Christmas came early for The Cure fans across the United Kingdom as the goth maestros end their three night stay at London’s Hammersmith Apollo with an insane 41 song set. Not many bands can delve into a back catalogue as rich as The Cure’s and play a magical set which went as far back as 1979. This was The Cure’s last show of 2014 and they did not disappoint. As the clock ticked past eight o’clock, The Cure emerged on stage through a fog of dry ice to a greeting of roaring cheers from the audience. Just the group’s presence alone was enough to get the audience excited.
They entered the setlist with commitment and intensity beginning with ‘Shake Dog Shake’ and from then on Robert Smith and Co didn’t look back. The combination of a driving beat, deep shimmering bass and guitars treated with effects and Smith’s quivery vocals which haven’t altered at all since The Cure’s first album, he still sounds as good as he did back then. These elements lead to a performance which encapsulated The Cure’s entire musical career in one night, treating the crowd to their well-known singles such as ‘Friday I’m in love’, ‘Just Like Heaven’ and ‘Lovesong’, as well as obscure tracks including ‘Wailing Wall’ a song which the band hadn’t played live since 1984, and they also played a live debut of ‘A Man Inside my Mouth’ which everyone in the audience enjoyed with glistening eyes.
After blitzing through twenty three songs in just under two hours, The Cure retired back stage and then suddenly reappeared for the first of four encores. The first of which included songs from Faith and The Top. And then showing absolutely no signs of tiredness, the second encore began. When playing live, The Cure have such a powerful and unique sound which creates an almost hypnotic feel which keeps the audience on edge and leaves them hanging on Smith’s every action. The next two encores are filled with more mesmerising hits including ‘Play for Today’ and the mysterious ‘A Forest’ which gets everyone clapping along and as The Cure are bathed in neon green lights, they leave the stage and return for the fourth and final encore which was full of hits which left the audience thrilled and in admiration of The Cure who have definitely earned a place in British music history.
© Tom Staniszewski
THE CURE 