Music Monday: The Cure Live 2016

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The Cure live at Maverik Center in West Valley City, UT on June 3, 2016

For my 5th time seeing The Cure live [the first time was in 1986 and the 4th time was in 2008], it was an almost 3 hour show that had a list of 33 songs and 3 encores.

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The Cure performing “The Walk”

I love this band and have since first hearing them in 1985 with the song “Close To Me” on the alternative station KROQ 106.7 in Los Angeles. Then going to their show in 1986 at Irvine Meadows, where once the band started, everyone rushed the stage. It was incredible.

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my ticket for The Cure show. Upper bowl seat.

I went with a few friends, so my ticket was purchased for me. I expected it to be a little closer, but I wasn’t given a choice. These upper bowl seats are quite a ways back, as you can see from some of my photos of the stage.

At least the sound was good and I had a big Cure fan sitting next to me that was attending his first show, so it was cool to high five on some older songs played.

Set List

  1. Shake Dog Shake
  2. A Night Like This
  3. Push
  4. Primary
  5. Like Cockatoos
  6. Kyoto Song
  7. The Walk
  8. Lullaby
  9. High
  10. The Caterpillar
  11. The End of the World
  12. Pictures of You
  13. Closedown
  14. Lovesong
  15. Just Like Heaven
  16. Trust
  17. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
  18. One Hundred Years
  19. Give Me It
  20. Encore:

  21. Want
  22. Never Enough
  23. Fascination Street
  24. Burn
  25. Wrong Number
  26. A Forest
  27. Encore 2:

  28. In Between Days
  29. Doing the Unstuck
  30. Friday I’m in Love
  31. Encore 3:

  32. Hot Hot Hot!!!
  33. Let’s Go to Bed
  34. Close to Me
  35. Why Can’t I Be You?
  36. Boys Don’t Cry

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The Cure performing “Lullaby”

I have many favorite Cure songs, but the two on the top of my list are “A Night Like This” which was played at the beginning of the show. When I first purchased “The Head On The Door” album, it was one of the main tracks that just stuck so well in my head. And it’s remained one of my all time favorites ever since. I also got to hear this song live when I saw them live in 1986.

While not an all time favorite, I do enjoy a live performance of “Lullaby” which as the photo above shows, had a nice spiderweb light show to accompany the lyric “Spider-man is having me for dinner tonight”

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The Cure performing “One Hundred Years”

My second all time favorite Cure song is “One Hundred Years” It became a top song for me after watching the concert film “The Cure In Orange” which I saw in a movie theater in Orange, CA at the end of 1987. I later realized the concert was filmed in Orange, in the countryside of France. Anyway, about halfway through the set list, the song “One Hundred Years” came on with it’s brooding lyric “It doesn’t matter if we all die”. The intensity of the sounds and Robert Smith’s deep vocal ranges drew me in. Of course, it would be years before I would hear the entire “Pornography” album [the first in the Trilogy] and I learned how great the early Cure music was, even though I had heard some of them live in 1986 and in The Cure In Orange concert film.

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The Cure performing “Hot Hot Hot!!!”

No new songs were played, which I was bummed about. I wanted to hear the new songs live, but I guess when the band changes up their set list and the fact that many in the Utah audience prefer hits like “Friday, I’m In Love” “Just Like Heaven” and “Lovesong”, you have to make exceptions.

I enjoyed this show and hope to see them live again. I just hope I don’t have to wait another 8 years before they return to Salt Lake City.

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