Review: The Cure in Chile, under the spell of funeral pop

They both smile and move a few millimeters closer without stopping to observe the ropes that their hands draw. The audience already knows the rest of the sequence by heart, impatiently waiting for this kind of sinister and knowing dance to be performed until the end, when bassist Simon Gallup finds himself alone marking the simple and resounding beat of forestaccompanied by the synchronized applause of the audience pushing the rhythm.

Gallup, Robert Smith’s eternal henchman, the same one who left in 1982 for years after fighting with the leader and who much later, in August 2021, announced “with a somewhat heavy heart » that he was no longer a member of The Cure, attacks the ropes with fury. The distorted mass of sound rose last night in the packed Monumental Stadium, crowned by the satisfied applause of the crowd – more than 40 thousand people – with this healing rite performed to perfection.

The applause also enthusiastically accompanied the pulse of pushone of the nuclear pieces of Head on the door (1985), The Cure’s first album which had an impact in Chile, when music video was able to dictate the tastes of weekend programs on open television by pirating MTV videos, the practice of music video recorder on national television, and More music on channel 13.

While the guitars supported the riff crossed by the drum passes of Jason Cooper – by far the member of the sextet most watched by cameras of the entire concert, apart from Smith – the crowd also applauded with mathematical rigor, accentuating the epic and gentle guitar framework while waiting for the irruption of the plaintive voice.

Unlike The Cure’s debut in Chile in April 2013 at the National Stadium, with a 42-song marathon show transformed into a veritable litany for the deepest fans, last night, the British group formed in 1976 was a little more concise with 28 songs covering practically their entire discography, with the unforgivable omission of one of their masterpieces like Pornography (1982), the culminating title of its darkest period; the kind of album that could please goth hearts, but also metal fans. There was no sadness either faith (1981), from the album which would only bear the group’s name in 2004 under the tutelage of producer Ross Robinson, and from the bland 4:13 dream (2008), the latest official version.

On the other hand, there were previews of a possible new studio work announced for many years, entitled Songs from a lost worldwith songs like alone -the first of the night-, And nothing is forever And Ending songwhich closed the concert before the first encore.

The triad does not stand out from the genetic code of The Cure: generously extended intros, synthesizers creating layered ambiences, punchy and melodic bass independent of the guitars. , the no-nonsense drums; all layers rock the song of Robert Smith.

The leader’s voice is still phenomenal live. While the band has aged in appearance with wrinkles, gray hair and less wispy scars – but not in freshness and great clarity of performance – Smith has not lost an iota of his interpretive ability. Sometimes he slightly redraws certain melodic lines; but in general he obediently sticks to the records studied, in a spectacular feint to the calendar that creates the illusion of stopped time.

He covers the quiet scene, avoiding the clichés of the vast majority of rock stars. Smile at everyone but no one in particular. He doesn’t look for knowing glances – nor do his teammates, save for a fleeting wink from Gallup to someone in the crowd – and he says little or nothing to succinctly say thank you. He continues to evolve like a ghost, a tormented and romantic character who finds beauty in the darkness and shadows of a rainy imagination, the ambient sound that prepared the start of the show.

The Cure didn’t just review the greatest hits that made them an alternative pop group in the ’80s and ’90s – hits like Photos of you, Lovesong, Fascination street, Friday I’m in love, Near me And Boys don’t cry-, but more hidden and precious songs for the first fans like Shake the dog, shake him And The walkor songs that weren’t singles like plainsong. Compared to the 2013 debut, the relative conciseness and overload of classic material made this show a superior experience.

Returning, among the personal memories triggered by a generational group like this that has always enchanted audiences regardless of gender, involving adventures and misadventures of adolescence and early adulthood, some wondered if The Cure would return with a septuagenarian Robert Smith. At least when it comes to timing, there is agreement. The years pass and the songs never get old, under the spell of the most funereal pop that has ever been written.