Pretty good show tonight at the Hollywood Bowl. No real surprises other than the long overdue return of the KMKMKM encore. It's been missing for far too long, having not been played since the two Midwest dates. Unfortunately, E3 and E4 just don't do it for me and will always thinking why must they end with those songs?
Oh well, they're crowd favorites, so...
For once I could hear Porl coming through the PA and didn't have to rely on picking him up through his cabinets. He's such an integral part to this Cure line-up that he needs to be loud like tonight. The strange , no make that bothersome part of the mix tonight was Jason. For once it wasn't his kick drum that was too loud, it was practically every other drum and one or two cymbals, with the snare being WAY to loud. For once I actually welcomed The Lovecats so I wouldn't have to hear that horrid snare sound. I kid you not, it sounded like one of those 5 gallon buckets you see guys playing on street corners being played directly over my head.
Strangely enough, the guy that I saw playing one of those buckets earlier in the day down on Hollywood and Hillside had worked his way up to the Bowl exit as people were leaving. I thought about suiting up again and getting a sample, just to compare to Jason's snare.
Okay, I'm not going to let some crappy drum sound ruin a show, so onward.
Nice to get Underneath The Stars again. Wasn't sure it was going to happen because it wasn't quite dark enough a half hour after 65dos was done. But The Cure had a plan. They waited until 8:00 (as that would give them 3 hours until curfew) and added the Plainsong projection. So, not technically underneath any stars, but more so in front of them. In any case, it was great to hear and needed to be played tonight. Pretty standard with Never Enough making it's return after a short break and Friday being played on a Saturday (Robert asked us to imagine it was Friday). Elise is really sounding nice now, not that it didn't early in the week. Just that songs get better the more they are played. And that's why its a shame they aren't playing a few others that will get out later. I guess Robert figures soundchecks are good enough. Sleep When I'm Dead found it's way back to being played after Lovesong (like in Vansnoozer) and I quite like it there. Something heavy to break up the Disintegration singles, even if To Wish follows.
One thing that caught my eye was Simon during Deep Green Sea. I swear he must have had one too many Red Bulls because he was hopping around more than normal and looked like he was about to fall over s a few times. Good energy from him, even if that energy came in liquid form. Porl on the other hand was more mellow tonight.
Overall it was an enjoyable show. Had it not been for E1 and Porl being in the mix I'd have probably somewhat different feelings. KMKMKM saved this show for me. It was a good one, just not up to par with some of the others from this tour.
Tomorrow should be a great one. No, it will be great. A real treat for us die-hards. Until then...
Oh yeah, Trent Reznor was sitting about 20 rows in front of me
I heard some people saying Martin Gore was present, too. I guess that's Hollywood. Who knows who else was there. Hell, I saw Spiderman, Marilyn Monroe, three Johnny Depps, Mickey Mouse, and the Devel earlier in the day. And to my surprise, Ryan Seacrest has a star on the Walk (that I just happened to spit my gum on). Hollywood, er Hollyweird indeed
Topic: 2008.05.31 Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl (USA) *SOLD OUT* (Read 9008 times)
June 08, 2009, 18:49:05
