You've probably already decided whether you're going to download this one based on the banner alone, so this spiel is likely to be brief. Until a few month ago I wasn't aware that
The Cure performed a gig(s) involving any full albums, much less encompassing the most coveted titles in their catalog. But indeed, it happened, and not just on one night, but over the span of three all told.
November 21, 2011 was the first of these "holy grail" performances, staged at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, wherein
Robert Smith and his compatriots didn't merely put on a "show" rather an unabridged, soup-to-nuts re-visitation of their first three albums in sequence, no less of
Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, and
Faith. This would have been a colossal undertaking for any music artist, but this was a veritable stamina-testing marathon, so strenuous that even the youngest and most virile of rock musicians wouldn't dare approach such a lofty proposition. My calculation is that Smith was in his early-50s when this stint went down, and it amounted to a "now or never" opportunity - and the Cure did not waste a moment of it. In addition to the three records, we treated to yet another incredible and generous bonus - multiple encores stuffed to the gills with fourteen gothy, gold nuggets focusing on b-sides and non-LP chestnuts contemporary to the albums performed in the first three-quarters of the concert!
This whole megillah may seem too good to be true...yet it isn't. The only caveat I'll offer is that this was sourced from an audience tape - a decent one, but if you're going into this expecting something on the caliber of a soundboard recording, try to temper your expectations. As for the performances themselves, they're remarkably potent, and
Faithful (couldn't resist, sorry) to the original versions. No one's lost a step here, on the very fact that the Cure executed such a grueling endeavor some thirty-years after the fact is reason enough for multiple rounds of applause. Put on your pout, and indulge. Finally, before anyone asks, I'm not privy to the second or third nights of the Reflections concerts, at least not yet.
The Cure
November 21, 2011
Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
"Reflections" Tour
Set 1 – Three Imaginary Boys
01. 10:15 Saturday Night
02. Accuracy
03. Grinding Halt
04. Another Day
05. Object
06. Subway Song
07. Foxy Lady
08. Meathook
09. So What
10. Fire In Cairo
11. It's Not You
12. Three Imaginary Boys
13. The Weedy Burton
Set 2 – Seventeen Seconds
01. A Reflection
02. Play For Today
03. Secrets
04. In Your House
05. Three
06. The Final Sound
07. A Forest
08. M
09. At Night
10. Seventeen Seconds
Set 3 – Faith
01. The Holy Hour
02. Primary
03. Other Voices
04. All Cats Are Grey
05. The Funeral Party
06. Doubt
07. The Drowing Man
08. Faith
Set 4 Encores/other tracks
01. E1: World War
02. I'm Cold
03. Plastic Passion
04. Boys Don’t Cry
05. Killing An Arab
06. Jumping Someone Else’s Train
07. Another Journey By Train
08. E2: Descent
09. Splintered In Her Head
10. Charlotte Sometimes
11. The Hanging Garden
12. E3: Let’s Go To Bed
13. The Walk
14. The Lovecats
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