The Cure dig deep to deliver spellbinding Xcel set

The Cure performed at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday, June 8, 2023.Steve Cohen for MPR

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June 09, 2023

Robert Smith is a man of the people. The enigmatic frontman promised to keep ticket prices affordable and combat scalping for the North American leg of the Cure’s Shows of a Lost World tour, and fought Ticketmaster and scalpers to keep them that way. Smith seemingly personally oversaw this entire process as he provided regular caps-locked updates on this Twitter account.

All those who’ve played by the rules are rewarded with a marathon two-hour-and-35-minute set when the Cure comes to their town. On Thursday night, it was the Twin Cities’ turn as the Cure played to a nearly sold-out Xcel crowd in St. Paul (or Minneapolis if the official show poster is to be believed).

Thursday marked seven years and one day since the last time the Cure played here, also at the Xcel. At that 2016 show, the Cure brought Scottish post-rockers the Twilight Sad along for the ride. This time around, they brought them again. Smith has stated that they’re his favorite band in the world, a distinction that’s cemented them as the Cure’s designated opening act. It didn’t take long after singer James Alexander Graham, guitarist Andy MacFarlane, bassist Johnny Docherty, keyboardist Brendan Smith, and drummer Grant Hutchison took the stage to see why.

Sonically, the Twilight Sad sounded spectacular. Like many of their post-rock peers, their 45-minute set was introspective, shoegazey at times, and, of course, plenty loud. It had no shortage of catchy hooks – both musically and lyrically – dissonant guitar riffs, and Cure-esque synth tones, making them the perfect opening act. They also more than lived up to their name, playing songs dealing with heartache, suicide, loss, grief, depression, and general sadness.

As a frontman, James Alexander Graham stands out amongst many others in the genre. Not only does his unique voice have a not-so-subtle veneer of his thick Scottish accent over the top, but he rarely stood still throughout the set. His frenetic energy kept him moving around the stage, shaking his head, pumping his fist, and grabbing his face while he sang. He immediately zeroed in on the biggest Twilight Sad fans in the room and pointed and sang directly at them periodically throughout the band’s time on stage.

Visually, the Twilight Sad’s set was selectively sparse. The massive screen behind them displayed a single image of the IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME cover art while the stage lighting did all the heavy lifting. The lights changed color with each song making the stage glow in different shades of blue, red, green, orange, and purple.

After touring with the Cure for a few years, the Twilight Sad have clearly settled into their opening slot. In 2016, their sound was thinner and Graham’s presence onstage much more subdued. On Thursday, seven years later, they sounded way fuller and tighter while Graham seemed much more comfortable playing to a crowd this size.

In between the Twilight Sad and the Cure, a trip to one of the many merch tables at Xcel revealed that Smith’s low-price guarantee applied to merch, as well. T-shirts were a very reasonable $25, hoodies $50, and the aforementioned geographically erroneous show poster $30. Again, Robert Smith is a man of the people. Those patiently waiting to make their purchases spanned a massive age range with plenty of multigenerational families of Cure fans.

Back in the arena, a moody thunderstorm soundscape playing over the house speakers lulled the anxiously awaiting legion of Cure fans. At show time, the lights dimmed, and the thunder of the crowd drowned out the thunder of the storm. One by one, each member of the Cure – bassist Simon Gallup, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, drummer Jason Cooper, guitarist Reeves Gabrels, and guitarist/keyboardist Perry Bamonte – took their place onstage. Smith entered, fittingly wearing a Prince T-shirt and black overshirt, and immediately went to the front of the stage to greet his loyal fans and graciously accept their applause.

The band kicked into the long, open intro of “Alone,” one of five new songs they’ve debuted on this tour. The massive center screen displayed a revolving earth while the two comically small screens flanking each side of the stage showed a single camera angle of the band playing. Smith approached the mic to utter the song’s first line (“This is the end of every song that we sing.”) His voice sounded as good as it ever has during the Cure’s lengthy 45-year tenure. We were off.

As the final notes of “Alone” rang out, the tinkling of wind chimes filled the space – capped by more uproarious applause. “Pictures of You,” followed by its fellow Disintegration hit “Lovesong,” kept the momentum going and showed that Smith and the rest of the Cure have still got it after all these years.

With a catalog spanning over four decades, the Cure could easily just pay red-lipstick-smeared lip service to fans who only want to hear the singles. They have more than enough hits to fill a standard hour-and-a-half set with a 20-minute encore. They could have easily taken the path of many other legacy acts and just phoned it in if they wanted to. But for a band as fiercely loyal to their fanbase as the Cure, that will never be an option. Instead, they reached deep into the catalog for their hour-and-45-minute main set and dusted off some infrequently played songs like “At Night” and “39.” Going deeper, they played Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me’s “A Thousand Hours,” a song they’ve only played live 11 times since its release. Ten of those 11 times have been on this tour, while they only played it one other time in 1987.

Other highlights from the main set included a block of Seventeen Seconds songs (“At Night,” “Play For Today,” and “A Forest”), a couple of Head On The Door tracks (“A Night Like This” and “Push”), and, of course, “From The Edge of the Deep Green Sea” off of Wish. Anyone who doesn’t well up during “Deep Green Sea” should count themselves lucky to have only been in healthy relationships.

Four of the five new songs were sprinkled into the main set (“Alone,” “And Nothing is Forever,” “A Fragile Thing,” and “Endsong”), while “I Can Never Say Goodbye” was the lone fresh track in the first encore. If these five songs are a preview of what the new Cure album will be like, we may have another Disintegration on our hands. “Endsong,” in particular, has a long, meandering intro that lulled the crowd into a calming, tranquil trance of sorts. “A Fragile Thing” has all the makings of a great Cure song, including Gallup’s signature bass tone and an airy Robert Smith guitar solo.

All five new songs are dark, moody, slow burns with an open feel and tons of emotional swell. No release date for a new album has been announced and the songs have no presence on streaming services yet, but all the live videos that have made their way online meant plenty of voices were singing along with every word.

It can’t be overstated how well the Cure and particularly Robert Smith’s vocal abilities have aged over the years. The band sounded huge without losing anything in the mix while Smith’s voice still manages to cut through like a knife directly to the heart. It needs none of the Auto-Tune or backing track that many of Smith’s contemporaries use — just a little reverb to give it that signature Cure feel.

Along with the grief-stricken “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” a song written about Smith’s late brother Richard, the night’s first of two encores delivered a block of three Disintegration tracks, beginning with “Plainsong.” As a definitive album-opening song, the Cure have somewhat sparingly included “Plainsong” in their sets over the years, so the wave of emotion that overtook the entire room as soon as the first note rang out was palpable. “Prayers for Rain” and “Disintegration” rounded out the first encore along with “It Can Never Be the Same.”

For those Cure fans wanting to hear the hits, the night’s second encore rewarded their patience handsomely. Some of the biggest crowd-pleasers of the night were all packed into the nonstop second encore. “Lullaby,” “Friday I’m In Love,” “Close to Me,” “Just Like Heaven,” and “Boys Don’t Cry” all rightfully landed a massive response. Before playing “Six Different Ways,” Smith revealed that he wrote the lyrics to the Head On the Door classic after the Cure played Minneapolis for the first time. Given his trustworthiness regarding ticket prices, there’s no reason not to believe this anecdote. Scanning the packed room revealed thousands of heads bobbing and bodies swaying along with these Cure favorites.

Following “Boys Don’t Cry,” the band took their leave, with only Smith remaining. He took one final gracious tour of the front of the stage and was met with overwhelming applause for several minutes. Throughout the entire show, his love and gratitude for the crowd were very plain to see. But during this final victory lap, it was undeniable: Robert Smith lives for Cure fans, and they, in turn, are more than willing to give him that life.

The Cure