“Epic” is a word that gets thrown around a lot. All sorts of things are “epic.” Most of them aren’t. The Cure show I saw on Friday, November 25 was epic. It probably wasn’t, but I can’t really think of a better word for it.
They played three albums straight through, live: THREE IMAGINARY BOYS (1979), SEVENTEEN SECONDS (1980) and FAITH (1981). There were three encores.
It was at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, which is possibly the best place I’ve ever been to see a band play live. The sound was absolutely flawless. Sometimes when you go to a live show the sound is a little weird — the instruments are too loud or the vocals are too soft or everything sounds muddy, like you’re listening through the wall instead of sitting in the same place. There wasn’t any of that.
The official Beacon website says this: Known for its flawless acoustics, the Beacon has been a favored New York City stop for top acts since the Roaring Twenties. Remarkably, the original sound-system still provides near-perfect acoustics today. Yes. Yes it does.
Robert Smith was weirdly chatty. I’ve seen The Cure before and he’s usually managed a little “Hello, $CityName!” and the occasional “Thank you” (which mostly just comes out sounding like “Q”) after songs. But there he was, chatting away, making jokes, and obviously enjoying himself. It was weird. But nice.
The show was a sell-out and from where I was sitting there didn’t seem to be an empty seat anywhere. There was a pretty broad spread of ages, too — kids who probably hadn’t even been thought of when Faith was released, and people who were probably already adults when Three Imaginary Boys was recorded. Tickets were hard to get, too, so everyone was there because they actually wanted to be there (okay, maybe there were a few kids who were there because a parent really wanted them to see The Cure, or a few parents who weren’t going to let their kid go see some weird, old band, and possibly some disinterested significant others who couldn’t say no, because you get them at every concert, no matter who’s playing). There were no “Bros” or Hipsters who were there just because they were bored on a Friday night. It really wasn’t that kind of a show.
I don’t normally like going to concerts because the crowds are often obnoxious and the sound is usually crap. Often I’m bored after the first 30 minutes no matter how much I love the band — and it’s never because of the band, it’s because of the crowds and the sound and the standing around. By the time this show was over I was amazed that it was almost midnight (how could it be over already?!) and my eyes were burning because I kept forgetting to blink.
The fog machine got a workout and the sound of birds twittering before the show started got annoying pretty fast, but overall it was just absolutely amazing. I have never been to a show like this before. I doubt I’ll get the chance again (Unless The Cure manages to go back to The Beacon Theatre).
At the end of the show Robert Smith said “I’ll see you next year.” Everyone’s taking this to mean they’ll be doing it again.
That’d be nice.
