Review: The Cure in Dallas (June 6, 2008)

Lights out; the faint sounds of waves crashing; the sight of stars in the blackness. That's how it all started...

1. Underneath The Stars
I was hoping that they'd start with this one. They opened with it the previous show so I thought we'd get Plainsong for sure, but when I heard the sound of crashing waves and saw the star field come up on the screens behind the stage I knew this was going to be a great show. If you haven't listened to this song yet I compel you to do so right now! Go here to hear a recording from the Dallas show, the best sounding one thus far.
2. Prayers for Rain
Brilliant with a nice long "RAAAAIIINNNNN" at the end. Robert's voice was spot on. Mindy loved the misery.
3. A Night Like This
Another great one.
4. The Walk
When Mindy heard the studio version of this song she couldn't make it past the first ten seconds. After the show she was talking about loving the song about the "Japanese baby" and had no idea it was the same song she had hated. This keyboardless version was by far the best I've ever heard the song sound.
5. The End of the World
A single from the self-titled album that I never cared much about, but boy did this sound good live.
6. Lovesong
7. To Wish Impossible Things
Sounded good, but I'd rather hear "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep..." for a song with the same feel.
8. Pictures of You
The abso-fricken-lutley best sounding song of the night. Incredible.
9. Lullaby
Alright, but not great minus the keys.
10. Fascination Street
Another stunning performance. A highlight of the show.
11. The Perfect Boy
Decent new song.
12. From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
A little disappointed with this one as I thought Porl's parts were a bit too hard to hear.
13. Sleep When I'm Dead
Very rockin' new song ala "A Man Inside My Mouth".
14. Push
Brilliant again. Incredible performance of a classic song.
15. Friday I'm In Love
The crowd...
16. Inbetween Days
...goes...
17. Just Like Heaven
...bananas. All sounded great.
18. Primary
I was so glad they pulled this one out. Flawless performance.
19. Shake Dog Shake
I was really hoping they would play this, but alas, this was probably the biggest let down of the show. Robert seemed a bit winded and phoned in the vocal performance on this one to rest up a bit. Still glad they played it.
20. Never Enough
Much better live than on CD.
21. The Only One
The current single. I think it's a great pop song and it sounded great live. Robert sang it perfectly.
22. Wrong Number
Not a fan of this song, but it was better live.
23. The Baby Screams
The surprise of the night for me. I'm not the biggest fan of this song but wow was it good live! I thought of you during this one. You should have been there to hear this one.
24. One Hundred Years
Brilliant rendition complete with all red lighting and a slide show of B&W negative images depicting WWII nastiness behind them. The stage exploded into a blaze of white hot light at the "100 years!" part.
25. Baby Rag Dog Book
Another new tune. Good ending, but that was just the beginning...

Encore 1: (Old School)
26. Three Imaginary Boys
27. Fire In Cairo
Another big surprise. Sounded great live.
28. Boys Don't Cry
29. Jumping Someone Else's Train
Brilliant! Though Robert did mix up the lyrics.
30. Grinding Halt
Another great blast from the past.
31. 10:15 Saturday Night
32. Killing An Arab
Very high energy. Great!

Encore 2: (Pop)
33. Lovecats
Kinda silly live.
34. Let's Go To Bed
35. Freakshow
My least favorite of the new songs. Silly.
36. Close To Me
Brilliant again! Complete with Robert's foolishness.
37. Why Can't I Be You?
Needs keyboards.

Encore 3:
38. A Forest
Perfect ender. The archetypal "Cure sound" song and a true classic. Complete with intro and long solo.

All in all I thought the show was a master performance from an iconic band with a 30 year history. Robert sounded better than I could ever remember him sounding in the past and the band was on fire. My hope that the Cure could be something other than a monument to their past has been answered. I'm looking forward to this new album in a way that I haven't anticipated a new Cure album since Kiss Me. "Underneath the Stars" and the nearly flawless show in Dallas have renewed my faith in the Cure.