The Cure: Classic or Dud?

I love Robert Smith:

https://consequence.net/2023/03/robert-smith-the-cure-scalped-tickets/

Robert Smith's efforts to go after scalpers have resulted in the cancelation of 7,000 tickets to The Cure’s upcoming North American tour.

As a result, according to Smith, “Approx 7k tickets across approx 2200 orders have been cancelled. These are tickets acquired with fake accounts / listed on secondary resale sites.”

Smith also warned ticket buyers from attempting to circumvent ticket transfer rules. “OFFERING TO SELL/SEND ACCOUNT LOGIN DETAILS TO GET AROUND TM TRANSFER LIMITATIONS… ANY/ALL TICKETS OBTAINED IN THIS WAY WILL BE CANCELED, AND ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL NOT BE REFUNDED,” Smith announced. “..ORIGINAL FEES PAID ON THOSE TICKETS WILL BE DONATED TO AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AND THE TICKETS THEMSELVES WILL BE RESOLD TO FANS.”

I feel like this is something that happens every few years, and then out of nowhere people forget that you can do this.

Four new dates:

FOUR EXTRA SHOWS ADDED TO OUR ’SHOWS OF A LOST WORLD’ NORTH AMERICAN TOUR - THREE OF THEM ARE ‘EXTRA NIGHTS’ - 21ST MAY SAN DIEGO / 17TH JUNE MONTREAL / 28TH JUNE ATLANTA

EVERYONE WITH A PREVIOUSLY ISSUED BUT UNSUCCESSFUL TICKETMASTER VERIFIED FAN CODE FROM ANY MARKET WILL HAVE FIRST OPTION TO BUY TICKETS - SALES OPEN FRIDAY 7TH APRIL @ 10AM LOCAL TIME - LIMIT OF X4 TICKETS PER PERSON AND ALL TICKETS NON-TRANSFERRABLE. VF FANS WILL BE NOTIFIED ON THURSDAY 6TH APRIL

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T BUY TICKETS IF YOU DON’T INTEND GOING TO THE SHOW!!! IF THERE ARE STILL TICKETS LEFT THERE WILL BE A PUBLIC ONSALE FROM SATURDAY 8TH APRIL. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

THE FOURTH EXTRA SHOW WILL BE 31ST MAY PORTLAND MODA CENTER - AS AN ‘EXPERIMENT’ TO SEE WHETHER NON-TRANSFERABLE TICKETS ARE ENOUGH PROTECTION TICKET PURCHASE WILL NOT REQUIRE TM VF - PUBLIC ONSALE WILL OPEN FRIDAY 7TH APRIL @ 10AM LOCAL TIME - LIMIT OF X4 TICKETS PER PERSON AND ALL TICKETS NON-TRANSFERRABLE - AVAILABLE VIA THECURE.COM

THE NEW DATES ARE:

21 MAY SAN DIEGO, CA NICU AMPHITHEATRE
31 MAY PORTLAND, OR MODA CENTER
17 JUNE MONTREAL, QC BELL CENTRE
28 JUNE ATLANTA, GA STATE FARM ARENA

Great article:

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/the-cure-robert-smith-ticket-price-enforcement-officer-1235576125/

FWIW, the Cure's shows are probably too high in demand for this to work, but if tickets are still available, you can try buying them at the box office venue and avoid Ticketmaster fees that way.

For example, in NYC, MSG owns several venues including the Beacon Theater and Radio City Music Hall, so you don't necessarily need to go to MSG - you can go to the box office at those other venues and buy tickets there.

Is it wrong of me wishing that RS spend less time micromanaging ticketing issues and more on finishing the goddamn album?!

Portland show went from a ten-minute countdown to "Tickets are about to become available - sit tight!" for six minutes, then direct to "Tickets are sold out now. Check back soon."

So not much different from his album announcements.

Robert written up positively here

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/arts/music/concert-ticket-prices.html

I have checked around some of the cities and it seems pretty much sold out everywhere.

Was easily able to get tickets for San Diego #2 this morning. Fees were $21

Robert Smith Negotiates With Ticketmaster to Cancel Morrissey Tour Dates

Lulz

https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/15904

Event: RECORD STORE DAY 2023
Release Date: 4/22/2023
Format: 2 x LP
Label: Rhino/Elektra
Quantity: 10000
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

This double live album was recorded on The Cure’s 1992 Wish album tour, at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Originally released in 1993, the band comprised of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Perry Bamonte, and features many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Pictures Of You,” “Lullaby, “Just Like Heaven,” “The Walk, ” “Friday I’m In Love” and “Inbetween Days". 2LP Picture Disc. Unavailable on vinyl since its original release in 1993. This will be the first time it’s been on picture disc. The release was overseen by Robert Smith.

DISC ONE
SIDE A
1. TAPE
2. OPEN
3. HIGH
4. PICTURES OF YOU
5. LULLABY

SIDE B
1. JUST LIKE HEAVEN
2. FASCINATION STREET
3. A NIGHT LIKE THIS
4. TRUST
5. DOING THE UNSTUCK

SIDE C
1. THE WALK
2. LET’S GO TO BED
3. FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE
4. INBETWEEN DAYS
5. THE EDGE OF THE DEEP GREEN SEA

SIDE D
1. NEVER ENOUGH
2. CUT
3. END

(not only was it overseen by him, he also typed the tracklist apparently :D )

I'm sure I had that on CD!

Robert Smith's birthday. 64.

Utterly inessential

It's not so many C/D where a lot of people say Dud, or even "neither", and I'm surprised to hear The Cure was ever divisive on ILX. When a lot of C/D threads are close to universal acclaim and there's shyness to overcome before anyone disagrees.

I know Robert Smith must check this board all the time so Happy Birthday 😉

It's Friday, ILX

I just

lol stan

First time since March 31, 1987:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rcG7yX8HI8

First time since July 15, 1987:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZpdN1Rrtfo

Only A Thousand Hours, didn't know At Night was also tacked on there.

Because I'm sort of blowing my mind right now. The internet is saying that the last time they played A Thousand Hours was July 15, 1987. Well if that's correct then I was at that show, The Kiss Me Tour, at the Forum in Los Angeles.

Austin show was great! Looks like Six Different Ways and a Thousand Hours are part of this tour's regular set list... was very happy they played Push, Burn, and the Walk, sad we didn't get Fascination Street, Charlotte Sometimes, or Primary.

Robert Smith is like the Dolly Parton of alt-rock, the crowd went absolutely nuts for him.

Also Austin got the best tour poster ever:

https://static.musictoday.com/store/bands/5341/product_600/2ndaustin514819.jpg

Yeah I'm looking forward to whatever the poster might be for the San Jose show. Am trying to keep myself spoiler free in general but these are some interesting return songs for sure!

A good recording from Austin went up on D1m3ad0zen yesterday, so I grabbed it - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pd49u4ko90radoi2msn62/h?dl=0&rlkey=owcv7sukoiiszu39p2i4c3w1a

awesome, thanks!

Indeed!

New song debut last night in Hollywood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbJeqSa2t0k

Some info on the origins:
https://consequence.net/2023/05/the-cure-new-song-another-happy-birthday-live/

YouTube and the Internet seemed to kill bands debuting live songs in concerts, or doing work in process versions live. Are the Cure the last of the big bands to do this?

Are the Cure the last of the big bands to do this?

well, there's this other British goth band touring the US right now..

Yes yes but enough about the 1975

Sisters have no intention of recording any of their (last 30 years of) new material, aiui

There's an instrumental demo version of this new track dating back to the Bloodflowers era - things move slow in RS world - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsngrxuNQuk

bit of a boring one compared to the other newies

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/the-cure-hollywood-bowl-concert-review-1235624290/

Well that fucking ruled.

absolutely. I guess this was my fifth time seeing them: 89, 92, curiosa, whatever tour that was a few years ago where I gave you a ride home, and then this time. Easily the best show since 92. I wish they'd played Fascination Street but otherwise no complaints. I was up in the lawn again but it was a little less crowded than last time and the sound up there was really great. Robert was in such a great mood too.

I went to get lunch the other day and the woman at the counter told me she had just been to see Tom Jones at the Beacon Theater which she was very happy about and was also going to see The Cure at MSG so I will have to remember to ask her about that.

also, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, I think Fat Bob has shed a few pounds, he was looking rather trim on the screens (which I had to look at because the stage was five thousand miles away)

tix here still no cheaper than $300 for nosebleeds. but I guess they are coming back for a festival in September.

wait how is that even possible? are those resale tickets? they went out of their way to prevent that from even happening.

There's a few states with laws on the books that protect ticket resellers... Illinois is one of them.

yeah, Illinois, New York, Colorado ...

man that's lame. exchange tickets for good seats are still showing up for the bay area tomorrow. I'm tempted but getting out of that place is a traffic nightmare and I have an interview early the next morning.

A really nice recording of Saturday's concert appeared - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pd49u4ko90radoi2msn62/h?dl=0&rlkey=owcv7sukoiiszu39p2i4c3w1a

6dl=fferent0&rlkey=owcv7sukoiiszu39p2i4c3w1ays

Calling him Fat Bob is just wrong, smh.

This is from this weeks show at the Hollywood Bowl (Encore 1):

I Can Never Say Goodbye
It Could Never Be the Same
A Thousand Hours
At Night
A Forest
A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpby7jpy5zI