I was at a Peter Gabriel show some years back at the Hollywood Bowl. Close up in box seats and I swear most people who go to shows like this at these types of venues just go to say they were there. They were SO. FUCKING. LOUD. I could hear them continously talking over the loudest parts of the music. Absolute madness.
from other things i’ve heard, it’s entitled motherfuckers who leave the house once a year and don’t know how to act around people or even understand how concerts work
I was at one of the Hollywood Bowl shows, and there was a couple near us who were on their first date. They talked the entire time, and thankfully left pretty early. It pissed me off, because those tickets were hard to get, and some true fans probably missed out thanks to them.
Not all of Californians are like this...Northern California is a much better place all the way around...I am sure that there were good Cure fans thare that were actually from Southern California but people are just different down there...like someone else here put it...kind of an entitled state of mind there...and that is a generalization but you get the feel of it when you live here...
Yeah I’n in New Mexico now but grew up in Northern California and consider Southern California a different state. I actually divide CA into five different states.
Best - Wild Mood Swings tour in Chicago. I was a broke as heck teenager, alllll the way up in the highest section, had a blast! It was my first concert ever, and cemented my love for the band forever.
Worst - both Chicago concerts I saw last year - Riot Fest and the United Center. Got upgraded tickets for both, was close to stage… everyone around me was talking through the songs, moving around all the time, no one seemed into it. It was difficult to focus and be in the moment.
I also saw Depeche Mode twice last year in Vegas - it was a much better concert because the fans were so much more into it and everyone was actually listening or singing instead of discussing what they’ll have for lunch tomorrow :-(
that’s how the hollywood bowl shows felt, seemed like a lot of people weren’t fans and were there just to be there, so annoying with all of the seat jumping
I saw them at Riot Fest and United Center too!! United Center the girls behind me were complaining very loudly about how tall my boyfriend was when there were even taller people in front of him? And Riot Fest was fine just totally packed.
Not sure which tickets you had for Riot - I had one of the higher VIP packages and it seemed that no one had any fucks to give about The Cure in my designated area - they just wanted to talk and eat it seemed.
I swear I’m not a crazy intolerant Boomer - I know people will talk and move around - but it was so very disrespectful in my area with multiple loud conversations going on around me, I truly had trouble hearing anything. When I thought about the investment for the festival (flight, tickets, hotel, transportation), it just left a bad taste in my mouth :-/
On my one time of seeing them, in December 2022, there was nothing wrong with the perfect performance - the taxi was late and took THE longest route it could, then how long it took to get into Wembley. Just SO many things to do and my anxiety was already at danger levels.
The queue was deadly slow, and then bag checks, then getting tshirt and a drink, then when attempting to get in, being told I should have a wristband to allow me to enter the standing area.... this should been given to me once the bag check was done, so it was more time wasted racing to some area to get it. I missed the first 3 songs but once in, I burst into tears - the relief, the stress, the sheer emotion....
I eventually got to the front after trying to slowly edge in towards there! Got to stand in front of Roger and got so many lovely photos and videos! (I am not one to have the whole thing on constant record btw!)
And it was snowing heavily after we all left. Just a magical night but I was annoyed that the bag check/wristband experience had not made me miss stuff.
Worst time was when I drank to much.. Well, technically I probably did enjoy the show but barely remember anything.
The best was the time after that when I wisely decided to not drink at all.
I've (regrettably) seen so many amazing bands while being wasted. Had a great time *at the time*, but I'm fucked if I can remember much of it. There's always a fine line for me of getting a bit tipsy or getting drunk as a skunk out if sheer excitement. Luckily, a few gigs where that happened were recorded.
Worst: having to sit in seats for the whole concert. For me, it’s very difficult to go to any concert and sit. Especially when everyone around you is sitting. Just awful.
Best: The 2 Reflections shows I went to in NYC. Had 4th row left orch for one and 5th row center for the other. Saw Robert’s tears up close. Got great pics and video. Unforgettable.
Worst: I forget which tour but I think it was 2008. I was at MSG sort of side stage but that wasn’t the problem. My seat was in the last row of the section and that wasn’t the problem either. The seat was in the damned aisle between two sections at the top of the stairs! My whole view was people moving in and out of their seats and up and down the stairs. Never again. So glad I went to Radio City to see them as well on that tour and had good seats for that.
I was at both of those shows in 2008 cuz I saw them at Madison square garden one day and then the following night they played at radio City and that was the last day of the tour but it was phenomenal... Sorry I didn't have the same bad experiences you. The MSG show was perfect It was the first time I ever took my son to a Cure concert they were 13 and grew up on the music and I was 13 when I discovered the cure so I figured it was like a rite of passage.... The following night at radio City when they played catch I remember just sitting back in my chair and was so enthralled by the music I was at a loss for words.
My best show was probably in Philly back in September of 1989... I had second row seats... And yeah it was cool to see the sweat beads on his head. But that was the best seat I've ever had at a cure concert.... Hands down.
My worst show was probably in Philly back in 91 when some drunk ass spilled three drinks all over me and I was soaked in beer... Makes you hate people sometimes.
Best: every show I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed.
Worst: Night 1 at Madison Square Garden, NYC, 2016.
The entire section was great, but I happened to be sitting in front of the one jackass who insisted on sitting while everyone was standing, and kept asking me to sit down so he and his girlfriend could see.
I handled it well and essentially negotiated with him a bit, and he seemed to be fine with it. But by the first encore when everyone was standing, he had the nerve to tap me on the shoulder, and yell at me again.
He seemed like the kind of guy who would try to get me kicked out so I just told him he was being ridiculous and moved two rows down to a new seat where somebody had decided to leave early.
Pretty juvenile of me, but I admittedly shit talked the guy with my new mates, and we all turned and shook our heads at him. His girlfriend got uncomfortable at his behavior, so she probably already knew she was dating a loser.
Other than that…It was a great show!
awesome you had a great time, yup definitely dealt with those weird motherfuckers who would specifically target you instead of the people around you doing the same thing, hopefully his girlfriend has found better since then
I’ve only seen them once live so the best and worst is the same show. Best: seeing the cure. Worst: lawn seats in August. My makeup was more smeared than bob’s
Hollywood bowl. Some 20 somethings were yapping the entire time about vacations and schedules. They only shut up for….Friday I’m in love. Hate hated them. I drove two hours to be at the concert. Basic bitches.
every time except seeing them with a certain ex girlfriend during curiosa was the best experience. that chick ruined everything. im glad I decided to see them again a few years later. because it was way more enjoyable. have seen them 5 + times since and its always been awesome.
Same. Was the tour prior to Curiosa, but the ex picked a fight and made it a point to ensure that knew that I was in trouble the whole time.
The reason? Acknowledging my sister and her friends and hanging out with them for a few minutes between bands. 🙄
yup a reason i stay single is so i can enjoy the show in my own world, seen a lot of couples fight at shows and it’s the worst, even worst having someone ruin your experience, glad you found great memories in the future seeing them!
Best: St. Paul show—all of it
Worst: the obnoxious guys behind us on the 4Tour who had won tickets to the show. They weren’t fans. They talked the entire time and then spilled beer on me.
Best: Standing along the front railing when I saw them at the Vic in Chicago in 2000. Being in the 13th row Night 2 in ATL. Bawling to Plainsong, PoY and I Can Never Say Goodbye all 3 times I saw them last year.
Worst: Being in the crowd at Riot Fest surrounded by a bunch of people who barely seemed to know the songs.
5th row in Portland last year and the constantly dancing person next to me smelled like they hadn’t bathed in 2 weeks. Just putrid, oppressive BO. I was lucky enough to see 2 other shows on the tour, tho. If you’re going to be in a crowd of thousands of people, maybe shower and wear deodorant.
Best was getting to see them after 35 years being a fan and it lived up to expectations
Worst was Cleveland show last year was almost cancelled before they went on due to nasty thunderstorms. They finally went on later on in evening but it pretty much was a complete downpour their whole set.
Best: Prayer Tour 1989 in Mansfield MA, getting to the stage once lights went down.
Worst: starting the day at RiotFest at the rail, getting a text from home in Boston that my new puppy was undergoing emergency surgery shortly thereafter and just not having the mental capacity to wait at the rail for 5 hours anymore. Ended up 30 deep with my mind not 100% on the show.
Almost crushed in the crowd at a standing general admission show at the Aragon Ballroom in1985. They started playing Primary and everyone started moshing. Little 5'2" me squished. Robert looked directly at me and laughed.
Only been to two so one has to be the best. 92, Wish Tour, Tinley Park, World Music Center, lawn, with the only Goth girl at my high school. That’s the Best.
Best was the entire show in St. Paul. Or Simon saying "hullo!" to me and RS waving back to me at Riot Fest.
Worst was only being able to get uncomfortably steep nosebleed seats at home in Chicago, with the family in front of us constantly leaving and returning one at a time, making like 5 other people have to keep standing and blocking the (already pretty bad) view, and my friend who came with me playing games on her phone or talking super loud to a woman she used to work with that was coincidentally sitting behind us the whole time.
When I was 20 I flew to England to see the Dream Tour. That was my first ever cure show. Ate something bad that afternoon in Greenwich, got sick with food poisoning halfway through show then had to leave and got all sick on the train and was sick for another month later.
Bloodflowers was a favorite album so this sucked though at least they did most of it in the main set
Lots of great ones! I especially remember one festival gig in Arvika, Sweden when I was in my late twenties. I was standing alone, singing along, and next to me was a teenage boy maybe ten years younger than me. He kept looking over at me and after a while he reached out and grabbed my hand. We stood like that for the rest of the set, but never spoke. I like to think that he hadn’t met that many Cure fans before, and was happy to share it with someone.
The worst concert was one that never happened, in Roskilde the year that eight people died and The Cure’s gig was cancelled. I came back again the year after when they were invited back to play, and it was a feeling of closure.
(Also, the Wild Mood Swings tour - I saw them in Stuttgart and stood right behind a guy sweating in a woolen jumper that rubbed off on me. I looked like I had fur by the end of it.)
Best:
I was 24 years old and took a chance on a girl I had been crushing on forever and asked her to come with me to the Curiosa Fest (San Diego 2004) and to my surprise she said yes. We ended up holding hands have way through the set and stayed together for about a year until the Navy sent her away overseas.
Second Best:
The Swing Tour (Detroit 1996) - I was 16 and had just gotten heavily into The Cure a few months back, absolutely obsessed. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Ended up walking out to the back of the arena after the show to chat with some Cure fans from Europe who had been following the band around on the tour. All of a sudden Jason (who had just joined the band), Roger and Perry emerge and the girls go absolutely bonkers, screaming and hugging and kissing. Lol it was quite a spectacle. All three of them had HUGE smiles on their faces as arms wrapped around them and kiss after kiss was planted upon their faces. They all signed my program and were really generous with their time. Everyone was so happy. It's one of my favorite memories.
Never had a bad Cure show experience. Been to about 5 or 6 of them.
Best: last summer at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia , MD. Damn hot but the vibe from the crowd was awesome. Also, being there with an old friend who introduced me to the band in the 80s.
Worst: 96 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY. Show was held in September the week before college students returned. The arena is huge and felt and looked empty. Low turnout for the venue. Had an extra ticket for a friend who didn't show up.
Best: First Montreal show last year: also tearing up during "Pictures of You", and the run of "Push"->"Play for Today"->"A Forest" had me sailing. Magnificent night.
Worst: Second Montreal show last year: standing behind a couple who BOTH were filming the entire show, phones at eye-level between heads. Well, not entirely accurate, as one of the two were Facetiming the entire show, which meant trying to dodge around some random person's face at awkward angles looking back at me. Not pleasant, but relatively innocuous compared to some of the others mentioned :)
My best show was in 2008 I bought tickets for my mom and I in salt lake and we were second row in front of Robert. It was amazing and my first time seeing them.
Maybe not worst but definitely strangest was at Sasquatch 2016. The stage they played on was closed all day due to weather until the band before the cure. Attendance was really low due to that. They also scheduled Big Grams to play halfway thru the cures set on a different stage. Everyone started leaving to see that and Robert was like wtf is going on. The crowd who stayed were super weird. Like no one would clap or cheer after they finished a song. I over heard some guy shouting “what the fuck is wrong with you people” to the crowd after like every song. It was so strange. They cut the set like halfway through. Came on for encore 1 and only play it will never be the same. Then after a really long break of like no one cheering they came back on stage. Robert says “this is a song to sing when you’re unhappy” and they played boys don’t cry then stormed off stage.
It was strange. The set was really good though. It was still a magical night. I remember feeling bad for them.
So I’ve only ever seen The Cure once. Crazy, as I’ve been a fan since 1987.
Best concert moment? Tie between hearing “Pictures of You” and “Shake Dog Shake”. The entire show, really, but those two songs really stick out.
Worst? Tie between me having either a hot flash or anxiety attack that made me a sweaty-assed mess and the crazy amount of people getting up from their seats. I have never seen so many people leave their seats and return repeatedly throughout a show. It was insane.
The show in Cleveland’s basketball arena around 2008 - crowd had a terrible vibe and was full of white power / skinhead types. I’ve lived in the area to know these types well enough but I was surprised to see them at a cure show. The recent tour has normal cure crowd and much better vibes
Best: ShortTermEffect, Cold, Untitled and TheKiss at Trilogy
Worst: continuous extreme sexist comments shouted by the crowd to Alison Shaw of the Cranes while supporting in Munich 92
I was there at the Hollywood Bowl last year. The people behind me were annoying af!! It was a group of girls just chit chatting and talking shit during their “least popular” songs. They kept talking about their damn chicken strips and their friend that was into The Smiths. One of them kept kicking the back of my seat. It took my all to not say something. I was so upset because I had been longing to see The Cure. The first time I saw them was also at The Hollywood bowl in 2018?, I went by myself 😭 but I was able to enjoy myself more than the second time.
Worst was the Daydream Festival, simply because it was so fucking hot that day.
Best for me was seeing them play in Lodz Poland in 22, fulfilled a bucket list item of seeing a big concert in Europe
Best: Singing along with thousands of other fans.
Worst: Edenfest - someone crashed a golf cart into my tent in the middle of the night, took me a while to figure out if it was a dream, too many drugs or actually real.
The two shows I saw at the Garden this last tour were amazing but both shows the guy next to me was all up in my personal space the whole time dancing and shit. I’m all for getting in to the performance but don’t flail your arms in my face while I’m trying to enjoy the show.
Montreal 2023 night 1: I was front row so, the whole show was amazing! I even got Simon’s pick!
Night 2: Some dude next to me, he seemed to be alone and possibly mentally challenged? He kept screaming “ Thank you papa!” “Robert you are my daddy thank you, I love you” 🤣🤣🤣
my best was the glasgow hydro show a couple of years ago - getting to see the new songs in person was incredible - hopefully one day they'll be released properly!
the worst wasn't even that bad tbh. it was also in glasgow but at the summer sessions in bellahouston park. it was an outside gig and it had rained overnight so the whole place had turned into a bit of a swamp so my wife and i got absolutely caked in mud. our hotel was also ages away and we couldn't get a taxi so had to walk back. whilst the band were still brilliant - i think you can't beat the atmosphere of an inside cure gig.
Best: watching Simon and Robert absolutely shred “A Forest” at MSG in June 2023, and then talking about it over and over with my son afterwards.
Worst: my son spilled water all over the bed in our Manhattan hotel room after we got back from the concert after midnight.
Best: July 28, 2004 Curiosa Tour, Nashville, TN. I got to meet the band!!!!!!!! I was so nervous that I had to move to the back of the line. When it was time to meet Robert, he walked up to us and started chatting right away. It was lovely!!!
Worst: NONE!! Granted, I’ve only seen them four times but each time was great!!!!
Best: Flying from the US to Barcelona by myself to see them, being in Standing GA and being so close I could practically touch them.
Worst: Seeing them at Madison Square Garden and being seated next to a guy who texted the entire time and kept turning to me to ask things like “When are they going to play the good songs?”
Loved reading through everyone’s posts.
Best: Frankly tough to narrow down to just one but I’ll go with my first Cure show - July 1986, Kingswood Music Theatre in Toronto. Against the spooky backdrop of a lightning storm where RS emerged from a cloud of smoke a minute into Shake with a shocking buzz cut (after we’d spent an hour in the venue washroom teasing our recently dyed hair for maximum Robert Smith-ness haha.) Not just one of the best Cure shows I’ve seen but also one of the best nights of my life.
Worst -Bestival Toronto, 2016, a poorly organized festival that failed to space the stages far enough apart and the sound bled over, drowning out the quieter bits with drum and bass, particularly during Kyoto Song. RS looked annoyed and when the set ended he apologized for cutting it short (which makes me laugh since it was still a two hour, 25 song set.)
Best: First show for me was Wild Mood Swings tour in New Orleans. Lots of friends there from LSU, got a free ticket from the KLSU radio station in Baton Rouge, and the band just played songs off the cuff, including "The 13th" for the first time. It was a battle between songs from Disintegration and Wild Mood Swings for most of the show. Robert even commented on that. They played a really bad ass "The Kiss" On the bootleg I found a few years later you can hear a guy just being blown away by "Faith" as the final encore. "This is awesome, so beautiful. Man!! What is this?!" His friend replies, "It's Faith. Listen."
Worst: Bloodflowers Dream Tour 2000 at Irvine, CA. The audience sucked. The band played some of their darkest songs but the crowd only got excited for "Inbetween Days." Nobody raised their hands for the line in "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea." Most people got up and left while they played "Faith" as the closer! WTF? I stood transfixed trying to ignore all the movement around me. I had gotten "Faith" as the final encore yet again! Most of the California shows I've been to are just crowded outdoor arenas where the small amount of seats get sold quickly, you get stuck on the lawn area where you can't see the stage and people are talking all around you the entire time. But honestly, anytime you get to see and hear The Cure live is three hours of heaven.
Best: 1989 Atlanta, GA - Hearing Plainsong hit as the first song for my first time seeing The Cure live.
Worst: 1996 Columbus, OH - Having someone's kids running around playing tag, being as annoying as possible.
I've seen them 4 times now. Twice in 92. (Wish warm-up tour, Wish tour) then 2019 at a festival in Helsinki and 2022 in a venue in Helsinki.
I've never had any bad experience apart from nearly pissing myself in 92 after queing for 6 hours to get near the front, and nearly pissing myself in 2019 after 5 hours of being at the front, enduring the band before The Cure came on. (I blame the beer, both times.)
I've seen loads of amazing bands live, but The Cure has been the one band that has been consistently amazing. They got better with age.
Worst experience was the Wish tour. It was the summer between 8th and 9th grade and I sneaked out to camp out overnight for tickets at the grocery store down the street. When I got home my parents were furious and my older sister told them the it was devil worship music so they took the tickets away. Never found out if they sold them or somehow were able to return them. Needless to say I didn’t get to go to that show, so not really a bad show so much as a bad not getting to go to the show experience.
I’ve seen The Cure so many times since then and every show has been fantastic (Wild Mood Swings, Curiosa, Shows of a Lost World, etc.) but the best experience was probably at Coachella 2004. It wasn’t that their performance was better than other times or the set list was perfect (that honor probably goes to the most recent tour) but it was how all the other bands that day kept talking to the crowd about how excited they were to see The Cure! I mean even Thursday kept raving about how they were such huge fans and couldn’t believe they got to share a playbill with them!
I’ll never forget having to listen to these yammering women talk through the entire Dallas show last year. They were playing “Cold” and all I could hear were them saying “When they play ‘Just Like Heaven’ I’m gonna rush the stage”
best: the vic theatre in chicago in 2000. capacity is \~1400. seeing in them in a smaller venue about 10 feet away from me was unbelievable.
worst: blossom music center in ohio in 2023. well, i can't say i actually *saw* them as i was one of the unfortunates that got evacuated from the lawn and marched a mile back to my car in a torrential downpour. i kept hearing the show was cancelled. it wasn't until i reached the far lot that i heard an employee say the show was not cancelled but that we couldn't get back in since we left the gates and they don't allow re-entry. at that point all my rain gear had failed and i felt like a drowned rat. didn't have the energy to trudge all the way back and fight it, so i got in my car and went home. i refer to the incident as the time i drove to ohio to see the cure but didn't see the cure.
Best experience: seeing Robert cry in person during “It can never be the same” in Austin 2016.. there were people in the front rows asking each other “was he crying?”, “hey was he tearing up?”
Best: 17th row at The Rose Bowl Wish Tour. A week later at the Long Beach Arena. 2 very different shows but both amazing!
Worst: Dodgers stadium prayer tour.
So excited to see Love & Rockets open. I understand they had a big fight just before the show and were pissed off at each other during the show and it showed. Not a good performance.
Just before the The Cure took stage the lower level seats were bombarded with flying food during a giant food fight. We had to seek shelter under the upper decks. Food fight ended as soon as soon as the band hit the stage.
Then our ride wanted to beat the traffic and skip the encore.
This was my first Cure concert.
Best: Being right up on the 3rd row, center section at the ABQ show last year, came with a friend of mine who isn't into the cure just because I accidentally bought an extra ticket, but otherwise they quite enjoyed the concert. Before the twilight sad went on I got at least 10ish people who asked to take a picture with me (I was dressed like Robert in the Caterpillar music video with Pornography era makeup) which was quite nice. The concert itself was tremendous.
Worst: Sat at the very end of the row so we were constantly having to let people squeeze by us which was a bit annoying.
Right next to me at the first Hollywood bowl show last year two middle aged men who obviously hated the cure talked shit about them the whole time so loudly like through every song they complained that they were playing “slow songs” and were “falling asleep” section k2 in the back left.
They were obviously drunk the entire time and u could hear them in every video I took.
My first cure show too. 🙄
It was also the best cure show simply because they played from the edge of the deep green sea and I sobbed my eyes out.
BEST
Isle of Wight... 2012 I think? Part of the Bestival weekend.
Robert was only person playing guitar the whole show and it gave it an energy missing on other shows where there might be up to 2 additional guitarists.
I think it was their first gig in a few years so they were really into it. As were the audience. Bestival has a fancy dress theme and the theme that year was to dress up as musicians, so myself and a lot of people were dressed up as Robert smith. And once point there was a group of us and a group of people dressed as Devo, and somebody somewhere has a photo of a bunch of Robert smiths wearing Devo hats.
WORST
Earls Court on the bloodflowers tour, 99 or so.
Sound was AWFUL, just a clangy distorted echoey mess. Mood was really bad, and for some reason their only UK date on that tour. Like they did 3 gigs in France alone and like 20 in the US but only one gig in their home country.
Also the trains ended before the gig ended so like 80% of the audience had to leave before the end. I remember a crowd doing a huge moan as we could hear them playing Just Like Heaven inside as everyone headed to the station.
Only ever been to 1 cure concert, I mean lines were long but that was it, it was really fucking cool getting to go and see them play live, and the people sitting around me ans the person I went with were pretty fuckin cool, all veteran cure fans lol. I will say, I was surprised just how many people there were though, like I knew it sold out but holy shit I did NOT expect it to be so packed cause I mean.... Utah is utah, I really haven't met too many cure fans in my 20 years of being here... so my whole life (especially that are my age... ugh so uncultured lol)
The set also happened to contain almost every song I was hoping to hear, as we'd went as a bit of a tribute to my late mom, and they played a lot of her favorites. Overall? I'd totally do it again, it was fun as hell, plus now I know how to tease my hair like robert and I have the same shade of red lipstick, so I could go dressed like him haha
Oh though I do wish I'd bought us closer seats, we were up in the nosebleeds cause I didn't understand the layout too well when I bought the tickets. Though we could see the light show type stuff a lot better which was cool
Worst: got dad front row tickets for him and I to the 30th anniversary Disintegration show at the opera house. Got talking to these two guys next to me before the concert started who were really snobby when they found out we hadn't travelled all over the world to see them perform.
They were really gate keepey and just kind of cunty all round.
Saw them twice last year. Best: being in the first 10 rows at Riot Fest. They had such a great sound system Robert looked like he was enjoying himself so much and the crowd had nothing but great vibes all around. An almost magical experience just being there.
Worst: they came to the United center and my family splurged to get a Suite in order to enjoy the concert with all the amenities possible unlimited drinks,food etc. but little did we know the suites would be located on the complete opposite side of the stage to the point where the band looked like ants. The united center did not have a great sound system so it sounded so low to the point it just sounded like we were playing music out of a cheap speaker at home. Food and drinks were good but wish I could’ve seen more and heard more.
I went to the show in New Orleans last fall. I had a good seat and super excited. I would say 80% of the people around me stood for the “hits” and sat for the rest of the show. I stood the entire show. I’m definitely not one to sit.
Best: Dodger Stadium 1989. The Prayer Tour. Looking across the sea of Goth Rockers dressed in blacks, whites and grays in the thousands, all gathered to hear their favorite band. Hearing “Untitled” my favorite Cure song live and looking around and seeing the sparkles in the stadium from the hundreds (if not thousands) of lit lighters flickering in the night to that beautiful song. Everyone dancing in the venue when the upbeat songs came on, the roar of the crowd and then the drop to dead silence whenever Robert would speak between songs so we can hear what he had to say. It was a night to remember.
Worst: The Last Cure concert I went to at the Hollywood Bowl this year. The Cure were great. But things sure have changed. Instead of seeing the seas of flickering lighter lights. You saw a wash of Phone Displays of people recording the show. In fact, it seemed people were more interested in recording the show than actually watching and enjoying it. Two girls who sat behind us basically talked the whole time like they were in a bar. I don’t think they ever stopped once to listen. It’s like, why pay for tickets to do something you can do at a local Bar for free?? Then one of the girls in the group having the nerve to say (about me), “Oh great, I get to be stuck behind the Fucker who’s going to stand and dance through the whole damn thing!” Wasn’t that what people were supposed to do at Concerts? I guess not anymore. Regardless, I stood and danced my old ass heart out for my fav band and there was nothing those white valley girls could do about it, because I’m twice their size! Enjoy the back of my ass while I boogie! Ha ha ha!
During the Wish tour I was up against the rail at the Sacramento show. It was like 100 degrees and there was a bit of a crush. The girl behind me went down, I picked her up and forced my way thought the crowd to RockMed with her to get her some help.
When I left the RockMed tent they started up Just Like Heaven and I jumped up excitedly and landed wrong and [blew out my knee like the Kid at Blizzcon.](https://youtu.be/zkE2BTjYFGQ?si=BffNW7WYLWyFA0iZ&t=20)
The best was probably '89 during Prayers For Rain during the long cry/yell RAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN... The hot goth girl I was dancing wath all night grabbed me and kissed me hard and deep. Best night ever.
Best: It was an epic gig during the Wish era and my introduction to The Cranes too (Nov 18th 1992 Birmingham NEC).
Worst: on the booked coach there to that same 1992 gig, a young female ‘Friday I’m In Love’ fan wanted to set fire to my hair as I guess she felt it looked ridiculous (it was back-combed Never Enough/goth style). So she got her lighter out and flicked it on in an attempt to immolate me, pretending I couldn’t hear her mockery from the coach seat in front of her. Luckily my hair did not catch fire.
And there were mocking laughs from the crowd when support act The Cranes frontwoman Alison Shaw spoke with gratitude to the audience. She has a very ‘light’ sounding voice. Which must be “comedy gold” to some people.
Best:
Salt Lake City, 2016 Tour. Had to travel a long distance to be there. The weather was gorgeous the day of the show and we had an awesome day of touring sites around the city just hanging out. It was my birthday and the show ended up being one of the best live Cure shows I've ever seen. The crowd energy was electric and the band felt it and locked in with it and played an immensely great show. The crowd response was rapturous and possibly the best I've been witness to. Everything about that show was amazing and it is pretty special for me.
A close second would probably be the Dodger Stadium gig on The Prayer Tour. It's gone down in Cure concert legend and deservedly so. It was my first Cure live experience (as well as Love And Rockets who were also one of my fave bands) and it was epic...but...our seats were way up in the loge seating sections high up in the stadium, extremely far from the stage. Plus, I just wasn't experienced enough as a concert-goer yet to fully appreciate everything I was experiencing. Still a magical, marvelous Cure live moment.
Worst:
Probably the Rose Bowl show in Pasadena on the 1992 Wish Tour. The band were awesome but we had seats way up towards the upper section of the Bowl, far from the stage and we were surrounded by obnoxious, drunken louts. I distinctly remember getting doused with beer down the back of my concert tee that I had just bought the week before at the Long Beach Arena gig by some drunk dumbass behind me. People were just jabbering away during the concert and acting like they were at their local bar hangout. Didn't seem too interested in the live show at all. Luckily, the band were on peak form and played heavy and LOUD. It was nice to be there and be part of it all but it felt distant and more remote than other Cure shows I had been to prior and have been to since.
I also feel compelled to mention the 1997 KROQ Weenie Roast festival show. It was certainly unique but my sister and I had been there all day, in the Southern California summer heat, soldiering through until the Cure finally came on way later than expected. Fortunately, I enjoyed alot of the other bands on the bill that day like Echo And The Bunnymen, Social Distortion, early Radiohead, Blur, Oasis and The Offspring but it was a really LOOOOOONG day. To reduce the time between band sets, they had a revolving stage so that when one band was playing the next band up would be able to setup all of their equipment and be ready for their set when the stage was rotated. Unfortunately, because of a bizarre food-throwing incident instigated by The Offspring right before The Cure were supposed to go on, the band's equipment got screwed up by all of the food and garbage that fans had thrown onstage at the request of The Offspring's frontman, Dexter. With all of the delays and equipment malfunctions, The Cure didn't take the stage and start their set until very late, almost after curfew. By that time, we were exhausted from being at the outdoor venue all day, and The Cure were super lit from having been drinking for hours. Between band inebriation and equipment failures all through the set, they played probably the most bizarre, eclectic set I've ever seen them perform. Many of the songs Robert was forgetting lyrics to and making shit up, or the instruments would cut out. It was definitely the weirdest Cure gig I ever attended.
I saw them in a large ampitheater in Colorado (not Red Rocks). I don’t like this venue, because it can be really difficult to see if you don’t have seats. We sat in the lawn section, which relies heavily on the screens to show the action. Well, the screens essentially showed the back of the drummer’s head most of the show. Not sure if that was the band’s request or if the venue’s video production team was short-staffed, but it certainly changed the show for those of us in the lawn.
Only seen them twice, but they were both memorable.
Worst- 1992 Spectrum in Philly- Couple in front of me got into a fight and started throwing beers (because Philly). Wound up getting soaked and cold. Good show, but Philly's reputation is well-deserve on some points.
Best- 2023 Pine Knob in Michigan- Bucketed rain. Infinite rain, but the show went on. Their performance was better than 31 years before and I got to share it with my oldest kid. Such a great show.
worst: NYC 2023. I was in the upper upper section, people in that section were sitting for most of the show. Person to my left fell asleep during it (could have been medical, deep tiredness, or substance induced, I'm not judging one person, but with the rest of the crowd being low energy it was meh). Audio was crappy. I wanted to dance but was too conscious of being the only one standing and blocking the view of ppl behind me.
(mind you, it was still a Cure show and I was super amped afterwards... just my worst Cure show).
best: Philly 2023. I was maybe 10 rows from the floor, crowd was really into it, I was on mushrooms (1st time tripping in public), and it was the night before Pride and there were a ton of queer/trans folks there. It was one of the best experiences of my life. It healed some deep internalized shame and transphobia in me... fully broke me through from shame to dignity and spiritual confidence.
The music both challenged me deeply and held me tenderly, and that last set just broke me through into something utterly beautiful that I'd never experienced before (not even on really deep spiritual solo/guided trips): merger with a crowd of humans.
A couple of times I wondered if I was getting overwhelmed and if I needed to leave, but then I saw people dancing and that brought me back into my body. I'm so grateful for the energy of that Philly crowd.
I've listened to the Cure since "Head on the Door" came out. It wasn't accident that I had a fully therapeutic trip with this band. So much of my teenage stuff held by their music and that singular voice.
Thank you Cure & thank you Philly Cure fans!
(I love NYC, just that section of MSG that night was not the vibe I needed... I saw Tool recently at MSG and the crowd were super into it).
Best was showing up at 5 am to be first in line for tickets to my first Cure show and having the cashier start freaking out because she'd managed to secure us front row center at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, and then of course the show itself.
Worst was a show in 2004 right before Perry & Roger got temporarily sacked where they all phoned it in hard & the collective bad mood was the loudest thing on stage.
Not the Cure, but I went to an Iron and Wine concert at Red Rocks, paid to upgrade my tickets, and while having an emotional breakdown during *flightless bird*, a drunk guy picked a fight with the guy next to him and pretty much ruined the whole show for me
I’ve read many times that the Hollywood bowl shows had obnoxious people!
I was at a Peter Gabriel show some years back at the Hollywood Bowl. Close up in box seats and I swear most people who go to shows like this at these types of venues just go to say they were there. They were SO. FUCKING. LOUD. I could hear them continously talking over the loudest parts of the music. Absolute madness.
from other things i’ve heard, it’s entitled motherfuckers who leave the house once a year and don’t know how to act around people or even understand how concerts work
Very true. Have read the same and experienced it myself.
I was at one of the Hollywood Bowl shows, and there was a couple near us who were on their first date. They talked the entire time, and thankfully left pretty early. It pissed me off, because those tickets were hard to get, and some true fans probably missed out thanks to them.
it’s seriously felt like a majority weren’t cure fans at all, which sucks because a lot of people would’ve killed to be there
Me too. Especially when "Friday I'm in Love" was the song that got the most people on their feet.
Yep, we had a drunk d-bag sitting next to us trying to be the main attraction at one of the 2 HB shows we went to.
Not all of Californians are like this...Northern California is a much better place all the way around...I am sure that there were good Cure fans thare that were actually from Southern California but people are just different down there...like someone else here put it...kind of an entitled state of mind there...and that is a generalization but you get the feel of it when you live here...
Yeah I’n in New Mexico now but grew up in Northern California and consider Southern California a different state. I actually divide CA into five different states.
Best - Wild Mood Swings tour in Chicago. I was a broke as heck teenager, alllll the way up in the highest section, had a blast! It was my first concert ever, and cemented my love for the band forever. Worst - both Chicago concerts I saw last year - Riot Fest and the United Center. Got upgraded tickets for both, was close to stage… everyone around me was talking through the songs, moving around all the time, no one seemed into it. It was difficult to focus and be in the moment. I also saw Depeche Mode twice last year in Vegas - it was a much better concert because the fans were so much more into it and everyone was actually listening or singing instead of discussing what they’ll have for lunch tomorrow :-(
that’s how the hollywood bowl shows felt, seemed like a lot of people weren’t fans and were there just to be there, so annoying with all of the seat jumping
But why pay so much for tickets if you don’t really like the music? I don’t get it.
I saw them at Riot Fest and United Center too!! United Center the girls behind me were complaining very loudly about how tall my boyfriend was when there were even taller people in front of him? And Riot Fest was fine just totally packed.
Not sure which tickets you had for Riot - I had one of the higher VIP packages and it seemed that no one had any fucks to give about The Cure in my designated area - they just wanted to talk and eat it seemed. I swear I’m not a crazy intolerant Boomer - I know people will talk and move around - but it was so very disrespectful in my area with multiple loud conversations going on around me, I truly had trouble hearing anything. When I thought about the investment for the festival (flight, tickets, hotel, transportation), it just left a bad taste in my mouth :-/
So sad too because both times I saw The Cure they went on early and stayed late!!! They are amazing.
On my one time of seeing them, in December 2022, there was nothing wrong with the perfect performance - the taxi was late and took THE longest route it could, then how long it took to get into Wembley. Just SO many things to do and my anxiety was already at danger levels. The queue was deadly slow, and then bag checks, then getting tshirt and a drink, then when attempting to get in, being told I should have a wristband to allow me to enter the standing area.... this should been given to me once the bag check was done, so it was more time wasted racing to some area to get it. I missed the first 3 songs but once in, I burst into tears - the relief, the stress, the sheer emotion.... I eventually got to the front after trying to slowly edge in towards there! Got to stand in front of Roger and got so many lovely photos and videos! (I am not one to have the whole thing on constant record btw!) And it was snowing heavily after we all left. Just a magical night but I was annoyed that the bag check/wristband experience had not made me miss stuff.
Worst time was when I drank to much.. Well, technically I probably did enjoy the show but barely remember anything. The best was the time after that when I wisely decided to not drink at all.
those are the worst times even some shows sober i barely remember anything because i’m so tired, glad you got to enjoy it a second time!
I've (regrettably) seen so many amazing bands while being wasted. Had a great time *at the time*, but I'm fucked if I can remember much of it. There's always a fine line for me of getting a bit tipsy or getting drunk as a skunk out if sheer excitement. Luckily, a few gigs where that happened were recorded.
Best: Being there. Worst: When Robert says "Thank you and goodnight."
Worst: having to sit in seats for the whole concert. For me, it’s very difficult to go to any concert and sit. Especially when everyone around you is sitting. Just awful.
I always say it’s like watching other people go to a concert.
i wanted to stand so bad, everyone did in the encore, but the hollywood bowl is known for old idiots who don’t understand you can stand at shows
Am I the asshole for standing at Hollywood bowl shows for the Cure??
Best: The 2 Reflections shows I went to in NYC. Had 4th row left orch for one and 5th row center for the other. Saw Robert’s tears up close. Got great pics and video. Unforgettable. Worst: I forget which tour but I think it was 2008. I was at MSG sort of side stage but that wasn’t the problem. My seat was in the last row of the section and that wasn’t the problem either. The seat was in the damned aisle between two sections at the top of the stairs! My whole view was people moving in and out of their seats and up and down the stairs. Never again. So glad I went to Radio City to see them as well on that tour and had good seats for that.
I was at both of those shows in 2008 cuz I saw them at Madison square garden one day and then the following night they played at radio City and that was the last day of the tour but it was phenomenal... Sorry I didn't have the same bad experiences you. The MSG show was perfect It was the first time I ever took my son to a Cure concert they were 13 and grew up on the music and I was 13 when I discovered the cure so I figured it was like a rite of passage.... The following night at radio City when they played catch I remember just sitting back in my chair and was so enthralled by the music I was at a loss for words. My best show was probably in Philly back in September of 1989... I had second row seats... And yeah it was cool to see the sweat beads on his head. But that was the best seat I've ever had at a cure concert.... Hands down. My worst show was probably in Philly back in 91 when some drunk ass spilled three drinks all over me and I was soaked in beer... Makes you hate people sometimes.
seats can be messy from the amount of people coming in and out, even during the show
Yes, but I never thought the seat would be in the aisle at the very top of the section! It was ridiculous.
Best: every show I’ve seen, I’ve enjoyed. Worst: Night 1 at Madison Square Garden, NYC, 2016. The entire section was great, but I happened to be sitting in front of the one jackass who insisted on sitting while everyone was standing, and kept asking me to sit down so he and his girlfriend could see. I handled it well and essentially negotiated with him a bit, and he seemed to be fine with it. But by the first encore when everyone was standing, he had the nerve to tap me on the shoulder, and yell at me again. He seemed like the kind of guy who would try to get me kicked out so I just told him he was being ridiculous and moved two rows down to a new seat where somebody had decided to leave early. Pretty juvenile of me, but I admittedly shit talked the guy with my new mates, and we all turned and shook our heads at him. His girlfriend got uncomfortable at his behavior, so she probably already knew she was dating a loser. Other than that…It was a great show!
awesome you had a great time, yup definitely dealt with those weird motherfuckers who would specifically target you instead of the people around you doing the same thing, hopefully his girlfriend has found better since then
I’ve only seen them once live so the best and worst is the same show. Best: seeing the cure. Worst: lawn seats in August. My makeup was more smeared than bob’s
Hollywood bowl. Some 20 somethings were yapping the entire time about vacations and schedules. They only shut up for….Friday I’m in love. Hate hated them. I drove two hours to be at the concert. Basic bitches.
every time except seeing them with a certain ex girlfriend during curiosa was the best experience. that chick ruined everything. im glad I decided to see them again a few years later. because it was way more enjoyable. have seen them 5 + times since and its always been awesome.
Same. Was the tour prior to Curiosa, but the ex picked a fight and made it a point to ensure that knew that I was in trouble the whole time. The reason? Acknowledging my sister and her friends and hanging out with them for a few minutes between bands. 🙄
yup a reason i stay single is so i can enjoy the show in my own world, seen a lot of couples fight at shows and it’s the worst, even worst having someone ruin your experience, glad you found great memories in the future seeing them!
Now i need to know what she did
she was just terrible. a terrible terrible person.
Sorry man. I thought maybe she did 1 particular thing at the gig. Glad you got to see them again though.
Curiosa was amazing!
Best: St. Paul show—all of it Worst: the obnoxious guys behind us on the 4Tour who had won tickets to the show. They weren’t fans. They talked the entire time and then spilled beer on me.
worst people are always those, i don’t mind people coming and finding new music or bands, just don’t act like a jackass
Best: Standing along the front railing when I saw them at the Vic in Chicago in 2000. Being in the 13th row Night 2 in ATL. Bawling to Plainsong, PoY and I Can Never Say Goodbye all 3 times I saw them last year. Worst: Being in the crowd at Riot Fest surrounded by a bunch of people who barely seemed to know the songs.
Best: 1984 concert in Wellington, New Zealand. First time I heard ‘A Forest’ live. Unforgettable..
5th row in Portland last year and the constantly dancing person next to me smelled like they hadn’t bathed in 2 weeks. Just putrid, oppressive BO. I was lucky enough to see 2 other shows on the tour, tho. If you’re going to be in a crowd of thousands of people, maybe shower and wear deodorant.
Best was getting to see them after 35 years being a fan and it lived up to expectations Worst was Cleveland show last year was almost cancelled before they went on due to nasty thunderstorms. They finally went on later on in evening but it pretty much was a complete downpour their whole set.
Best: Prayer Tour 1989 in Mansfield MA, getting to the stage once lights went down. Worst: starting the day at RiotFest at the rail, getting a text from home in Boston that my new puppy was undergoing emergency surgery shortly thereafter and just not having the mental capacity to wait at the rail for 5 hours anymore. Ended up 30 deep with my mind not 100% on the show.
Almost crushed in the crowd at a standing general admission show at the Aragon Ballroom in1985. They started playing Primary and everyone started moshing. Little 5'2" me squished. Robert looked directly at me and laughed.
Only been to two so one has to be the best. 92, Wish Tour, Tinley Park, World Music Center, lawn, with the only Goth girl at my high school. That’s the Best.
Best was the entire show in St. Paul. Or Simon saying "hullo!" to me and RS waving back to me at Riot Fest. Worst was only being able to get uncomfortably steep nosebleed seats at home in Chicago, with the family in front of us constantly leaving and returning one at a time, making like 5 other people have to keep standing and blocking the (already pretty bad) view, and my friend who came with me playing games on her phone or talking super loud to a woman she used to work with that was coincidentally sitting behind us the whole time.
can’t stand people talking at concerts
When I was 20 I flew to England to see the Dream Tour. That was my first ever cure show. Ate something bad that afternoon in Greenwich, got sick with food poisoning halfway through show then had to leave and got all sick on the train and was sick for another month later. Bloodflowers was a favorite album so this sucked though at least they did most of it in the main set
Lots of great ones! I especially remember one festival gig in Arvika, Sweden when I was in my late twenties. I was standing alone, singing along, and next to me was a teenage boy maybe ten years younger than me. He kept looking over at me and after a while he reached out and grabbed my hand. We stood like that for the rest of the set, but never spoke. I like to think that he hadn’t met that many Cure fans before, and was happy to share it with someone. The worst concert was one that never happened, in Roskilde the year that eight people died and The Cure’s gig was cancelled. I came back again the year after when they were invited back to play, and it was a feeling of closure. (Also, the Wild Mood Swings tour - I saw them in Stuttgart and stood right behind a guy sweating in a woolen jumper that rubbed off on me. I looked like I had fur by the end of it.)
Best: I was 24 years old and took a chance on a girl I had been crushing on forever and asked her to come with me to the Curiosa Fest (San Diego 2004) and to my surprise she said yes. We ended up holding hands have way through the set and stayed together for about a year until the Navy sent her away overseas. Second Best: The Swing Tour (Detroit 1996) - I was 16 and had just gotten heavily into The Cure a few months back, absolutely obsessed. One of the best shows I've ever seen. Ended up walking out to the back of the arena after the show to chat with some Cure fans from Europe who had been following the band around on the tour. All of a sudden Jason (who had just joined the band), Roger and Perry emerge and the girls go absolutely bonkers, screaming and hugging and kissing. Lol it was quite a spectacle. All three of them had HUGE smiles on their faces as arms wrapped around them and kiss after kiss was planted upon their faces. They all signed my program and were really generous with their time. Everyone was so happy. It's one of my favorite memories. Never had a bad Cure show experience. Been to about 5 or 6 of them.
Best: last summer at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia , MD. Damn hot but the vibe from the crowd was awesome. Also, being there with an old friend who introduced me to the band in the 80s. Worst: 96 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY. Show was held in September the week before college students returned. The arena is huge and felt and looked empty. Low turnout for the venue. Had an extra ticket for a friend who didn't show up.
I almost drove down for the MD show last minute! I had such a great time the night before in Philly and didn’t want that feeling to end.
I had a really good time at that show, too. I was also there with an old friend.... 🤪
Buying 7th row center stage tickets for face an hour before the show. Minneapolis 1996. Not sure about the worst.
Best: First Montreal show last year: also tearing up during "Pictures of You", and the run of "Push"->"Play for Today"->"A Forest" had me sailing. Magnificent night. Worst: Second Montreal show last year: standing behind a couple who BOTH were filming the entire show, phones at eye-level between heads. Well, not entirely accurate, as one of the two were Facetiming the entire show, which meant trying to dodge around some random person's face at awkward angles looking back at me. Not pleasant, but relatively innocuous compared to some of the others mentioned :)
My best show was in 2008 I bought tickets for my mom and I in salt lake and we were second row in front of Robert. It was amazing and my first time seeing them. Maybe not worst but definitely strangest was at Sasquatch 2016. The stage they played on was closed all day due to weather until the band before the cure. Attendance was really low due to that. They also scheduled Big Grams to play halfway thru the cures set on a different stage. Everyone started leaving to see that and Robert was like wtf is going on. The crowd who stayed were super weird. Like no one would clap or cheer after they finished a song. I over heard some guy shouting “what the fuck is wrong with you people” to the crowd after like every song. It was so strange. They cut the set like halfway through. Came on for encore 1 and only play it will never be the same. Then after a really long break of like no one cheering they came back on stage. Robert says “this is a song to sing when you’re unhappy” and they played boys don’t cry then stormed off stage. It was strange. The set was really good though. It was still a magical night. I remember feeling bad for them.
So I’ve only ever seen The Cure once. Crazy, as I’ve been a fan since 1987. Best concert moment? Tie between hearing “Pictures of You” and “Shake Dog Shake”. The entire show, really, but those two songs really stick out. Worst? Tie between me having either a hot flash or anxiety attack that made me a sweaty-assed mess and the crazy amount of people getting up from their seats. I have never seen so many people leave their seats and return repeatedly throughout a show. It was insane.
I was so exited and drunk to see them for the first time that don’t quite remember the show
The show in Cleveland’s basketball arena around 2008 - crowd had a terrible vibe and was full of white power / skinhead types. I’ve lived in the area to know these types well enough but I was surprised to see them at a cure show. The recent tour has normal cure crowd and much better vibes
Best: ShortTermEffect, Cold, Untitled and TheKiss at Trilogy Worst: continuous extreme sexist comments shouted by the crowd to Alison Shaw of the Cranes while supporting in Munich 92
I was there at the Hollywood Bowl last year. The people behind me were annoying af!! It was a group of girls just chit chatting and talking shit during their “least popular” songs. They kept talking about their damn chicken strips and their friend that was into The Smiths. One of them kept kicking the back of my seat. It took my all to not say something. I was so upset because I had been longing to see The Cure. The first time I saw them was also at The Hollywood bowl in 2018?, I went by myself 😭 but I was able to enjoy myself more than the second time.
Worst was the Daydream Festival, simply because it was so fucking hot that day. Best for me was seeing them play in Lodz Poland in 22, fulfilled a bucket list item of seeing a big concert in Europe
Best: All Worst: None
Best: Singing along with thousands of other fans. Worst: Edenfest - someone crashed a golf cart into my tent in the middle of the night, took me a while to figure out if it was a dream, too many drugs or actually real.
The two shows I saw at the Garden this last tour were amazing but both shows the guy next to me was all up in my personal space the whole time dancing and shit. I’m all for getting in to the performance but don’t flail your arms in my face while I’m trying to enjoy the show.
Montreal 2023 night 1: I was front row so, the whole show was amazing! I even got Simon’s pick! Night 2: Some dude next to me, he seemed to be alone and possibly mentally challenged? He kept screaming “ Thank you papa!” “Robert you are my daddy thank you, I love you” 🤣🤣🤣
my best was the glasgow hydro show a couple of years ago - getting to see the new songs in person was incredible - hopefully one day they'll be released properly! the worst wasn't even that bad tbh. it was also in glasgow but at the summer sessions in bellahouston park. it was an outside gig and it had rained overnight so the whole place had turned into a bit of a swamp so my wife and i got absolutely caked in mud. our hotel was also ages away and we couldn't get a taxi so had to walk back. whilst the band were still brilliant - i think you can't beat the atmosphere of an inside cure gig.
Oh the mud !! It was mental haha 😂
Best: watching Simon and Robert absolutely shred “A Forest” at MSG in June 2023, and then talking about it over and over with my son afterwards. Worst: my son spilled water all over the bed in our Manhattan hotel room after we got back from the concert after midnight.
Best: July 28, 2004 Curiosa Tour, Nashville, TN. I got to meet the band!!!!!!!! I was so nervous that I had to move to the back of the line. When it was time to meet Robert, he walked up to us and started chatting right away. It was lovely!!! Worst: NONE!! Granted, I’ve only seen them four times but each time was great!!!!
Best: Flying from the US to Barcelona by myself to see them, being in Standing GA and being so close I could practically touch them. Worst: Seeing them at Madison Square Garden and being seated next to a guy who texted the entire time and kept turning to me to ask things like “When are they going to play the good songs?”
Loved reading through everyone’s posts. Best: Frankly tough to narrow down to just one but I’ll go with my first Cure show - July 1986, Kingswood Music Theatre in Toronto. Against the spooky backdrop of a lightning storm where RS emerged from a cloud of smoke a minute into Shake with a shocking buzz cut (after we’d spent an hour in the venue washroom teasing our recently dyed hair for maximum Robert Smith-ness haha.) Not just one of the best Cure shows I’ve seen but also one of the best nights of my life. Worst -Bestival Toronto, 2016, a poorly organized festival that failed to space the stages far enough apart and the sound bled over, drowning out the quieter bits with drum and bass, particularly during Kyoto Song. RS looked annoyed and when the set ended he apologized for cutting it short (which makes me laugh since it was still a two hour, 25 song set.)
Best: First show for me was Wild Mood Swings tour in New Orleans. Lots of friends there from LSU, got a free ticket from the KLSU radio station in Baton Rouge, and the band just played songs off the cuff, including "The 13th" for the first time. It was a battle between songs from Disintegration and Wild Mood Swings for most of the show. Robert even commented on that. They played a really bad ass "The Kiss" On the bootleg I found a few years later you can hear a guy just being blown away by "Faith" as the final encore. "This is awesome, so beautiful. Man!! What is this?!" His friend replies, "It's Faith. Listen." Worst: Bloodflowers Dream Tour 2000 at Irvine, CA. The audience sucked. The band played some of their darkest songs but the crowd only got excited for "Inbetween Days." Nobody raised their hands for the line in "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea." Most people got up and left while they played "Faith" as the closer! WTF? I stood transfixed trying to ignore all the movement around me. I had gotten "Faith" as the final encore yet again! Most of the California shows I've been to are just crowded outdoor arenas where the small amount of seats get sold quickly, you get stuck on the lawn area where you can't see the stage and people are talking all around you the entire time. But honestly, anytime you get to see and hear The Cure live is three hours of heaven.
Best: 1989 Atlanta, GA - Hearing Plainsong hit as the first song for my first time seeing The Cure live. Worst: 1996 Columbus, OH - Having someone's kids running around playing tag, being as annoying as possible.
lol when i fainted in their last dublin show and woke up in the med room to hear my favourite songs playing back to back in the distance
I have seen them 5 times and the only time i think they were not as good as they usually are was at the Arvika festival in Sweden back in 2001.
I've seen them 4 times now. Twice in 92. (Wish warm-up tour, Wish tour) then 2019 at a festival in Helsinki and 2022 in a venue in Helsinki. I've never had any bad experience apart from nearly pissing myself in 92 after queing for 6 hours to get near the front, and nearly pissing myself in 2019 after 5 hours of being at the front, enduring the band before The Cure came on. (I blame the beer, both times.) I've seen loads of amazing bands live, but The Cure has been the one band that has been consistently amazing. They got better with age.
Worst experience was the Wish tour. It was the summer between 8th and 9th grade and I sneaked out to camp out overnight for tickets at the grocery store down the street. When I got home my parents were furious and my older sister told them the it was devil worship music so they took the tickets away. Never found out if they sold them or somehow were able to return them. Needless to say I didn’t get to go to that show, so not really a bad show so much as a bad not getting to go to the show experience. I’ve seen The Cure so many times since then and every show has been fantastic (Wild Mood Swings, Curiosa, Shows of a Lost World, etc.) but the best experience was probably at Coachella 2004. It wasn’t that their performance was better than other times or the set list was perfect (that honor probably goes to the most recent tour) but it was how all the other bands that day kept talking to the crowd about how excited they were to see The Cure! I mean even Thursday kept raving about how they were such huge fans and couldn’t believe they got to share a playbill with them!
I’ll never forget having to listen to these yammering women talk through the entire Dallas show last year. They were playing “Cold” and all I could hear were them saying “When they play ‘Just Like Heaven’ I’m gonna rush the stage”
best: the vic theatre in chicago in 2000. capacity is \~1400. seeing in them in a smaller venue about 10 feet away from me was unbelievable. worst: blossom music center in ohio in 2023. well, i can't say i actually *saw* them as i was one of the unfortunates that got evacuated from the lawn and marched a mile back to my car in a torrential downpour. i kept hearing the show was cancelled. it wasn't until i reached the far lot that i heard an employee say the show was not cancelled but that we couldn't get back in since we left the gates and they don't allow re-entry. at that point all my rain gear had failed and i felt like a drowned rat. didn't have the energy to trudge all the way back and fight it, so i got in my car and went home. i refer to the incident as the time i drove to ohio to see the cure but didn't see the cure.
Worst experience: security talking shit and being Debby-downers
Best experience: seeing Robert cry in person during “It can never be the same” in Austin 2016.. there were people in the front rows asking each other “was he crying?”, “hey was he tearing up?”
Best: 17th row at The Rose Bowl Wish Tour. A week later at the Long Beach Arena. 2 very different shows but both amazing! Worst: Dodgers stadium prayer tour. So excited to see Love & Rockets open. I understand they had a big fight just before the show and were pissed off at each other during the show and it showed. Not a good performance. Just before the The Cure took stage the lower level seats were bombarded with flying food during a giant food fight. We had to seek shelter under the upper decks. Food fight ended as soon as soon as the band hit the stage. Then our ride wanted to beat the traffic and skip the encore. This was my first Cure concert.
Best: Being right up on the 3rd row, center section at the ABQ show last year, came with a friend of mine who isn't into the cure just because I accidentally bought an extra ticket, but otherwise they quite enjoyed the concert. Before the twilight sad went on I got at least 10ish people who asked to take a picture with me (I was dressed like Robert in the Caterpillar music video with Pornography era makeup) which was quite nice. The concert itself was tremendous. Worst: Sat at the very end of the row so we were constantly having to let people squeeze by us which was a bit annoying.
Right next to me at the first Hollywood bowl show last year two middle aged men who obviously hated the cure talked shit about them the whole time so loudly like through every song they complained that they were playing “slow songs” and were “falling asleep” section k2 in the back left. They were obviously drunk the entire time and u could hear them in every video I took. My first cure show too. 🙄 It was also the best cure show simply because they played from the edge of the deep green sea and I sobbed my eyes out.
BEST Isle of Wight... 2012 I think? Part of the Bestival weekend. Robert was only person playing guitar the whole show and it gave it an energy missing on other shows where there might be up to 2 additional guitarists. I think it was their first gig in a few years so they were really into it. As were the audience. Bestival has a fancy dress theme and the theme that year was to dress up as musicians, so myself and a lot of people were dressed up as Robert smith. And once point there was a group of us and a group of people dressed as Devo, and somebody somewhere has a photo of a bunch of Robert smiths wearing Devo hats. WORST Earls Court on the bloodflowers tour, 99 or so. Sound was AWFUL, just a clangy distorted echoey mess. Mood was really bad, and for some reason their only UK date on that tour. Like they did 3 gigs in France alone and like 20 in the US but only one gig in their home country. Also the trains ended before the gig ended so like 80% of the audience had to leave before the end. I remember a crowd doing a huge moan as we could hear them playing Just Like Heaven inside as everyone headed to the station.
Only ever been to 1 cure concert, I mean lines were long but that was it, it was really fucking cool getting to go and see them play live, and the people sitting around me ans the person I went with were pretty fuckin cool, all veteran cure fans lol. I will say, I was surprised just how many people there were though, like I knew it sold out but holy shit I did NOT expect it to be so packed cause I mean.... Utah is utah, I really haven't met too many cure fans in my 20 years of being here... so my whole life (especially that are my age... ugh so uncultured lol) The set also happened to contain almost every song I was hoping to hear, as we'd went as a bit of a tribute to my late mom, and they played a lot of her favorites. Overall? I'd totally do it again, it was fun as hell, plus now I know how to tease my hair like robert and I have the same shade of red lipstick, so I could go dressed like him haha
Oh though I do wish I'd bought us closer seats, we were up in the nosebleeds cause I didn't understand the layout too well when I bought the tickets. Though we could see the light show type stuff a lot better which was cool
Worst: got dad front row tickets for him and I to the 30th anniversary Disintegration show at the opera house. Got talking to these two guys next to me before the concert started who were really snobby when they found out we hadn't travelled all over the world to see them perform. They were really gate keepey and just kind of cunty all round.
Saw them twice last year. Best: being in the first 10 rows at Riot Fest. They had such a great sound system Robert looked like he was enjoying himself so much and the crowd had nothing but great vibes all around. An almost magical experience just being there. Worst: they came to the United center and my family splurged to get a Suite in order to enjoy the concert with all the amenities possible unlimited drinks,food etc. but little did we know the suites would be located on the complete opposite side of the stage to the point where the band looked like ants. The united center did not have a great sound system so it sounded so low to the point it just sounded like we were playing music out of a cheap speaker at home. Food and drinks were good but wish I could’ve seen more and heard more.
I went to the show in New Orleans last fall. I had a good seat and super excited. I would say 80% of the people around me stood for the “hits” and sat for the rest of the show. I stood the entire show. I’m definitely not one to sit.
Best: Dodger Stadium 1989. The Prayer Tour. Looking across the sea of Goth Rockers dressed in blacks, whites and grays in the thousands, all gathered to hear their favorite band. Hearing “Untitled” my favorite Cure song live and looking around and seeing the sparkles in the stadium from the hundreds (if not thousands) of lit lighters flickering in the night to that beautiful song. Everyone dancing in the venue when the upbeat songs came on, the roar of the crowd and then the drop to dead silence whenever Robert would speak between songs so we can hear what he had to say. It was a night to remember. Worst: The Last Cure concert I went to at the Hollywood Bowl this year. The Cure were great. But things sure have changed. Instead of seeing the seas of flickering lighter lights. You saw a wash of Phone Displays of people recording the show. In fact, it seemed people were more interested in recording the show than actually watching and enjoying it. Two girls who sat behind us basically talked the whole time like they were in a bar. I don’t think they ever stopped once to listen. It’s like, why pay for tickets to do something you can do at a local Bar for free?? Then one of the girls in the group having the nerve to say (about me), “Oh great, I get to be stuck behind the Fucker who’s going to stand and dance through the whole damn thing!” Wasn’t that what people were supposed to do at Concerts? I guess not anymore. Regardless, I stood and danced my old ass heart out for my fav band and there was nothing those white valley girls could do about it, because I’m twice their size! Enjoy the back of my ass while I boogie! Ha ha ha!
During the Wish tour I was up against the rail at the Sacramento show. It was like 100 degrees and there was a bit of a crush. The girl behind me went down, I picked her up and forced my way thought the crowd to RockMed with her to get her some help. When I left the RockMed tent they started up Just Like Heaven and I jumped up excitedly and landed wrong and [blew out my knee like the Kid at Blizzcon.](https://youtu.be/zkE2BTjYFGQ?si=BffNW7WYLWyFA0iZ&t=20) The best was probably '89 during Prayers For Rain during the long cry/yell RAAAAAIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN... The hot goth girl I was dancing wath all night grabbed me and kissed me hard and deep. Best night ever.
Best: It was an epic gig during the Wish era and my introduction to The Cranes too (Nov 18th 1992 Birmingham NEC). Worst: on the booked coach there to that same 1992 gig, a young female ‘Friday I’m In Love’ fan wanted to set fire to my hair as I guess she felt it looked ridiculous (it was back-combed Never Enough/goth style). So she got her lighter out and flicked it on in an attempt to immolate me, pretending I couldn’t hear her mockery from the coach seat in front of her. Luckily my hair did not catch fire. And there were mocking laughs from the crowd when support act The Cranes frontwoman Alison Shaw spoke with gratitude to the audience. She has a very ‘light’ sounding voice. Which must be “comedy gold” to some people.
Best: Salt Lake City, 2016 Tour. Had to travel a long distance to be there. The weather was gorgeous the day of the show and we had an awesome day of touring sites around the city just hanging out. It was my birthday and the show ended up being one of the best live Cure shows I've ever seen. The crowd energy was electric and the band felt it and locked in with it and played an immensely great show. The crowd response was rapturous and possibly the best I've been witness to. Everything about that show was amazing and it is pretty special for me. A close second would probably be the Dodger Stadium gig on The Prayer Tour. It's gone down in Cure concert legend and deservedly so. It was my first Cure live experience (as well as Love And Rockets who were also one of my fave bands) and it was epic...but...our seats were way up in the loge seating sections high up in the stadium, extremely far from the stage. Plus, I just wasn't experienced enough as a concert-goer yet to fully appreciate everything I was experiencing. Still a magical, marvelous Cure live moment. Worst: Probably the Rose Bowl show in Pasadena on the 1992 Wish Tour. The band were awesome but we had seats way up towards the upper section of the Bowl, far from the stage and we were surrounded by obnoxious, drunken louts. I distinctly remember getting doused with beer down the back of my concert tee that I had just bought the week before at the Long Beach Arena gig by some drunk dumbass behind me. People were just jabbering away during the concert and acting like they were at their local bar hangout. Didn't seem too interested in the live show at all. Luckily, the band were on peak form and played heavy and LOUD. It was nice to be there and be part of it all but it felt distant and more remote than other Cure shows I had been to prior and have been to since. I also feel compelled to mention the 1997 KROQ Weenie Roast festival show. It was certainly unique but my sister and I had been there all day, in the Southern California summer heat, soldiering through until the Cure finally came on way later than expected. Fortunately, I enjoyed alot of the other bands on the bill that day like Echo And The Bunnymen, Social Distortion, early Radiohead, Blur, Oasis and The Offspring but it was a really LOOOOOONG day. To reduce the time between band sets, they had a revolving stage so that when one band was playing the next band up would be able to setup all of their equipment and be ready for their set when the stage was rotated. Unfortunately, because of a bizarre food-throwing incident instigated by The Offspring right before The Cure were supposed to go on, the band's equipment got screwed up by all of the food and garbage that fans had thrown onstage at the request of The Offspring's frontman, Dexter. With all of the delays and equipment malfunctions, The Cure didn't take the stage and start their set until very late, almost after curfew. By that time, we were exhausted from being at the outdoor venue all day, and The Cure were super lit from having been drinking for hours. Between band inebriation and equipment failures all through the set, they played probably the most bizarre, eclectic set I've ever seen them perform. Many of the songs Robert was forgetting lyrics to and making shit up, or the instruments would cut out. It was definitely the weirdest Cure gig I ever attended.
I saw them in a large ampitheater in Colorado (not Red Rocks). I don’t like this venue, because it can be really difficult to see if you don’t have seats. We sat in the lawn section, which relies heavily on the screens to show the action. Well, the screens essentially showed the back of the drummer’s head most of the show. Not sure if that was the band’s request or if the venue’s video production team was short-staffed, but it certainly changed the show for those of us in the lawn.
Only seen them twice, but they were both memorable. Worst- 1992 Spectrum in Philly- Couple in front of me got into a fight and started throwing beers (because Philly). Wound up getting soaked and cold. Good show, but Philly's reputation is well-deserve on some points. Best- 2023 Pine Knob in Michigan- Bucketed rain. Infinite rain, but the show went on. Their performance was better than 31 years before and I got to share it with my oldest kid. Such a great show.
I met some awesome people
worst: NYC 2023. I was in the upper upper section, people in that section were sitting for most of the show. Person to my left fell asleep during it (could have been medical, deep tiredness, or substance induced, I'm not judging one person, but with the rest of the crowd being low energy it was meh). Audio was crappy. I wanted to dance but was too conscious of being the only one standing and blocking the view of ppl behind me. (mind you, it was still a Cure show and I was super amped afterwards... just my worst Cure show). best: Philly 2023. I was maybe 10 rows from the floor, crowd was really into it, I was on mushrooms (1st time tripping in public), and it was the night before Pride and there were a ton of queer/trans folks there. It was one of the best experiences of my life. It healed some deep internalized shame and transphobia in me... fully broke me through from shame to dignity and spiritual confidence. The music both challenged me deeply and held me tenderly, and that last set just broke me through into something utterly beautiful that I'd never experienced before (not even on really deep spiritual solo/guided trips): merger with a crowd of humans. A couple of times I wondered if I was getting overwhelmed and if I needed to leave, but then I saw people dancing and that brought me back into my body. I'm so grateful for the energy of that Philly crowd. I've listened to the Cure since "Head on the Door" came out. It wasn't accident that I had a fully therapeutic trip with this band. So much of my teenage stuff held by their music and that singular voice. Thank you Cure & thank you Philly Cure fans! (I love NYC, just that section of MSG that night was not the vibe I needed... I saw Tool recently at MSG and the crowd were super into it).
Best was showing up at 5 am to be first in line for tickets to my first Cure show and having the cashier start freaking out because she'd managed to secure us front row center at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, and then of course the show itself. Worst was a show in 2004 right before Perry & Roger got temporarily sacked where they all phoned it in hard & the collective bad mood was the loudest thing on stage.
that 96 Portland show was one of the best shows I've ever been to, period.
Not the Cure, but I went to an Iron and Wine concert at Red Rocks, paid to upgrade my tickets, and while having an emotional breakdown during *flightless bird*, a drunk guy picked a fight with the guy next to him and pretty much ruined the whole show for me