I have been a fan of The Cure for far too long. I remember going to see them play in the 80s, going to a variety of locations. In the early 80s, I was finishing up college, coming to grips with being gay, and loving 'New Wave' and punk music. Started out with The Police and Horselips, and moved on to The Cure. I owned Boys Don't Cry and went to see them when I could. Living in NYC, I remember seeing them at Madison Square Garden, which had the most magnificent sound system, and at Pier 84, located on the Hudson River near the Intrepid museum and the departure of the Circle Line Tours. I think it was the summer of 1986 I went to Pier 84 alone to see The Cure, and 10,000 Maniacs [with Natalie Merchant] opened for them. This was an odd pairing, and the large number of goth boys and girls looked lost as Natalie sang their particular brand of California Angst. The line to buy beer was long, I should know, I was in it a few too many times. But when the first strands of the particularly peculiar meld of pop, rock, angst and Jean Genet popped out of the speakers, all was right with the world.
A view of Pier 84 from the Hudson River
Earlier that spring, I had broken up with my boyfriend of six years, and was asserting my independence. I was going out alone, drinking, and living the life of a New Yorker. I drank a bit too much - which was fine, I was taking the subway home to Brooklyn - and remember cozying up to the speakers and feeling the base making my chest vibrate. Of course, I wasn't giving any thought to the walk from the piers to the subway, but who cared, I was loving life. If I remember correctly, they opened with Inbetween Days.
Fast forward 22 years, and I went to see the Cure last year, this time in Philadelphia with my niece, whom I had made into a Cure addict way back when. I can't tell you how excited I was. 65daysofstatic opened for them, and were really incredible. But then the boys of The Cure hits the stage, with their trademark light shows and killer sound system. They were outrageously great and played for just over 3 straight hours. There was the great old stuff, and some cool new songs. Sure they looked older - I wasn't exactly drinking from the fountain of youth the past two decades - but the show was fantastic. The following is a video from the very show we attended.
To remember the good old days with The Cure, you can visit their website.
Love The Cure!
ReplyDeleteGreat memories!
great story
ReplyDeleteBob, thanks!
ReplyDeleteWonder Man, glad you enjoyed it.
I grew up on the Cure, from Boys Don't Cry to In Between Days etc. Rob Smith's moody lyrics and dark presence made the music more ....well comforting.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing you can remember such thing from 1986, but I guess once you see one of your favourite bands there would always be a imprint on your memory.
My earliest memories of the cure was my sister and me listening to head on the door and also me listening to their music whilst studying back in 1986.
New Wave was my thing - and I have Boys Don't Cry on my IPOD (as in the song by the Cure as well as the new wave band that did "I wanna be a cowboy").
SteveA, some memories are just stronger than others. This is one of them. But most of my strong memories involve music - I think it is a great device - a sense memory of sorts. And after checking out your blog, I think we have similar music on our iPods!
ReplyDeleteGreat Band. Just like Heaven is one of my favorite songs! Come to think of it, so is Heaven by the Psychedelic Furs. Maybe I have some kind of a "heaven-thing". Nah, they're just great songs. :)
ReplyDeleteLong live The Cure! One of my favorites. I'll be listening to Robert Smith for as long as I can hear. Thanks for the great article on them and your stories related to them Howard.
ReplyDelete