October 27th, Papp Laszlo Sports Arena, Budapest Live Report

I not the greatest fan of Wrong Number but i'm looking forward to hearing it live as the I've never heard it live.

Hey there's always been hope for us kids!

There's nothing left but ....

It was very interesting to read all reports and comments. I, by myself, also have some desires and doubts regarding the current tour. The fact is that I have enjoyed gig in Munich like never before. Another fact is that I do have wishes that are still largely unfulfilled. How to bring all those facts in line? Inner love towards The Cure is, of course, very personal thing. Level of experience with The Cure from the past is also pretty much important – as personal category again. I am (unfortunately for me) not the person following The Cure at every tour wherever they go during last 40 years or so, but I consider myself as real fan at least since 1989…
What it really means to be real-fan-of The Cure? How can you define something like that?
How is that at all, for example - I am more REAL fan just if I like Other Voices more than Want (and I do…)? It is so hard to follow such logic…
This tour seems to me to be very special for The Cure – it is their most successful tour in financial context probably during last 15 years, at least I have such impression. I really do think we should seek some answers for our questions there. How is this financial context important for The Cure today? Oh, I think it’s pretty much important! Why is that not logical?
In my following of The Cure I think the years 2001-2011 have been definitely biggest gap. I was concentrated of family development(s), my children were born etc. And just since I joined former CCC in the middle of 2012, I was, in a way, back-on-track. Since then I have always tried to understand real aspects of financial position of The Cure. I presume that already since couple of decades there is clear distinction – Robert Smith lives in one dimension of mentioned context and all other members of the band in other(s). But, nevertheless, I do think that financial context must be huge driving force of The Cure nowadays in general. It sounds harsh a little bit – but that’s how it goes. When they organize tour like this – they just MUST draw largest crowd possible. That’s the way of living and not the level of artistic expression or something.
I remember my discussions with Steve at CCC in 2012 about dramatic falling of numbers in the terms of albums sold and everything else during last 20 years or so. There is no new album since 2008 – and what else is there for you to do than successful touring if you like to present yourself as top band, still powerful enough to draw much money as well? And please don’t tell me that those things are not-so-important for Bob and others, but for him especially.
I really like that we have some thread here for following of this material aspect(s) of the tour to have clearer picture. I will again bring some data from Munich. Based on my estimation (confirmed by many unfortunately very superficial reviews I have red during last several days, like www.tz.de/muenchen/kultur/the-cure-augen-zu-erinnerungen-an-6896695.html or www.bild.de/regional/muenchen/muenchen/konzert-kritik-the-cure-48443366.bild.html ), there was between 11.500 and 12.500 people. It was not completely sold out – but it almost did. Obviously that result was very pleasing for the band, like similar numbers in Hamburg or Berlin. I bet we should expect similar dimensions in Frankfurt and Cologne and so on... How much of those 12.000+ people there have been real fans? I am sure not even 3.000 and maybe even just half of that. In my short report I praised reactions of old fans regarding Other Voices during the sound check and during the show – but, very largely, public was there for pop encore! Those are people who mainly want to hear Lullaby, Boys Don’t Cry or Friday I’m In Love! If they are only about to play my beloved trilogy Seventeen Seconds-Faith-Pornography or something similar – I am sure they cannot draw not even quarter of the audience there! And ask Robert what he thinks about for example comparisons of Pornography and Disintegration. Of course you can see some of it at post-Trilogy interview in 2002… However much that early trilogy from 1980-1982 was artistically superb especially considering that era and their age (and I am sure about that today more than ever) – he personally was always much more inclined to praise things that brought them much more money, and Disintegration and Wish are without competition there…
Today we are inclined to judge The Cure regarding the level of their “poppiness”. I remember my first encounter with The Cure - Ljubljana, Slovenia (Yugoslavia) in May 1989 - and how I used to perceive them as “still to poppy”. Just a little bit later on I have heard things like One Hundred Years or All Mine from 1982 and fell in love with them fully ever since… During the summer of 1989 I was in Germany for several months and for the first time I have experienced full-The Cure-euphoria. It was because of Lullaby, not because of Prayers For Rain! I never was in big love with Lullaby – but who cared? Besides of me, more than three million people bought Disintegration. And, as you know, waste majority because of Love Song and Lullaby! That’s how the things go…
When I see and hear The Cure today – I have clear impression that their sound is harder than ever before. And, yes, I think that Reeves Gabrels has huge credit for that. Just watch the man eating those guitar(s)… I praise The Cure for that kind of evolution especially. I have some my personal issues – for example I always loved songs like The Hungry Ghost and Sleep When I’m Dead from 2008. I remember how we all used to spit over Porl (Pearl) because he “overplayed” there and something, and perhaps that was true – but listen those songs today! The Hungry Ghost in Munich was just brilliant. And there is much more examples of new-found-brilliancy…
What makes me so enthusiastic regarding the level of success of this tour is inevitable fact that they will just last longer. I am 42 now – and I am still sooo enjoying hearing them. When I compare them with everything, but everything else – it’s just ridiculous. During last several years I have seen for example Morrissey, Depeche Mode or Sisters of Mercy. You cannot compare those things with The Cure by light years, especially regarding the level of authenticity and credibility. It was like that before – and it is now even by much larger margin! Just during this year they have played more than 80 songs live. I have researched much at setlist.fm to found something similar in music history – without success so far. Take for example Iron Maiden, also band with more than 200 songs and catalogue of 40 years, in general financially much more successful than The Cure. During their tour in 2016 they have played 72 gigs with only 15 songs in exact same order at every gig (www.setlist.fm/stats/iron-maiden-3bd6803c.html?tour=The+Book+of+Souls+World+Tour )!?!
So, yes, for next year I will live in hope that, for example, The Cure will play special shows about 30th anniversary of Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, with all those fantastic B-sides never played before… Although I largely doubt that something like that will pop up… The Cure are still doing it so good and trying it so hard - that they really deserve such hope. That’s beauty of this love for me. feedpidge

And Robert said just that during the concert in Munich. He was obviously pleased with "so much newcomers"!

If it was legal I would marry you 

Where's the "cringe" tab?!