure

The unintended genius of Cure leadman Robert Smith's white makeup and tar-black-dyed hair is that it gives the
illusion of youth. A close look and one might notice that the stubble under his smudged lipstick is coarser, and his
guitar hangs from a huskier frame. From the distant seats and lawn of the Woodlands Pavilion on Wednesday
night, however, Smith, 41, still looked like a prancing cat. His voice was the moan of lost souls, and his lyrics of
love were romantically morose. For 2 1/2 hours, Smith led the band through 26 songs so distant from its heyday
that inquiries into a refund wouldn't be surprising. It was as if the band made a consorted effort to avoid nearly
every song that helped it shed light into Goth music's catacombs in the mid-'80s. So esoteric was this concert that
it's actually more interesting to talk about the songs not played: The Walk, Charlotte Sometimes, Lovecats, Close
To Me.
Formed in 1976, the Crawley, England band had numerous post-punk hits like Boys Don't Cry (not played) and
Forest (finally, one that was) that are still beloved. The Cure peaked artistically in 1985, with the album The
Head on the Door, and commercially in 1989, with the multisingles from Disintegration. The '90s found the Cure
lost in lineup changes and two albums, Wish and Wild Mood Swings, that were sub-par by comparison. It was these
latter albums, along with the recently released isolationist fantasy Bloodflowers, that were the focus of the
Woodlands show. Since its release, Smith has been touting Bloodflowers as the final chapter of an album trilogy
that also comprised Disintegration and 1982's Pornography. It's clear that the intent of this show was to choose
songs playing into those albums' themes of loneliness and desolation. In that respect the concert was very
effective.
Not played: Caterpillar, Let's Go to Bed, Why Can't I Be You?, Catch.
What Smith forgot was that fans don't go to concerts to be desolate and lonely. They want to be entertained.
Somewhere, there was a teen who grew up with these recent albums who loved the show. The majority, who came
of age when the first greatest-hits album, Staring At the Sea: The Singles, was the standard, had to be
disappointed. Bathed in purple and green lights, Smith, the only original Cure member, was flanked by longtime
bandmates bassist Simon Gallup and guitarist Perry Bamonte. They opened with new keyboard-led dirges Out of
This World and Watching Me Fall. As slow, winding examples of how harmonious digitized music can sound when
layered together, the songs are a wonder. But for a live audience, they are Valium. Obscurities like Prayers for
Rain or the 12-minute death march of Faith were interesting oddities to the die-hard fan, but equally narcoleptic.
It was only about every third or fourth song that the band cranked tempo with a gem like In Between Days, Just
Like Heaven and Fascination Street. The energy in the crowd shot up to house-party levels for these brief
moments. Then it was back to the gloom.
Also not played: Pictures of You, Friday I'm In Love, Strange Attraction.
Smith has been hinting that Bloodflowers might be the last album and this might be the final tour before the Cure
has called it a career. Before this show, I was saddened to hear it, but now I'm not so sure. Much like the
Smashing Pumpkins, who announced they will disband following their current tour, maybe Smith realizes that the
Cure is now a band out of time. Perhaps this last-ditch attempt to sell these more recent songs to an audience is
his own personal litmus test to measure public interest in the band's continuing. The just-courteous applause after
songs should have given him his answer. If this is the last time the Cure plays Houston, what a missed opportunity
 to go out with one last triumphant wail.

We arrived at The Pavillion at 6:45pm.  Unfortunately we missed the sound check, but still had plenty of time for
the tension to build until 8:00pm arrived.  The band didn't actually come on stage until about 8:20pm.  We were
very lucky this year, as we had front row pit seats. Having been an avid Cure fan for 20 years now, this was a
special treat, as the best seats I had ever had before were 12th row back in 92' at The Wish Tour.  This was my
7th Cure concert in 15 years.  I must say that "The Dream Tour" really was just that...a Dream!  We were lucky
enough to hear the songs that we had only dreamed about hearing live in the U.S. before.  Robert &
The boys..."Thank You so much for such a wonderful setlist.  Many of us have waited many years to hear those
songs, and we couldn't have been more pleased....a dream come true!"
The band was unbelieveably friendly to everyone close enough to converse with them, Roger even gave me a
huge smile in one of my pictures as you will see.  Robert was fantastic as always.  He very graciously took the
roses I had brought for him, after saying to me several times that he promised he would be back to get them from
me.  I gave him my program to sign, which he took off stage with him at the end of the second encore.  I was quite
worried that he thought I had given it to him when he returned to perform "Faith" empty handed.  When he left the
stage for the final time I thought, "oh well, that's okay, I couldn't have had a more wonderful time, which I will
cherish for years to come".  But just as we were getting ready to leave, a roadie came out with my program & my
pen, and said, "Robert said these belong to you".  I almost cried with delight, he hadn't forgotten after all.  I was in
Heaven.  The Cure has always been like an old friend to me. The music has been there through some of the best &
worst times in my life.  I felt like I had finally gotten to say hello....and  goodbye to such a fabulous friend.  Thank
You, Thank You, Thank You!  I am not going to review each song or go over the setlist, as that has already been
done, and very well I might add.  I would like to ask that if you have read the review by The Houston Chronicle
that I sent in to Chain of Flowers, and you were at the concert and feel that this review was unfair, please click the
link that takes you to the original article.  At the bottom of that page is a link to an email reply address, let the
Chronicle know how you felt about the concert.  Live Life, Love & be Happy!!

Well, I got lost driving from New Orleans to Houston. I didn't wind up at the show until 6:30pm.  I did see all the
familiar faces I met in New Orleans.  It's like a great big family.  Everyone is so nice.  I highly recommend traveling
to more than one show in order to meet all the great fans.

The set was very standard compared to the New Orleans shows.  I still enjoyed myself nevertheless.  I was sitting
in the pit, fifth row.  When the concert started there were 4 empty seats on the first row.  My friend and I moved to
them and I got great pictures, or so I thought.  Next time, I'll no not to use a flash.  Only some came out.  I licked
my lips because they were dry and Robert must have thought I was licking them at him.  He saw me and licked his
lips back at me.  The people who actually had the front row seats finally showed up during Maybe Someday and
were very drunk and rude.  They had the security people make me and my friend move back to our seats.  Then
they sat for the entire show.  Oh, that pisses me off.

I was glad to hear Shake Dog Shake again.  I love that song.  The camera problem was fixed on Sinking tonight.
Again, we got another fantastic version of 100 Years.  End was very hypnotic.

The first encore was beautiful.  Robert really loves greeting the crowd during Plainsong.  He spent a lot of time
shaking hands and signing things.  He even went to the right side of the stage twice.  The one girl who ran onto the
stage was hysterical.  She got body slammed good.

They played my all time favorite song again, M!!!  This time putting a big red M on the screen instead of the white
one like in New Orleans.  The radio people went crazy for the singles, of course.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Faith again.  Extra lyrics this time I believe.

Well, after 8 years I have got to see The Cure live again. The whole traveling process was crazy: passport, U.S.
transit permit, bus stopping everywhere, my first time ever in Houston... I was terribly nervous, because I left
Monterrey (Mexico) at 7 a.m. and the they said it would be a 11 hours long trip to Houston!!! ...Ok, the Houston
traffic is horrible, the labyrinth of streets is almost satanic...never thought The Woodlands was that far....oh God,
fortunately, we arrived at the Pavilion7.35 exactly and found a taxi!!!....Too expensive, by the way....

The show was amazing. I was surprised to see the Pavillion full. I don't know if it was sold out, but I can be sure that
it was at least at a 96-99% of its capacity. Everyone where very distracted until Fascination Street, but since that
moment, I can say that the crowd was excellent!! very noisy, highly amazed.

I was very glad to see younger people...My friend (a converted cure fan) thought that the audience would be
composed mainly of fans who were in their 30's, but actually I could see that most of us where between 15-25 years
old.

I was dissapointed by The Loudest Sound. It didn't sound that good live. I really wanted to hear Pornography and
All Cats are Grey, instead of End or 39. But despite of that, the setlist was amazing, the light and videos were
really excellent. I specially liked the images behind 100 years, Faith and Prayers for Rain.....After Shake Dog
Shake, the whole atmosphere got dark and with certain sense of tragedy, specially during PFR.... I love that song,
and I really wanted to cry in that moment.

I didn't expected Trust, but Plainsong & Disintegration were majestic. Not to forget M and Play for Today, whose
versions where very close to those in 17 Seconds.

The zenith of all was Faith. Those like "bells", "fairy powder" sound effects behind, fitted perfectly. And Robert's
guitar was the best here, sounded a bit metallic and beautiful.

But the adventure didn't end there. Me & my friend got lost in The Woodlands, and I really started to hate
American suburbs with their huge highways and no sidewalks, no public telephons, no taxis.... Fortunately a police
officer gave us a ride!!! Thank you!!!

But all the nightmares, headaches, excursions, were worth. I don't know if we will ever see The Cure again. = )

I must say the Houston show was fantastic!  After arriving from Austin, I drove to the Woodlands Pavillion.

I got there for the soundcheck and met some pretty cool fans, some even from Mexico!  Hola!  There weren't as
many people waiting for them as I had anticipated.  The tour bus pulled up.  I got to see Simon, Perry (he waved to
us) and finally Robert come out.  We all just stood there wondering what next and we all waved and he waved
back.

I waited up in the front of the Pavillion and met up with Joe (who had the seat next to me in the Pit).  We arrived at
our seats and I was so happy!  Pit Row 5 dead center!

The band started around 8:20p-8:25p.  During the first song, Joe and I moved up to the Front Row in front of
Robert as no one was there. It was awesome!  I took several pictures from here though after a while, the security
guy just asked that I turn off my flash.

During Maybe Someday, the owner of the seats were we were at finally decided to come to the concert so we
headed back to our seats.  I loved the backgrounds.  They fit the songs perfectly and the lights just compliment
them so well.  I really liked Sinking and the camera effect.  Everyone in the pit was so into the concert!  I stood
the whole time and just lost it when they played 100 Years.  It rocked bad a**!

At the beginning of Trust, a girl managed to get on stage.  It was so funny b/c she got up there and just made a mad
dash towards her goal, Robert, w/security trailing after her.  You just saw her go down fast when security got to
her.  Roger just could not stop laughing and Robert just kept on playing as if it nothing happened.

After Bloodflowers, The Houston crowd really wooed them back on stage for more!  They were amazing!  During
Play for Today, I was surprised to hear others also doing the "whoa-uh-oh, whoa-oh".  You could really tell that
the band members were enjoying themselves and feeding off from the crowds vibes.  It was definitely not a pop
singles crowd.  Come around 11p, you could see that they didn't want to leave but it was curfew time.

All in all....the most amazing concert!  I wasn't sure if the Dallas concert would compare to this at all.  Robert and
the gang are the best at what they do!  They put on a great show!

First impression: the set list harbored few surprises.  On the way down from Austin, I listened to all the songs that
were being played on the Dream Tour (according to the tally by total number of times played) and it was an
exact reproduction.  No shocks here....
    The band came on stage at about 8:25.  "Out of This World" (my favorite off the new album) was beautiful, but
once the band hit "Watching Me Fall," for the rest of the night I realized that this show was going to border on
hard rock.
    As for the crowd, Houston seemed to really get into the show.  I happened to be sitting in a "dead" row...with the
people on either side of me standing up only for "Inbetween Days" and "Just Like Heaven," not to mention a fair
number (at least 1/3 of the people in my row and the one before me, leaving before the show was over...some even
before the first encore!).  Much of the rest of the crowd was great, though, and stood throughout the entire show,
and many came down to fill the seats of those who left.  The crowd really responded to terrific performances of
"Deep Green Sea" and "100 Years."
    For me, the best part of the show came during the encores.  I was quite pleased to hear There is No If, a
pleasant, poppier version featuring almost entirely synthesizers and Robert's guitar.  Next was Trust, the only
song on the set list that I wasn't sure I would hear, and was very grateful when they played it--a beautiful version,
nicely complimented by the sight of a 200lb bouncer tackle a 115lb girl as she came flying from stage left, not
getting within 5 feet of Robert, but the crowd applauded her noble effort, nonetheless.
    The 2nd encore was the best, however.  At this point, I was beginning to wonder if Houston was going to be
deprived of both M and Play for Today, songs that seemed to be played at almost all the venues on the tour...and
they did them both.  The crowd roared when the emblazoned red M appeared during the band's silence.  And Play
for Today is for me the best live song the Cure plays, with enough of us chanting "whoa-uh-oh,whoa-oh...etc." that
it was audible.
    Regardless, even though the set list was a bit too "typical" of what they've played so far, I couldn't have asked
for a better assemblage of songs, so powerful and wrought with emotion, and ever so appropriate for what might
actually be the final tour.  With that in mind, I bought the house on the merchandise . . . but hopefully, maybe
someday, there will be another.  Although it probably need not be said to anyone who visits this site, "Don't
Miss This Tour!"

At the very LAST minute we decided to go to Houston. To our surprise we got some pretty good seats, reserved
seats! We could see them really well, nothing like N.O., but great anyway. What was horrible is we were so tired
from the other 2 concerts and we were sick. It was so worth it though. Couldn't scream and jump as much but for
one last time it was wonderful! The only bad thing, was that we didn't leave Lafayette until 4:30 and the traffic was
awful on the Interstate. It must have been after 7:00 and we were no where near the place. It was horrible because
we didn't think we would ever get there. The the damn traffic at the Woodlands itself was unreal. And why were all
of those people going so late to see the Cure? There were reasons for some of us but.............

After the 40 mile sprint to the Pavillion we finally arrived. On the pathway to the gate we heard them finish
Watching me fall. Then we walked to the wrong side and had to go to the ticket office (another mile hike). Finally
after getting our tickets we could go in. The crowd was gigantic. That was awesome. Especially since we were so
hoarse we could hardly scream, we let the crowd do most of it for us. It was such a great experience for me to see
them 3 nights in a row. Hearing most all of the songs I love so much. Knowing that it is probably going to be the
last time to ever see the Cure it was all worth getting home at 4:30 in the morning. I would do it again any time.

This was my first Cure concert ever and I have to say it was amazing! Sorry to say I can't compare them to any
other ones. While I was waiting outside the gates I met a couple of people out there including this girl that came
from Corpus Christi that had the prettiest Cure tattoo on her lower back. There were also these two guys that
came all the way from Atlanta, Georgia. We were waiting around when all of a sudden we hear drums playing and
we realized the band was warming up! I heard Roger playing to Out Of This World and also bits of Watching Me
Fall. When we heard Robert mumbling on the mic we started shouting and applauding hoping that he could of
heard us. Then we got lucky when the band played Jupiter Crash all the way through and me and this other girl
started singing and dancing and some people stared at us like we were weird! As soon as the gates opened up I
went to buy some merchandise. I ended up getting the necklace with the flower on it, dogtags, a shirt for me and
for my sister, and the Dreamtour book. We went to find our seats and found that we had a good view of the stage
and were satisfied. When they finally came out people got up and started cheering and I started tearing up when I
saw Robert. OOTW was so great I'm sad to say that the people on my left sat during most of the show(especially
the couple in front of me that kept blowing their cig smoke near my face). Fascination St. aroused the crowd and it
felt great that every other song you could hear the audience sing along. One Hundred Years was sooo amazing
you just had to be there. All those lights and the pictures in the background just made it even better. It was so cool
when strobe lights just flickered with the melody. When Inbetween Days came on everybody stood up and sang
along. Robert kept going to both sides of the stage to sign autographs and say hi. It was cool when this girl
managed to get on stage but didn't managed to touch any band members since she was tackled by a security
guard. Roger and Robert were just laughing and the crowd cheered for the girl. Prayers For Rain was great it
would have been cool if all of a sudden it did start raining! It was hot out there. It was funny when the audience
wouldn't keep it down and Robert said "You can all shut up now" which only made us cheer even more! When
they played Bloodflowers I started crying some cause I realized that this was the last tour. When they came out
for the first encore they started out with There Is No If which I just love! And next came Trust which Roger did a
good job on by the way. Disintegration couldn't have been better. Just Like Heaven was so special to me it was
great to see that everybody was standing up and singing all the words. I'll never forget it. With Faith being the
last song we knew it was time to go (although I couldn't feel my legs since I stood up the whole time) you could tell
that Robert hesitated to leave but then he finally said goonight and that was it. I will always remember this
night for the rest of my life and nobody could ever take that. I just wish I had snuck my camera in there...oh well
I have my memories. The Cure will always be my favorite band even if Robert goes solo and they don't record
any more music. They hold a special part in my heart. Thank you for taking the time to read my long somewhat
review.

Wow, how do I keep this brief?  I guess a song-by-song review would get a bit tedious...

Anyhow, this was my first Dream Tour show, and I had to go a long way to get there!  Me and my friend Todd
drove down from the University of Illinois, so we got to the show around 7:45, pretty tired, but ready to
hear what Robert & Co. had in store for us.  I knew that it was their third show in as many nights, so I hoped that
they wouldn't be too tired. Well, if they WERE tired, I couldn't tell (except maybe on Fascination Street...).  They
maintained a very high energy level throughout the set, even in spite of the sometimes less than enthusiastic
audience.

Some general notes:  For those of you who haven't been to a Dream Tour show yet, all of the new songs are
VERY strong live.  Watching Me Fall just blew me away, and I really like the extra drum track in There Is No
If.  Also, even if you don't get a spectacular setlist like New Orleans, you're still going to get a great show.  The
setlist for Houston was a pretty standard Dream Tour setlist, but they still rocked out on all the loud songs and
infused the slower songs with all the emotion you could ask for.

On the downside, as I mentioned, the crowd was a bit disappointing.  Many people seemed more content to talk
and spill beer on me than to listen to the music.  The crowd was almost completely dead by the time the main set
ended.  However, to their credit, the audience REALLY got into ALL the encores, so the show definitely ended on
a good note.

Highlights:
Sinking--One of my FAVORITE Cure songs!  This was the first time I heard it live.  I think I deafened a few
people when I screamed for this one...

100 Years--Those of you who have been going to Cure shows much longer than me may disagree, but I can't think
of any way in which this song could be played better.  It just flat out ROCKS!  And the lights and the video are
so perfect.

Deep Green Sea--Perry's guitar work was amazing.  They were totally on with this one.

Trust--SO beautiful!  I never imagined that it would sound that wonderful!

Plainsong--Another favorite of mine.  Very emotional; definitely felt like a tearful farewell.

Disintegration--Dead on.  Played perfectly, with lots of energy.

All of the 17 Seconds songs--M and Play for Today ROCKED!!  I was very glad that they played the full intro to
A Forest, and it was great to see Robert and Simon duelling at the end.

Faith--My first time...so wonderful.  This proved to me how great the Cure really is.  After seeing how dead the
crowd was at times, and after that girl ran across stage during Trust, I was afraid that the show would get cut short
like Rotterdam.  But having them come back on and play Faith for the true fans really showed me that the Cure
make it a priority to put on a great show for their fans.

One last sidenote:  I was very impressed by the quality of the sound at the Woodlands Pavilion.  Very clear.

I wasn't particularly expecting a whole lot from the band tonight, as this was the third night in a four-in-a-row
stretch and I wasn't eagerly anticipating the return to the larger venues. However, it is my pleasure to report that
this was a very strong concert with the band in fine form. In particular, we received for a second consecutive night
an emotionally devastating presentation of Faith, as well as a more muscular version of 39. Also of note was
Simon's long and frenzied conclusion to A Forest which ended with the bass thrown to the ground and producing a
most pleasing low-level feedback. And for the first time on the American tour, during Trust, a girl got past security
and ran across the stage toward Robert, eventually getting tackled just behind Roger amd throwing off everyone's
playing for the moment. No one was injured, and band and audience seemed highly amused. It reminded me of
eleven years ago when that sort of thing happened at least a dozen times every night. Do all of the amphitheaters
require the band to finish at 11 p.m.? It really seemed to me that they were enjoying themselves and would not
have minded playing a little bit longer.

The Woodlands Pavilion. Lots of fun. Not what I was expecting at all: three times as many people showed up than
I had expected (there seem to be more people than their '92 show here at the Woodlands), nor was the crowd as
boring as I was expecting. Great performances and setlist (although I really wanted them to play "The Same Deep
Water as You"). The highlight of everyone's evening seem to be "Just Like Heaven".....wow did the crow on the
hill ever get into that. Everyone was singing...you could hear it over the music. All in all, I had a really fun time, as
did those who attended with me. How I wish I was in Dallas right about now.

To complain would be the last thing that i would want to do about the show, i came from Austin to see the show, my
wife and i arrived in Houston a couple of hours before the show and meet up with good frineds, and we all left for
the show.  As i walked up the the side of the 'hill' at the Woodlands, the Cure came onto the stage and opened with
'Out of this World' (amazing track, live or studio recorded)  i did not pay that much attetion to the crowd, because
the Cure were so amazing, about the only thing that i really noticed about the crowd is how they were all so serene
during the show, clapping and all, the usual routine, for almost every song, but when they played "Just Like
Heaven" the crowd roared with excitment, typical, the only song they played that they have heard a hundred times
on the radio, oh well,  anyway, they played very well together, the insturments seemed to have no problems, but
none the less, this was the fifth time to see them and i never thought that i would hear them play "Faith" live, i
have heard it on demo's and bootlegs, but never in person, so i stood there, amazed, entranced that they finnally
played that song live at a show i attended, the weather was great, no bugs, and there were small bats flying around
the lights above our heads, totally giving into the mostly depressing music through the show, but that is my
favorite part of the Cure, the setlist had no mistakes in it, the band played great, i enjoyed myself, and got asked
four times if i had any papers, got to love it.

The doors opened about 6:30. The classical music began as the sun began to set. I heard a security officer say,
"God, it sounds like funeral music out there." At promptly 8:00, the band came out on the stage dressed in all
black and was very warmly received by the Houston audience. They opened their set with their now traditional
opener, "Out of this World" which along with the deep blue lighting on the stage, was very mellow and relaxing,
somewhat sedating to the wildly enthusiastic Houston audience. The mellowness disappated as the now traditional
loud trilogy of passionately agressive songs "Watching Me Fall", "Want" and "Fascination Street" were played
back to back. During "Prayers For Rain", Robert proved to the audience yet again just how strong his lungs are
by singing a 1 to 2 minute "Rain". The audience noticed and showed their appreciation for this with applause in
the middle of the song. The now powerfully mastered "One Hundred Years" began with bleak red and white lights
dancing in the blackness of the stage. When the line "patriots are shot" was sung, photos of bearded soldiers on
the backdrops turned to negatives. Very effective. In "Edge of the Deep Green Sea", Robert's face glowed a
bright flourescent green- like a phosphorescent frankenstein- amazing. In "End" a hypnotic black and white spiral
began spinning slowly on the backdrop. Robert changed a few lyrics, including "I was none of these things". "39"
immediately began afterward and the stage went a burning fire red as images of flames consumed the backdrop.
During "Bloodflowers", there was some trouble with the equipment changing keys back and forth.
Robert and the band seemed a bit frustrated but the audience was too greatful and appraciative of the excellent
performance to get hung up on it. Robert went to the microphone and said "Thank you" and the band left the
stage.  But the audience wasn't foolish enough to think the show was over, so they began rumbling their seats and
chanting "Cure" to encourage the band to return. And return they did with a somewhat poppier version of "There
is No If". During this song, Robert got a few roses from the audience (good to see this tradition is catching on!)
Quite possibly the highlight of the evening was during "Trust" when a girl from the audience jumped up on stage
towards Robert. A security guard effectively intercepted the girl and scooped her up carrying her off the stage.
The audience wildly showed its support for the girl with cheering and applause and Robert and Roger just laughed
as they continued playing. The bells started and "Plainsong" began. During the long introduction, Robert walked
over to the audience and began autographing people's tourbooks, t-shirts, etc. He had to return to start singing but
one girl, bless her heart, who stood in the first row outside of the pit, held up a 12" record of "Boys Don't Cry" up
in the air pleading Robert to sign it. Robert seemed moved by this gesture and said "okay, hand it over". The
cooperation and good spirit of the audience moved me as well as she handed the record to the pit, who like a chain,
handed it over to Robert. Robert put it on the speaker and when he finished singing, signed it and passed it to the
pit, who handed it back to the girl. "Plainsong" was followed by a shattering "Disintegration" which left the
audience quite satisfied.
After the first encore, the band left the stage and was once again encouraged by more rumbling and chanting.
They returned with a phenomenal live version of "M" (a huge red M appeared on the backdrop during the intro
just in case their was any doubt) followed by a phenomenal version of "Play For Today". The single "Just Like
Heaven" was received very well by the Houston audience. Hearing thousands of fans singing the "Show me, show
me, show me" lyrics along with Robert was all very amazing. When "A Forest" started, green beams of light shot
out into the air above the audience. The scene from the "Forest" video which showed the psychedelic trees circling
overhead was looped on the backdrop. A few new sounds and riffs were added and I quite enjoyed this new version
of "A Forest". Towards the end, Simon began to slam down on his guitar the way he does in the "Show" video and
effectively captivated the electric enthusiasm of the audience.
The band returned for one last encore, a long version of Faith. Robert added an extra verse, which he finished by
singing over and over "I have nothing left," pause, "But faith". The keyboards and guitars began to strip down
until only the drums remained. The drums gained power as Robert sang the lines one last time. Robert said to the
audience "Thank you and goodnight" and the band left the stage and the house lights went on.

All in all, it was a truly amazing show, quite possibly the most amazing one I've seen so far. I was particularly
greatful that The Cure was generous enough to share its older and darker set with what I perceive to be a more
mainstream Houston crowd. But I've got to hand it to them, the real fans equalized the radio fans quite well with
their feedback and cheering. Three hours of standing up in place is definately excercise, but I assure you, it is well
worth it.