The Cure paints an intense picture

Press, 7 August 1981, Page 4

The Cure paints an intense picture

By

DAVID SWIFT

The Cure concert was tiring, sometimes difficult, an accessible barrier, no fun, but deserved respect.

The let-down was at the end. “There are only three of us, but look how much noise we can make" they seemed to say with the final tune, too much of an assault on the senses to be realistically compared to the gracious company of most of the set. Before that, the performance was strong and dynamic because The Cure use dynamics. The Cure unfolds in every song, rather than establishing an immediate pattern and sticking to it. The band was not close to the audience, but earned accolades all the way.

It is called “The Picture Tour,” and the picture was “Carnage- Visors," an animated feature that was really only a stall for The Cure live. In that it succeeded, but I do not think anyone will remember the film.

I am not going to play the albums now, and say “wasn’t that great live?” because there is no comparison. The Cure is a live act, allowing just what the records don’t — commitment.

Robert Smith is a guitarist to stare at. You cannot dance to the sounds too often, as

the ground floor audience found out. Songs such as "10.15 Saturday Night”. and "Primary" seemed to come as a relief to them. Can you be entertained with sounds that reach for your attention, rather than your ankles? With The Cure, yes. Instead of a keyboardist (the old line-up), both Smith and the bass player, Simon Gallup, have small instruments at hand. Watching Gallup at the keyboards was not half as enjoyable as his bass playing. A regular Phil Lynott, he positively dances with his instrument.

Smith wore a Marilyn Monroe T-shirt which was the only personality he gave away.

The drummer, Laurence Tolhurst, extracted invigorating sounds, a Gary Glitter handclap included, from his kit.

It is not amazing what the three can do, it is just that few other bands have put such force into simplicity. It was better than I expected. Some people went to both concerts last evening. I could not have withstood that, but for what I put into the show I saw — optimism — I got a satisfactory return.