I am not the most sentimental music fan, but then I realized it had been 20 years since The Cure had performed in the Twin Cities. The Cure show I remember best was their 1986 performance at the old Northrop Auditorium; that's the tour that I believe that singer Robert Smith had shorn his hurricane of locks, which was a shock to his hardcore fans!

Those locks were in their full unkempt glory as The Cure performed a glorious set Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center. I was impressed at 57-year-old Robert Smith's vocal prowess. The show clocked in at a Springsteen-like number of just over three hours in length. Smith sounded amazing the whole night. And it's not like The Cure does long instrumental solos where the singer takes a break to rest his voice and change costumes.

I'd forgotten how many great songs this band have in their arsenal. Glancing at last night's set list, there were still a few hits they didn't get to, like "Friday, I'm in Love" and "The Love Cats."

It wasn't the most high-tech stage setup; it looked like it could have been from the '90s: video screens that were small and never showed Robert Smith — or for that matter, close-ups of anyone in the band. But, who needs it? As they say, "It's about the music, stupid!"

It was a nicely paced evening as The Cure jumped deftly around their almost 40 years of recordings. Just when you thought there was a lull, Smith and the gang would strike with one of their hits, or one of their lesser-known album tracks. I had forgotten about the depth of their catalogue!

For me, a three-hour show seems a little long, but with this one, there was the big payoff of a string of their "pop songs" as they closed up the X with "Hot Hot Hot!!!," "The Caterpillar," "Let's Go to Bed," "Close to Me," "Why Can't I Be You," and the finale, "Boys Don't Cry."

I'm glad I didn't leave this one early! Oh, and Robert, don't let 20 more years pass by for your next Twin Cities show!

Set List

Open
alt.end
A Night Like This
The Walk
Push
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
The Snakepit
Pictures of You
The Perfect Girl
High
The End of the World
Lovesong
Dressing Up
Lullaby
Fascination Street
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
One Hundred Years
End

Encore 1
It Can Never Be the Same
Want
Shake Dog Shake

Encore 2
If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
Charlotte Sometimes
A Forest

Encore 3
Never Enough
Burn
Wrong Number

Encore 4:
Hot Hot Hot!!!
The Caterpillar
Let's Go to Bed
Close to Me
Why Can't I Be You
Boys Don't Cry

Gallery

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