It felt like an eternity but The Cure finally rolled into Vancouver and made their much-anticipated appearance at GM Place Monday night after postponing their original concert date of October 9, 2007 due to “tour restructuring”. Since the early 1980s, The Cure has carved out a uniquely dark but oddly upbeat sound that still resonates with millions of fans. Although The Cure scored big with a few mainstream hits over the years, much of the band’s success has evolved from the lesser-known songs that connect deeply with their loyal fans. The Cure successfully married punks with the alternative crowd and then threw in the Goth mob to create their own original fan base. Somehow, they’ve managed to elude a definitive classification.

Around 8:30pm, the sorrowful, angst-riddled Robert Smith and bandmates Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper took the stage for a nearly three hour, 11-song encore show that spanned the band’s three decade career. Despite waiting eight long months for The Cure to finally arrive, fans got their money’s worth and more. It was a crowd filled with corsets, red lipstick, striped leggings, work boots, black fingernail polish, and guys who once had long black bangs but now lack the follicles to pull off the H-do so many years later.

In the last few years music lovers have been enjoying a renaissance of ‘80s bands, catering mainly to the thirty-something crowds hell bent on grasping a piece of nostalgic youth as they refuse to slide toward middle age. The Cure, on the contrary, has never stopped making music over the past three decades since the release of their 1979 debut album, Three Imaginary Boys. Since then the band has endured a continuous revolving door of musicians, with the exception of mainstay front man Robert Smith. On stage for the Vancouver show, guitarist Porl Thompson (back for another trip through the revolving door) was a sight to behold as if he just emerged from Nosferatu’s Oz. Clad in shiny black vinyl with sparkling red elevator shoes, Thompson looked like a mash-up between the famous pale, bald vampire and Dorothy on an acid trip. Thompson was definitely in odd contrast to Smith, who looked more than cozy on stage in his now trademark slack black shirt, baggy black pants, and matching boots. True to image was Smith’s mess of backcombed hair and thick raccoon eyeliner that accentuated the whites of his eyes as he glanced devilishly at his disciples.

In an unexpected turn, the most significant change with the band was the noticeable absence of a keyboard, which has long been a staple to The Cure’s sound throughout the years. The sans keys made for interesting versions of “The Walk” and “Just Like Heaven,” but with so much material and lack of a new release to promote, it was hard to predict what type of show Vancouver fans would receive. One thing’s an absolute certainty after seeing thousands of fans dancing on their feet for nearly three hours: The Cure has a deeply committed cult following of true fans.

The Vancouver show proved to be an eclectic mix from the band’s massive catalogue led by Smith’s eerie signature somber wail. For anyone thinking Robert Smith might have lost his vocals over the years, you can hit play on your iPod and that’s exactly what he sounds like on stage at 49. After starting out with a moderately paced five song intro that included “Fascination Street”, “The Walk”, and “Love Song”, the show kicked into high-gear mid-set with hypnotic “Pictures of You,” almost as if someone literally turned up the volume. While the crowd became entranced by a colorfest of twinkling lights that sparkled like stardust, Smith and crew soon made a hard left turn to set an artsy disco vibe with the 1988 single “Hot Hot Hot” from the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album, which had almost everyone in the place on their feet and dancing like gothic bobbleheads. Those who weren’t on their feet were buried nose first in their cell phones, trying to get their own personal takeaway from the show.

The Cure Takes Vancouver by Storm Page 2