The Shows Of A Lost World tour kicked off in North America in May and concludes July 1st in Miami, FL. Along the way, the band sold-out three consecutive nights at two of the most iconic music spaces in the world (Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden) and has rewritten the rules for how modern arena acts treat their fans. From the moment the tour was announced, Robert Smith fought battles on multiple fronts trying to keep ticket prices fair, secondary markets at bay, and junk fees from TicketMaster under control. He also found time to work with unique artists on beautiful show posters for every single night of the tour and then priced the merchandise below expectations. All this before he even picked up a guitar.
Given the weight on the shoulders of this band in 2023, it would be easy to forgive them for taking their foot off the gas as the tour started to wind down with two midweek stops in Atlanta, GA. Instead, the band performed two monumental shows with deep setlists which distinctly changed the atmosphere of each night. Both nights were highly emotional for fans and the band seemed to draw from the crowd’s ecstatic din before, during, and after each song. Robert Smith, in particular, appeared overwhelmed with emotion at times and the variation of the shows each night speaks to how much the band invests in the fan experience.
On the first night, the band delighted fans of their early work with classics such as “Three Imaginary Boys”, “Charlotte Sometimes”, and “Primary.” Steering mostly clear of the landmark Disintegration, the night felt more aggressive and rooted in the guitar-driven post-punk from where the band first arose. It was “One Hundred Years” and “A Strange Day” from 1982’s Pornography which served as the musical crossroads of the night with swirling guitar work being woven into a post-punk fabric of frenetic energy that still sounds as urgent today as it did over forty years ago. In many ways, everything The Cure do so beautifully can be unearthed when excavating the Pornography album and hearing these tracks live in 2023 is nothing short of extraordinary.
As the band has done throughout the tour, the main set ended with the appropriately titled new song “Endsong” and the first encore kicked off with another new song, the delicate but brutally powerful “I Can Never Say Goodbye” which Smith wrote for his brother and anyone else who might need the healing it provides. After that, however, each night found a unique path to its magnificent crescendo. On the first night, it was the fierce “A Forest” appearing at the end of the first encore with a sold-out arena clapping along with Simon Gallup’s bass notes and the playful “Six Different Ways” breaking up the barrage of popular singles to end the show on a rainbow of joyful sing-a-longs. The crowd’s never relenting happiness subsided only after Robert stayed on stage for an extended period to wave goodnight and that emotional high would carry over into the second night.
While the first night encapsulated an iconic band playing at the peak of their powers and rivaling any arena concert I have seen in my four decades of attending concerts, the second night found the band opening up and allowing the fans a little closer emotionally . Certainly, “Lovesong” coming early in the set hinted at a special night ahead as the band appeared thrilled to find Atlanta still high from the night before. Soon, the surprises would start to appear.
When Smith said, we don’t play this one often, there was an audible inhale from fans. Yes, one never knows where The Cure might go with a set but “Like Cockatoos” still felt like a gift from the band as did “Kyoto Song” later in the main set. With “Shake Dog Shake” and “A Forest” also in the main set, expectations were buzzing amongst the crowd about where the encores might take us but one had to assume it would be different from the night before.
The second encore did not disappoint with “Want” and “At Night” bringing the arena to the edge of euphoria. The excitement then flooded over with the opening sounds of “Plainsong” which found Smith singing emotionally from the side of the stage before the band unleashed a biting version of “Disintegration” which ended with Smith alone on stage telling a story about an abandoned baby left on his doorstop. The emotional weight of the Disintegration tracks needed something especially uplifting in the final run of songs if the band was planning to shake the roof off the arena for a second night. Luckily, the band still had “Hot Hot Hot!!!” in their quiver and the funky guitars made sitting down impossible.
As the final notes of “Boys Don’t Cry” echoed out over the night two audience, there were knowing looks amongst regular fans that this was one of the most special nights of the tour. If nothing else, no other audience heard “Like Cockatoos” and “Hot Hot Hot!!!” in the same show but it was more than that. Having experienced Phoenix earlier in the tour and the superb opening night in Atlanta, this second night felt a little more special. It’s hard to put into words but if you go to enough concerts, you start to instinctively sense when the fans and the band have shared an experience that transcends even a really good night. In the end, The Cure have proven, yet again, that when it comes to seeing a band multiple times, it’s always wise to buy the ticket, and take the ride. You never know when the magic will happen.
(No photo pass for the writer but here are a few cellphone shots to color this in.)
