Because of all of the emotions that I have went trough prior to this 40th anniversary (so months living up to this moment and all of the wonderful hours before the show) I find it hard to be objective about it.
I stood fairly in front of the stage and waited in line for about 1 hour. Getting trough the hardcore fans from my point was impossible
it was like a brick wall, no way anybody would pass this.
When the band came on I couldn't believe it, very surreal. I was completely overwhelmed and especially by Robert because he is such a charismatic and fascinating person. He said hello to the fans and Simon looked happy and in great shape! TanyaSmith from Curefans has a nice video of the beginning of the show, the audio is not so good but she captures the moment beautifuly
https://youtu.be/YQOM0xNnilI (the whole show was on youtube but has sadly been removed..hope Tim Pope hurries up with the film)
...And then 'Plainsong' started! I had tears falling from my eyes , it was so intense and beautiful. Followed by 'Pictures of You'.. 2 of my favorite Curesongs. Robert's voice was flawless and still sounds incredibly good. I also liked the big screens and images although it was a lot to take in the night itself - I saw a lot of detail the next day that I haven't seen the Saturday ..
I understand Curefans who are saying that it where 'only hits' that were on the setlist but you know..They are all good songs and when I looked around me everybody was singing and smiling and joyful for The Cure and their 40 years anniversary. I know I did too. A dark and melancholic set like many Curefans experienced in the past would maybe not have fitted this occasion so well. Although I would love to experience such a Cureshow in the future, I am not sure if this is still possible. Everything changes and so do bands I think and so does Robert and The Cure. This Curesound where lots of fans refer to (and wich is my favorite as well) is from a specific line-up and this line-up is no more. Fans who experienced this are really spoiled and I mean this in a good way
Saturday I heard and saw passion, professionalism and lots and lots of charisma in a tight, uptempo but much too short show. Previous members would have been great (I would have loved it if Pearl was there!) but I think that Robert does what he does and decides with good reason and that he knows best.
I was wondering about this the last couple of days: Can we complain and criticize? Even as fans? Has anybody any thoughts on this? I mean Robert and The Cure are human too and are free to do what they want. I am happy they are still doing shows and like it is written on his guitar.. It can never be the same.
That is how I feel about it. I am curious to read other peoples thoughts.
'If Only Tonight We Could Sleep' was beautiful
'Jumping someone else's train' and 'Killing an Arab' as well! Those where my absolute favorites together with 'Plainsong' and 'Pictures of You'
'A forest' was a little too short, I would have loved it if it could last 10 more minutes
A Cureshow is a whole experience I discovered and that is the merit of the band. I am sorry I only quite recently digged into it but thankful that I have!
The 40th anniversary was a joyeus gig with wonderful music and with lots of love and positive energy floathing, hopefully the band felt this too. I would love to hear Robert's thoughts about the event.
As my review is very personal (first Cureshow) I would like to include the following link:
http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4151909-the-cure-hyde-park-07-07-18Of all the reviews that I have read I think this one comes closest to the truth.
