Sunday, August 18, 1996

Older material was chosen in favor of more recent hitsBy Brian Remick

Summer Bruin Contributor

The Forum was only one eighth full last Sunday night when Cure lead singer Robert Smith casually walked on stage.

He was 10 minutes early.

The lights were shut off and insanity erupted as thousands of fans strove to get to their seats.

Clad in an oversized Los Angeles Kings jersey and jeans, Smith chose an acoustic guitar from the assortment of others on the stage and walked up to the microphone. "I've never actually done this before," he said shyly as he began a fabulous acoustic version of "Boys Don't Cry" for the now capacity Forum audience.

"I could get used to this," Smith said just as the heavy bass line of "Want," the first track on the group's latest album, "Wild Mood Swings," tumbled through the air. The Cure had arrived.

Cure concerts have always been known for their moody lighting effects and smoky atmosphere, but their show at the Forum complemented these incredible effects with a stage design that seemed to change with each song. At one point in the show, pillars from an overhang above the stage descended to reveal swiveling spot lights, producing an amazing effect.

The band continued with "Club America" from their new album before turning to some of their older material, which was better received by the crowd. "Wild Mood Swings" is a respectable album to say the least, but it hasn't had its share of the wildly successful singles that characterized "Disintegration" and "Wish," the Cure's previous two albums.

"A Night Like This," followed, which, much like all of their songs on Sunday, was greeted with a level of enthusiasm far above what most bands could ever hope for. The highlight of the show was "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea," which brought with it extraordinary green lighting effects.

Given that "Wild Mood Swings" is the Cure's ninth album on Elektra, the band has quite a selection of songs from which to choose. So it comes as no surprise that any concert short of five hours would partially disappoint even the most agreeable of fans. The band did manage to leave the majority of the audience largely disappointed, however, by omitting such hits as "Pictures of You," "Friday I'm in Love," "A Letter to Elise," and even their latest and most successful single from this album, "Mint Car."

The Cure chose instead to give the crowd a taste of their older material, playing the expected "Just Like Heaven," "In-between Days," and "Primary," but also including such older singles as "Killing an Arab," which sparked some controversy when it was released in 1979.

The first encore opened with "Hot Hot Hot!!!" and "Why Can't I Be You?," the latter of which was combined unexpectedly with "The Love Cats" when Smith began singing a different set of lyrics. Simon Gallup responded by playing the appropriate keyboard riff. Smith got so confused that at one point he lapsed into Queen's "We Are the Champions" ­ but only briefly.

One benefit of the Cure's long term career is their good-natured stage presence. Smith and Gallup especially are always smiling on stage and look like they're having a good time, which is often overlooked when a large-scale show like this is done. Bands tend to get caught up in the spectacle and making sure they look good to the audience rather than letting the audience know that they, too, are enjoying themselves. Perhaps this partly explains the Cure's long term success.

Well, that and the music.

The Cure only played two more songs from "Wild Mood Swings," ­ "Jupiter Crash" and "Numb," both of which are slow, acoustic songs which didn't attract much response aside from the respectful cheers given to the band upon concluding.

The second and final encore was most disappointing because the audience was expecting to be bombarded with all of the songs that the Cure would end up skipping entirely, playing instead "10:15 Saturday Night" and a few others which severely weakened the conclusion of the show.

One can hardly leave a Cure concert feeling ripped off, however. To say that the band played well would be a ridiculous understatement, and Smith's vocals seem to get better with each performance, no matter how many strange sounds he manages to emit.