Live Review: The Cure - Cardiff International Arena

THE CURE

CARDIFF INTERNATIONAL ARENA

CARDIFF
09/12/2022

Words by Philip Giouras

★★★★★

There are murmurs throughout the day that The Cure frontman Robert Smith won’t be well enough to perform. Hearsay and stories from the night previous in which Smith gave everything to his performance, even his voice by the final encore.

As the group appear promptly on the stage they receive a hero's welcome, the audience in suspense throughout the prolonged and broody intro of the opener ‘Alone’ to see the state of Smith’s voice. That trademark tone however bellows out across the arena in pristine condition, and whilst Smith sounds sublime, even he too is surprised and seemingly on edge that his good fortune could disappear at a moment's notice.

Nevertheless, the touch-and-go nature of the show only heightens the emotions. It feels fitting such drama surrounds a rare Welsh appearance by the group. “Hello again! It’s been what, 26 years?” greets Smith joking that he has been in Wales since their prolonged absence, albeit not on the stage. His trademark deadpan wit is sharper than ever tonight even if it’s merely sprinkled across tonight’s mammoth 27-song three-hour performance. Tonight the music does the talking, both old and new.

Early on beloved hits such as the sprawling, shining seven minutes of ‘Pictures of You’ dazzle and perhaps one of the most devastatingly radiant odes to romance ‘Lovesong’ remains as crushingly beautiful decades later. But it is in fact the new material that sparkles the brightest throughout the evening. When the tour was announced a whole year ago this week, it came with the promise of a new hour-long album ‘Songs of a Lost World’. All we’ve had since is that very title but tonight comes with a frequent promise from Smith that ‘these tracks won’t be new for much longer” and trust us… it sounds like they will be very much worth the wait.

Centred around the death of several close family members, the album is incredibly macabre even by The Cure’s standards, yet it is some of the most beautiful, honest and haunting music I’ve heard in an age. It truly takes something quite spectacular for the debut of new material to really capture you, especially in a live setting. A lot of ‘legacy’ acts continue to perform from discographies a fraction of the size of The Cure’s, but for them, the future is equally as exciting as their past.

The dark shadow of death looms over the new tracks such as ‘And Nothing Is Forever’ in which Smith croons “If you promise you’ll be with me” over a yearning bass line. That’s not to say the morbid cannot be magnificent as the track is surrounded by optimistic sprinkles of light piano and dreamlike synths. Likewise ‘I Can Never Say Goodbye’ is a masterpiece, dedicated to Smith’s brother it is emotionally gut-wrenching with its beautifully macabre, and seemingly timeless piano melody at its core. Instantly sensational even from just one listen, I’m desperate to return to the song when it is released.

There’s also an exciting variety in the style of new material. Despite its name ‘A Fragile Thing’ feels anything but. It has a heavy snarl to its percussion alongside a thunderously menacing intro compromised of piano stabs surprisingly reminiscent of ‘In The End’ by Linkin Park. As ludicrous as it may sound even the chorus feels built upon Hip Hop / Nu Metal due to the nature of Smith’s rhyming scheme and the intensity of its delivery. It still features however trademark proggy and fiery guitar solo.

‘Endsong’ stars a melancholy instrumental that washes over the crowd, almost drowning the audience in an overbearing sensation of grief. Full of layers, it feels heavy and full but teeters the line carefully so as to not become overbearing. It’s powerful and a suitable set closer for the first section of the evening.

It cannot be overstated the challenge of integrating new material into such an established and beloved setlist but tonight The Cure has done it with ease. The crowd lap every moment up, whether it is the thunderous sound of their hands clapping in unison to the crescendo of ‘The Forest’ or the way a man in front of me wildly convulses as if possessed during an appropriately fired-up rendition of ‘Burn’ and ‘Shake Dog Shake’.

The evening felt like it catered to all fans of The Cure. Pleasing for those looking for rare airings of beloved deep cuts such as ‘The Last Day of Summer’ from 2000’s Bloodflowers or ‘Trust’ from 1992’s Wish which is fittingly celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. There was a selection of some of the band's bleakest works, as Smith at one point exclaims with exemplary renditions of ‘Faith’ and ‘From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea’.

Finally, it appealed to fans of the group's exemplary plethora of groundbreaking pop smashes with a hit-laden final encore. ‘The Walk’ is quintessentially eighties and feels right at home amongst their biggest hits. ‘Friday I’m In Love’, ‘Just Like Heaven’ and ‘Inbetween Days’ all have an air of timelessness that feels almost unexplainable. They are a testament to Smith’s ability to create the ultimate three-minute smash hit.

‘Boys Don’t Cry’ brings the band back full circle for a spectacular finish on a wide-reaching evening that across three hours covers their vast career. It ends the night on an unusually optimistic note, and whilst there is a boundless joy to be found in their more immersive tracks of gloom - nothing can match the pure euphoria that their hits exude, The Cure presents such a multi-faceted live experience that there is practically no comparison. A legendary band that has gone on to inspire countless genres that they themselves have flirted between over the decades, whether it be pop, post-punk or prog rock to name just a few. What’s so thrilling, however, is that by tonight's standards it feels like they’re only just getting started.

Setlist:

Alone

Pictures of You

Closedown

At Night

A Night Like This

Lovesong

And Nothing Is Forever

The Last Day of Summer

A Fragile Thing

Burn

A Strange Day

Push

Play for Today

Shake Dog Shake

From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea

Endsong

Encore:

I Can Never Say Goodbye

Trust

Faith

A Forest

Encore 2:

Lullaby

The Walk

Friday I'm in Love

Close to Me

In Between Days

Just Like Heaven

Boys Don't Cry