First U.S. performance of ‘Cut Here’. It has only been played live 7 times in The Cure’s history: 2 times in 2001 and 3 times in 2002. The most recently was in Rome on July 23, 2002, and has not been played since, until their performance at the Denver Riot Fest on September 20th, 2014.
The Cure opened its set boldly with the “Disintegration” album track “Plainsong,” a move that could have alienated a casual fan. But the song’s lush soundscapes were warmly received. Singer Robert Smith and his bandmates quickly worked up to “Fascination Street,” and it was then immediately clear why the Cure, nearly 35 years after the release of “Boys Don’t Cry,” are still headlining the world’s biggest music festivals. Ah, the power of nostalgia.
“In Between Days” was quite possibly the best musical moment of the day, with a heavily backlit Smith assuredly working his way through the song’s complex pop rhythms. While the band didn’t give the crowd a full-on festival set, packed with hits and popular B-sides, they did sprinkle the goods throughout their almost too-long set. And “Just Like Heaven” and “Friday I’m in Love” were the crowd pleasers you would expect them to be.
© 2014 The Denver Post
The Cure’s penchant for topping festival bills continues as Robert Smith and Co. were announced this evening as the headliners of all three Riot Fests — set for Toronto, Chicago and Denver this September.
For this year’s festival, The Cure this evening were added to the previously announced Toronto bill — Sept. 6-7, and also featuring Paul Weller, Social Distortion, Bob Mould, Buzzcocks, Thurston Moore, The Afghan Whigs and more — while the lineups in Chicago (Sept. 12-14) and Denver (Sept. 19-21) were newly announced tonight.
The Chicago fest also features Jane’s Addiction, The Flaming Lips, Social Distortion, Patti Smith, Paul Weller, The Afghan Whigs, Naked Raygun, Billy Bragg, Mudhoney, Thurston Moore, Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, Marky Ramone and more.
And the Denver fest — actually on a farm in Byers, Colo., about a half hour outside of Denver — also features Social Distortion, The Flaming Lips, Violent Femmes, Buzzocks, Bob Mould, Stiff Little Fingers and more.
THE CURE 