1 of 5 singer of The Cure showed current mood and a lot of energy — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 Singer of The Cure showed current mood and a lot of energy — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
At two and a half hours, The Cure’s show, which ended on Sunday (3) at Primavera Sound 2023, was not only the longest at the festival, but also the best.
Duration helps, but that’s not all. The gothic postpunk band uses the experience gained over 45 years of existence to keep the audience, most of whom came to see them, on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
The Cure delights with “In Between Days” at Primavera Sound
The performance marks the British group’s fourth visit to Brazil. After 1987 and 1996, the last time was in 2013 more than a decade ago.
At age 64, with signature disheveled hair and smeared lipstick, lead singer and sole founding member of The Cure Robert Smith leads audiences on a journey filled with sentimental highs and lows and a voice that remains one of the best in rock.
More introspective moments like the sequel to “Lovesong” and the new “And Nothing Is Forever” alternate with the cheerful and danceable beats of “Friday I’m in Love” and “Close to me”.
The Cure close Primavera Sound with apotheotic “Boys Don’t Cry”
There are also obvious spaces for singing with your eyes closed and your hand on your chest, like in “Just like heaven.” Even the three songs on their new, not yet released album “Songs of a Lost World” delight with the pure juice of Cure.
This is the case of the one responsible for opening the presentation “Alone”. In the first few chords you can see some curious looks from fans trying to recognize the song, confused by the familiarity.
At the end, despite timid applause, Smith says the first “thank you” in Portuguese. “It’s nice to be back,” he adds in English, wearing a black Tshirt with the Brazilian flag under the blouse, black too, of course.
2 of 5 The Cure during their performance at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 The Cure during their performance at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
“Pictures of You,” the first of the six tracks from the album “Disintegration” for some the group’s best album that makes up the lengthy setlist, follows shortly after, bringing everyone to a stop and singing along.
“High” captures the mood, but it’s the weight of “A night like this” that’s the group’s best showcase.
“Lovesong” brings out the biggest chorus of the show. “And Nothing Is Forever,” another new song, scatters the energy a bit although it’s beautiful.
3 out of 5 Bassist from The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 Bassist from The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
The hit “Burn” shows that the Cure are still technically at their peak despite the long time on tour and the lineup changes.
“In Between Days” opens with the fan guard warming up their vocal cords again in the chorus to lure the audience to the screen with “Just like heaven”.
Sung from start to finish, the album’s song “Kiss me kiss me kiss me” remains one of the show’s biggest hits.
With “At night” and “Play for today” the energy drops again, only to pick up again with “A Forest”, which already evokes emotional screams in the long and slow introduction.
During Smith’s rhythmic solo, the audience claps along with Simon Gallup’s bass. With The Cure, he is the oldest member of the band, excluding the singer, since 1979 with a break of three years.
4 of 5 The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
The seven minutes of “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea” are perfectly executed, but a little too long.
They don’t help introduce the evening’s breaking news. “Endsong” is the last piece before the first encore and, with its more than 10 minutes, challenges even the most passionate.
With extended musical moments, the song fits the Cure feel well, but loses a bit of audience. At this point, the less fanatical festival tourists begin to leave to avoid the rush.
You can hardly imagine that there are still 12 songs left almost an hour of show.
The Cure performs “Friday I’m in Love” and rocks the Primavera Sound crowd
In both encores, The Cure follows the “One for me, one for you” strategy. The first of these is clearly five songs that are close to the group’s heart.
Played calmly and unhurriedly, Smith makes noise without paying attention to timid clapping.
It’s the same with “It Can Never Be the Same”, “Will” and “Charlotte Sometimes”. “Plainsong” sounds like something from a studio session.
While some titles gain new personalities throughout the presentation, this one seems to be straight out of Disintegration it doesn’t change which team wins.
As he returns for the second encore, Smith ventures a few more words to the audience. Like a good introvert, he mumbles the words internally, away from the microphone. It’s all ok. Save the diction for the songs.
“Lullaby” opens the final part with a huge net illustrating the screen on stage. Not everyone knows it so well, but the verses about SpiderMan’s hunger are found in the memory.
5 of 5 The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 The Cure at Primavera Sound 2023 — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
“Friday I’m in love” gets the audience dancing and opens a sequence that brings regret to those who left early.
In “Close to Me,” Smith allows himself to hold the microphone and walk across the stage closer to the fans.
The party energy that even the most distracted person couldn’t imagine ending remains high with “Why Can’t I Be You?”
To send everyone home with a smile on their face, the group’s biggest hit was released: “Boys Don’t Cry”.
Come back soon, The Cure. May it not take another ten years next time.