Out Of This World, Watching Me Fall, Want, Fascination St., Pictures Of You, Where the Birds Always Sing, Shake Dog Shake, Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, Inbetween Days, If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, Like Cockatoos, The Kiss, One Hundred Years, Prayers For Rain, 39, Bloodflowers

1st encore: All Cats Are Grey, The Drowning Man, Faith
2nd encore: M, Play For Today, Just Like Heaven, A Forest
3rd encore: Jupiter Crash, Love Song, Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing an Arab.

Three shows in eight days - Adelaide, Sydney 2 and Canberra.  The whole experience has been truly unforgettable.
Second row Adelaide, front row Sydney, and back in row 4 of the seating in Canberra to take in the lights and absorb
the whole show.  I was fortunate enough to hear just about every song they played on tour in Australia, with the
exception of Siamese Twins :(, Shiver and Shake and End.

I won't go into details of individual songs or performances - others have already done that, plus for me the whole
thing has morphed into an ecstatic blur.  I'd heard my fair share of boots of dream tour shows in the Europe and US,
but nothing prepared me for the reality.  I last saw them in San Jose in 97 and before that in Sydney in 92 and 84, so
it had been a while...

Standout memories include the mesmerising intro of Out Of This World and Watching Me Fall, the raw power of
Shake Dog Shake and One Hundred Years, the aural assault of Killing An Arab, the fragility of If Only Tonight We
Could Sleep, the emotional drenching of the Faith, Pornography and Distintegration encores, the wonder at hearing
songs you never thought you'd hear live like The Kiss, Like Cockatoos and The Snakepit, the joy in hearing old
favorites like A Forest, Edge of the Deep Green Sea, Fascination Street, Pictures of You, Sinking, M, Play For
Today, etc..., and the live strength of the Bloodflowers tracks.

It was great to hear the sound improving over the course of the tour.  They were using a different sound guy for the
Australian leg, and I think it took a while for them to bed it down.  Even with a rushed preparation in Canberra - the
band's flight into Canberra was delayed - the sound was still sensational.  Maybe it's just cause I was in a better
listening position, but individual parts and lines were clearly audible at the right times, and I even managed to detect
some stereo effects.

By the time Canberra came around there was a lot more obvious interaction within the band and with the crowd.  It
seemed they had relaxed and maybe soaked up some of the Australian atmosphere.  I guess it may have been a bit
daunting at the start of the tour - who would know what the crowd reaction would be like after eight years...  It was
nice to see them genuinely having fun playing, rather than simply going through the motions - which was what I
sensed when I last saw them in San Jose.  There's a positive reinforcement thing that happens where the band and
the audience work off each other to increase the intensity of the show.  It was a privilege to be part of it.

The only thing that pissed me off about the tour was some of the media coverage that had nothing useful or
interesting top say and just descended into and perpetuated the goth/mope/morbid stereotypes.  I guess that your
average music journo wouldn't have a fan's deep appreciation of the songs and performances, but one look at the
crowds at each show would give you the insight that the Cure have a diverse audience - young to old, straight to
alternative.  In fact, the people to be seen getting most into the shows were the 'normals', as opposed to the goths -
with one notable exception in Sydney - but then again maybe that's just part of the goth facade.

Besides the music and performances, the other exceptional thing about this tour were the groups of fans that
travelled around the country following the band.  I only dipped into every second show, but the sense of camaraderie
and shared experience and adventure was fantastic.  Hanging around loading docks trying to meet the band as they
arrived, seeing the shows, hanging around (again!) waiting for the band to leave the venue and then trying to find
which pub/club they may have gone to after the show (and succeeding spectactularly in Adelaide!), the shared ups
and downs, the anticipation for the next show and the memories of the last, the getting and comparison of souveniers
(setlists, autographs, etc) and the drinks and conversation made for the forging of instant friendships.  So a big hello
and thankyou to Elsa, Andrew, Richard, Sarah, Shannon, Ela, Joe, Saghirah, Garth, Peter, and numerous others who
I now know by face but not by name.

The lyrics of Out Of This World have taken on a special significance in the last few days as I ease myself back into
my ordinary life...  And don't worry Mr Smith - the fire definitely isn't out!

Hoping that maybe someday always comes again...

hello....my name is erin....im 21 and from pittsburgh, pennsylvania....i have a cure story for you that ive been
putting off for months now, but its time for me to get off my ass and do this....hehe....
 
let me start from the beginning, or else it wont have any meaning....
 
ive grown up listening to the cure....i was blessed with a pretty swingin' dad who has a great ear for music.....he
would play the Disintegration album relentlessly and i would often wake up, with the line 'and even if we drink i
dont think we would kiss in the way that we did when the woman was only a girl' running through  my head....
 
so it was no surprise when i turned into one of those adolescent freak cases.....mopey, depressed, yadda....hehe
 
but the older i got, the more i started to really feel the cure....and to understand where Robert was coming from....
 
now, with all this in mind....
 
here comes the Dream Tour.,....i'm freaking out because i had NEVER seen the cure live before....so im frantically
searching the internet, looking for a Pittsburgh date....nada....
 
so all summer, im not much of a joy to be around....it took me forever to accept the fact that i wasnt going to get a
chance to see them live in this lifetime...until last summer, when i was scoping out their website and noticed that
the last leg of their tour was in Australia....
 
at first it was just a pipe dream....i called my mom and said 'im going to australia to see the cure' she laughed for
days over that one....
 
but i did it....i picked a date, booked a flight two weeks before the show, and was on my way to canberra....alone....
 
i had never traveled alone before so i was a nervous wreck....the only thing that got me on those planes was
knowing that i was finally going to see 'boys'.....
 
so i get to canberra....randomly call a radio station cuz dude, i just flew around the world by myself to see the cure,
im gonna want to tell SOMEONE....(the old woman i sat next to on the flight from LA to Sydney had NO idea who i
was talking about and insisted on calling them The Clue)
 
so im talking to these dj's and they actually cared....they thought i was 'cool'.....which meant something to me cuz
my friends were like 'youre such a dork erin....youre gonna come home and have no money and then we're gonna
have to hear you bitch' turns out they wouldnt have to....
 
some wonderful man, Jason, heard me on the radio and called in to give me his Meet and Greet pass that he won
the week before....i have this whole conversation on tape....(i videotaped the hotel radio....so i AM a dork...ok ok)
this happened the day of the show....
 
so i met everyone but simon....and i was even able to use my camcorder....i didnt faint or maul Robert like my
friends were betting on....but i WAS a bit flustered....i didnt say much to him at all....some photographer was like
'this lady has come from america to see you' and i was like 'dude shut up' cuz i was embarrassed....i didnt want
them to think 'oh god....another one of THOSE types' i mean, it was something i had to do for myself....i never
would have been able to get over that sense of regret had i passed it up....but Robert was nice....and wow....three
months later and im still at a loss....but he says 'hi pittsburgh' and sticks out his tongue for my camcorder' at which
point i say thanks and quietly slip away....not even getting my picture taken with him....he was ready for it too, and i
panicked....
 
im not one of those stupid giggly girls who are like 'oooh...swooon!' my thing with Robert is that i have so much
respect for him that i didnt know what to say....i didnt think i could match his level of intelligence under so much
anxiety and pressure....
 
needless to say, when i got back to the hotel (after crying like a bitch throughout the full 3 hours of the show....im a
loser) i called all my friends and my mom and they were like 'yeah....you met him....i bet' because i was real humble
about it, yanno? it still hasnt sunk in....
 
so theres my story....oh wait! so when i got home, i took my signed ticket to work and my boss was like 'oh yeah,
you should laminate that' so i did and it like, burnt....
 
ah well....
 
only in MY world....heh
 

Wow!! The cure in our humble little city. This was so unexpected. After seeing both the Sydney and Melbourne
shows, i was unsure what to expect at this concert. The venue in Canberra was much smaller, and this was to be
their last cure show (does livid count?) on this tour, and subsequently thier last ever show in Australia.

Well in contrast to the earlier concerts, the weather was bleak outside. I was hopeing for this becasue the
atmostphere was perfect for a Cure show. The atmosphere was succesfully transfered inside the venue with the
weight of expectation obvious on the faces of this cure starved crowd (i think the last time they were here was
1982!!) It only became real though, when the lights dimmed and the epic intro music began. Then the Cure appeard
as siluets on the stage, and the fact that my favorate band, were playing in my hometown, was now beautifully true.
It was one of my favorate moments.

Now onto the show. It was no surprise to hear "Out of this world" first. The song sounded suitably restrained with
Jasons brushed drumming the prefect backdrop for Roberts hushed vocals. Then the mood changes with the next
song "Watching me fall". Here the bands full sound was unleashed, the instruments swirling, and filling up the
room. Roberts vocals are amazing live. I have always liked his voice, but i didn't expect him to sound this good
live.

"Want" was next followed by "Facination street". This song is one of my favorate songs, and it was briliant live.
The bass and drums set the mood perfectly for the etheral guitars and keyboards. The cure are aware of how
to create space in their music. Even when the sounds is thick the instruments are so well defined.
Now the order of the songs escapes me. Maybe i was still thinking about how good Facination street was, or
perhaps as with the best shows you are lost somewere within the sound. I know "Pictures of you" was next, and i
remember thinking about this time, that this was going to be a special concert. For me the cure are not defined by
one particualr mood, or atmosphere. The other concerts seemed more singal minded in thier approach, but this
concert was able to retain the intensity, while also displaying the bands eclectic array of songs.

"The Kiss" was a treat, as were the other songs from the Kiss me album: "If only tonight we could sleep", and
"Like cockatoos". The percussion in both these songs was superb, and i love the groove in "Like cockatoos".
When Roberts vocals enter i can almost remember the time i first heard the song. The songs from Bloodflowers
were very precise, and the band really seemed to enjoy playing them. "Where the birds always sing" sounded
wistfull and 39, sounded suitably harrowing. Then they close to close the first set with "Bloodflowers". Robert
had mentioned that this was his favorate song on this tour, and it seemed to be an emotional moment for him. It
was a great way to close the set.

The dark mood continued with songs from both Faith and Pornograhy. The "Drowning man" and "Faith" were
desperatly intence live. They sounded so perfectly slow, and so perfectly cure. After "Faith" Robert looked
emotionally drained. For a moment when the song was finished he wondered about the stage like a lost boy
helpless againt the world.

The concert was not without it's lighter moments. While the band played, Robert stoped to receive roses from
fans, and kneeled down to sign cd's. The band played songs like "In between days", "Just like Heaven", and
"Lovesong". "Just like heaven" is one of the most perfect pop songs ever written, and was such a contrast to the
more introspective songs. The band seemed to be having alot of fun on stage. Robert was laughting and talking
with the other band members, and afterwards he told us that it was "like the old days again"

The last two songs were also two of thier first. "10:15 on a saturday night" and "Killing and arab". They still
sound fresh even now. Then the band left, leaveing just Robert who held his arm up to his face and said
goodbye. During the concert it was obvious to me that the cure are going to be missed. Through writing songs
about his own life, he has provided an escape for those who appreciate the Cures music. He has used his music
as an art, and as with all good art people have been able to relate to it. He has shared alot. And after more than
20 years he still he remains as mysterious as ever.

This was my final concert.  I was sitting in front of Roberts parents, and they are such lovely people.  I decided
that I wouldn't dance, that I'd relax and enjoy the lighting show from the front row of the seats, And hear the whole
sound of the band, instead of standing in front of those bass amp stacks.

I cried all the way throught OOTW, WMF and Want, the tears emerging again in Where the Birds Always Sing,
Deep Green Sea, If Only Tonight, Prayers, and throughout the Faith encore.  It was such a beautiful show. I'm so
happy I got to hear Faith live, and the Drowning Man is my favourite song of all time, ever, so it was really special
for me.

The crowd tonight was awesome, from the bobbing mosh, to the crazy people jumping around at the back, to the
dancing tech dude, to the seated people with egg-shakers singing along.  Unfortunately the Antenna Girls weren't
there, or in fact many of our international fans.

The band seemed in an excellent mood, except for Roger who seemed a little grim and distracted - I don't think he
looked into the crowd and grinned even once.  Robert did lots of gesturing, and smiled heaps and heaps.  Perry's
guitar was turned right up, and the jamming between him and Simon and Robert was amazing.  Jason was nice and
loud, but a little slow at times.

The lighting was awesome.  Absolutely brillant.

I'd like to thank a number of people for making the last week absolutely brilliant: Ela, Elsa and Andrew, Ian and
Corey, the New York girls, the Antenna Girls, Mercedes and Michael Bok, Craig and Peter, Eddie, anyone else
I've left out, the roadies, the occasional friendly security guard (very occasional), and the entire band.  You know I
love you, I've told you all heaps of times.

And now to go back to my real life.

It's time to say "goodbye" . .
"Goodbye Australia"
"Goodbye THE CURE "

The last two weeks was the best time in my life !
I come alone to Australia and I leave Australia with many many friends. I saw here concerts from THE CURE  . . .
I will never forget !!!

The best concerts on this tour ! AUstralia was the DREAMTOUR !!!     -    I will never forget !

The people, the atmosphere, the setlist, Roberts voice, the show . . .  IT'S MAGIC !!!

I leave Australia with a smile in my face and tears in my eyes . . .  it was for me a new start in a new life . .
THANK YOU AUSTRALIA !!!

special thanks > on MR. PAUL . . .  i will never forget you! loves, hugs and kisses from Miss. Ela . . . and thank
you on all THE CURE FANS  in  Australia, the PINKY GIRLS from America and my friends here and in
germany . . . and my family !!!

since i saw saturday night sydney and last night too, i'm finding it hard to compare them - very different setlists so
i can just say they were both awesome i think! we also had the privilege of going backstage and meeting the band.
roger and jason were very brief (everything was running a bit late) but signed stuff and shook hands etc. simon
never showed. robert and perry came in together and everyone crowded around robert, leaving poor old perry
alone so we sat and chatted to him for quite a while. he was absolutely lovely, a real sweetie and very friendly,
asking us about living in canberra and how they enjoy playing smaller, off the track venues because the crowds
were always great. i asked if there was any chance of hearing the same deep water as you. perry said he didn't
know, but robert said no. i asked why, perry said because they were really out of practice on that one and robert
said because it's crap (i was crushed). then i asked for pictures of you and robert smiled at me and winked and
said they'd play it. yay! then we got a photo with robert and they had to go onstage.

it was a great set, and mostly the crowd was good, the floor standing section was alive but we (in the centre tiered
seating) were surrounded by dead people who wouldn't leave their seats, not even between encores, and only
occasionally bothered to clap. no singing, clapping, cheering or anything. very tragic and i hope the band wasn't
disappointed! all the band members seemed to be having fun, robert joked with the audience a bit, saying the
songs were in a weird order, jumping back and forth, but that they had a common thread...he wanted to play them.
he also accepted several flowers from girls in the front and did some autographs during the intro of all cats are
grey.

highlights were from the edge (again our dead neighbours glared as our hands went for the sky!), the kiss me
trilogy (especially like cockatoos - which robert said was written in aus - and the kiss, where the guitaring was
spectacular), and the encores. the faith encore was beautiful, very atmospheric, and we got some extra verses on
the end of faith. robert looked very emotional. just like heaven and a forest were insanely good, the crowd
was wild (except the corpses around us), robert and simon seemed to be having a ball at the end of a forest, both
of them nearly to the floor. the final 3 songs of the last encore went totally off, the crowd was so loud it was
actually hard to hear robert singing in killing an arab. but the effect was incredible.

as in sydney, the sets were beautiful, most notably the drowning man, which was gorgeous. robert held his voice
for 17 seconds in prayers for rain but didn't really try on watching me fall - most of the crowd didn't seem to
appreciate the bloodflowers stuff unfortunately.

i hope everyone enjoyed the dreamtour as much as me!

What to say?  Un-F**king-believable!  We were at both Sydney concerts (front row for the 2nd one) but the
Canberra gig was the one that had us transfixed.  Unlike Sydney, the sound levels seemed to be pretty spot-on -
No fiddling around or looks towards the sound guys.  In fact, I could actually hear Perry's guitar for the first time,
and Rob's vocals were pretty loud too (except during Killing An Arab which rocked so hard and loud you couldn't
hear him singing - so we made up for it!).  I also thought the main setlist was the best of the three concerts we've
been too, although Sydney is almost like one big concert and not two seperate ones...

Highlights: Rob's rapport with the crowd (Person in crowd: "Robert!", Rob: "Yes?").  And a few jokes that went
on with the crowd and particularly between Roger and Rob on M and Inbetween Days.  And Robert's intro to the
3rd Encore "A collection of songs with a similar theme....in that I want to sing them."

Robert accepting flowers from the crowd during the intro of All Cats Are Grey as well as signing a couple of
photos. The run of three Kiss Me songs (Like Cockatoos : "I wrote this song about my first trip to Canberra"
[when he got spat on at ANU?]).
While the crowd seemed a little subdued early on, I think the band really grabbed their attention with the onslaught
of Shake Dog Shake (that song really kicks arse) and from then on everyone was really into it, including the light
guy dancing with the groupies between hitting the buttons.  I actually found myself hoping they weren't going to
come out and play Pornography songs as the 2nd or 3rd encore because the vibe in the place was just so brilliant
(yes, I can't believe I just said that either).  Also, from where we were sitting we really got to appreciate the full
impact of the light show.

All in all, a brilliant week in Cure land, wish you were all here.