The Cure - Perth - Challenge Stadium 4th August 2007 (TB Master) - 4Tour World Tour 2007-2008


Row GG Seat 401 - Sound Professionals SP-CMC-2 Cardioid Mics - SP-SPSB-8 Battery Box - Edirol R-09 (Rec @ 24/48) - Digital Transfer To PC Via USB Cable - WAV
- Adobe Audition 2.0 (Convert to 16/44.1) - CD Wave 1.95.1 - Flac (Level 5) - uTorrent 1.6.1

Tracklist:
1 - Intro Tape
2 - Open
3 - Fascination Street
4 - A strange day
5 - The blood
6 - alt.end
7 - The walk
8 - The end of the world
9 - Lovesong
10 - Pictures of you
11 - Lullaby
12 - Hot Hot Hot!!!
13 - Push
14 - Inbetween days
15 - Friday I'm in love
16 - Just like heaven
17 - Primary
18 - If only tonight we could sleep
19 - The kiss
20 - Shake dog shake
21 - Us or them
22 - Never enough
23 - From the edge of the deep green sea
24 - Wrong number
25 - One hundred years
26 - End

First encore :
27 - At night
28 - M
29 - Play for today
30 - A forest

Second encore :
31 - Let's go to bed
32 - Close to me
33 - Why can't I be you?

Third encore :
34 - Three imaginary boys
35 - Fire in Cairo
36 - Boys don't cry
37 - Jumping someone else's train
38 - Grinding halt
39 - 10.15 Saturday night
40 - Killing an Arab

Line Up:
Simon Gallup : bass
Robert Smith : vocal and guitar
Jason Cooper : drum
Porl Thompson : guitar

Blimey What A Show! - Gratefully The Cure Are Not Dead ;)
Three Hours Twenty Minutes In Total Of His Royal Bobness & Co (3hrs 6mins - I Edited The Audience Applause)
Stripped Down To A Leaner, Meaner Version IMHO.
Recorded From The Side Of The Stage (Sorry, Not Recorded On The Floor In My Favourite 'Sweet Spot')
Bit Overloaded At The Start For 5 Secs (Adjusting The Record Level The Wrong Way!)
Dropped Recorder On 'Shake Dog Shake' Too Much Jigging About By Yours Truly.
Some Clapping On Some Songs By Someone Next To Me, About 150mins Into The Set Though.
I Mean, Come On, I'm Recording The Gig, Sod Having A Good Time....Lol......
Soundwise It Gets Better After About 3 Or 4 Songs.

Recommended If Their Are Playing Near You Soon.

Noah Wall


Reviews From: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/chainofFlowers/aug0407.html

The first leg or the Australian tour, the WA fans certinaly wernt dissapointed.
Lighting was spectacular and backing slides were awesome, rich and thick colours.
Especially "the blood", "primary", "the kiss", "wrong number" and "M".
Robert didnt have a lot to say (as usual) although jokingly commented that he only just realised he could speak the language about an hour into the set.
There was a good mix of commercial singles and early classics. Great versions of "seventeen seconds" tracks for the 1st encore.
Porl certinally makes a big difference to their live sound.
Cant wait for the rest of the Australian and NZ tour.
- Aaron

What an incredible concert ! 24 hours later I'm just starting to come down from the high that is experiencing the cure live.
Anyone that is remotely thinking of going, beg, borrow, steal a ticket. Do whatever you have to but just get to the nearest show. It is simply
that breathtaking.
The set list had everything and more you could ask for. Plenty of "radio staples" ( friday I'm in love. inbetween days, lets go to bed, etc) to
satisfy the casual fan and plenty of material from 17 seconds and earlier for the long-termers.
No keyboards. No problem. Porl Thompson is a demon guitarist. Whether he's picking out the playful melody of "close to me", funking it up for
"Hot Hot Hot", driving "push" towards its glorious finale or tearing through "never enough", the guy is worth the price of admission alone.
After seeing them on the wish tour after having been a fan since "head on the door" I was a little underwhelmed by the dream show in 2000 but
this current set is an absolute cracker !!! Robert in in top form, trimmed down and engaging.
What can be said that hasn't already been said. A 6 song 3rd encore. Incredible. I was praying for the band to end because i was so physically spent and couldn't go on yet praying for them to continue knowing that they may never return to Perth.
An amazing experience that will live with me for years to come. I can still close my eyes and transport myself to 24 hours earlier and re-live
moments during the concert that were absolutely thrilling.
- Mark

Fantastic show as the others have mentioned. Didn't look at reviews or setlists for earlier shows unlike for the Dream tour. It's the evening of the next day as I write this and have had the songs from the show buzzing through my head all day. To me that is a sign of a great show because sometimes you can see a band play live and the next day you carry on your duties as normal - this was not the case for me today, I have struggled to shake the songs out of my head, even during soccer.
For me the songs I wanted to see were Open, Primary (never thought I would see this live) and Shake Dog Shake plus any of the other 36 songs we were treated to. Being in Perth this is only the third time I've seen the Cure so when I read reviews from smart arses that have seen them thirty times and start winging about them becoming predictable it cheeses me off. These guys need to realise that they are playing to thousands who may not have ever seen them before, as well as some who are lucky enough to have seen them before.
I thought the whole show from Open through Killing an Arab was brilliant and whilst I loved the set from the Dream Tour it really is nice to be able to look sideways and see the people in the seated section up and dancing (to be honest I think I only looked during the encores when Robert walked about), but it was great. What I think is really cool about seeing the Cure is that they obviously know that the people that provide them with a living are those that buy their CD's and come to their concerts and to be able to go to a show and here nearly 40 great songs played over more than 3 hours is brilliant value for money, us folk the fans are treated well.
Do you think if they broke up for the next 15 years Robert could get really fat and lazy and maybe think something along the lines of " Would it be a surprise if I reformed the Cure? And maybe we could charge say $500 per ticket (i know it's actually $250 now) and play the exact same set of about 19 songs each night and say Friday I'm in Love could last ten minutes and we could carry on for eight of those minutes simply repeating It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday and In Between Days could be slowed right down and last 13 minutes and not 3 minutes.
I'm not really having a go at anyone in particular but really if you can think of anyone that might be involved in an auction for front row seats to see a band containing someone who is almost 65 years old, tell them to stop bidding and use the money to buy tickets for one of the Cure's eastern states shows and get a cheap airfare. Even though they may only know the singles that get played on the radio that will still give them an hour and a half of great songs they know.
Sorry about the rant, but I think I might feel better now, well really "I should have gone to bed tonight".
- Dominic

here is my quick review of the perth show...
they played the baby screams and how beautiful you are during the soundcheck. it was a bit of the treat for us outside the challenge stadium, the sound was crystal clear all through the building, apart from the buzz of the bass. it was a late soundcheck, starting at 5 and going until 6.
very long show. they went on stage at 8:03 and left at 11:18. the guys were dripping in sweat by fascination street. it was incredibly gratifying to see tape then open to start the show, possibly the most suitable to any cure show, it was powerfully emotive.
a few stuffups stood out. robert stuffed up the lyrics in the blood and in close to me. it was a bit scarey during the blood, it looked like he was going to be in a bad mood the rest of the night. but they threw themselves into alt.end and were happy again by the walk. simon kicked over robert's 12 string during wrong number, but the hero guitar tech picked it up and had it retuned in time for deep green sea.
there were lots of best bits for me. seeing porl on stage was just brilliant. he is the greatest guitarist i have ever ever seen. he adds his own bits to all the songs, they're like the original but better. my favourite songs included seeing tape/open, hot hot hot, shake dog shake, never enough, deep green sea, 100 years, end, and the entire second and third encore. big singalongs to play for today, the set was particularly singles heavy, but i guess thats okay. the crowd was young, but fun.
we're all in for a treat at the next shows. they're on fire at the moment.
- Shannon

As with probably a lot of other readers of CoF, I won't pretend to be anything but an unabashed Cure nut. So my objectivity coat & cap is still left checked back at the Challenge stadium as I sit down to write this the day after.
My group of friends were lucky enough to get SMH pre-sale tickets back in June but I'll admit it was a nervous four weeks before the tickets actually arrived and we could see where we'd been allocated. At five tiered rows back from the general admission area, and at a good close angle from and barely foot above stage level our six seats were perfect. Not only for the adults amongst us, but for my friends' daughter, who at 9 years old was making her concert going debut. Her having such cool parents introducing her to a variety of music, and her loving it as she grows proves there is always hope for the younger generation yet.
But to the show itself - The lads came on about 20 minutes after the ticketed time. The stormy, rolling 'Tape' rose in crescendo before firstly Jasons extreme case of
bed hair rose above the drum kit bringing the crowd to life. Simon strutted out next moments later oozing all of his speechless charisma, then of course Robert with his still-coy-after-all-these-years shuffle and Porl heralding his Australian return to the band with his new pharoah like shaved & tattooed look. It was a powerful moment I think for everyone; My overwhelming sensation was; "They're real and they're here!" (expletives omitted) Without further ado.. "Open" crashed upon us.
Personal moments and recollections -
� "Lullaby" - was pepped up slightly with a few new flourishes.
� "Push" - Such an uplifting song. Of all the times I listen to this on my stereo or mp3 player and hit repeat about 3 times. No such feature live unfortunately�
� "Us and Them" - One of the last albums tracks that's grown on me the most. The Festival DVD did it for me much more so for the album version.
Love that backlit imagery with the red angry ants.
� "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea" - Haunting mocking trapped & tumbling
The 3rd encore bought new life to a good portion of the first album from 1979. Rockier, edgier and a lot less sparse. The lyrics to "Jumping Someone Else's Train" hold just as true today with all the fads of society rolling on around us.
During "10:15 Saturday Night" I had to laugh when I caught out one of the stern faced security guards briefly bopping away on the spot. Thathe had been the serious professional all evening but that he also looked liked he was going to change into a flaired white jumpsuit after the show for his second job as a Elvis impersonator; already complete with large gold rimmed dark glasses and sideburns big enough to smother small mammals with, just made the moment all the better.
I noticed the lyrics change of "Killing An Arab" to what I'm sure was "Killing Another" for the main chorus line. Is this a sign of the politically correct times - or has Robert just given up trying to explain the whole existentialist thing ? Perhaps a bit of both. I certainly think it still fits the song.
All in all it was a damn rockin' show with little respite throughout. As Jo's review has already stated there was a point where Robert said unless they played a slow one next, he'd need a stool to sit down. That one slow one was "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" which ramped straight back up afterwards with "The Kiss"
In my opnion the band hasn't suffered for the lack of keyboards. In fact if I hadn't been a reader of CoF or any articles on the band over the last couple of years - to my technically untrained musical ear I might be able to detect some slight difference in their live sound but I'd doubt I'd be able to say what it was.
I'm lucky enough to be going to the Melbourne show in a week as well. It'll be interesting to see how things evolves as the tour moves along..
Top notch stuff.
- Kymbo

What a great show! So different from Dream Tour show, which for me was wave of sound that wrapped around me like a blanket, this was a wave
that absolutely pummelled me into the ground. The absence of keyboards and the wash of guitars was hard-hitting. Robert seemed to have left his
black skirt in Singapore, and had returned to his standard black jeans and shirt... and of course, those boots.
From the first bars of "Open", you knew this was going to be a great night."Fascination Street" sounded much edgier as an all-guitar number.
After "Lullaby", "Hot Hot, Hot!!!", "Push", "Inbetween Days", "Friday I'm In Love", "Just Like Heaven" and "Primary" had got the crowd
absolutely jumping Robert said something like "I have to play something slow now, otherwise I will have to play the rest of the show on a
stool". As usual, Robert was not overly chatty but did apologise at one point saying "Sorry, I just realised I haven't been talking much, I
actually forgot that I can speak the language".
I find it hard to put my thoughts of the show on paper, so here are a couple of quick comments:
The Blood - great to hear live
Lovesong - a relief for me, as my friend who came with me is not a huge
Cure fan, so it was great that they played her fave song
Hot Hot Hot!!! - Great lights, great sound
Us or Them - Sounded like Robert was spitting venom with his words
Never Enough - Robert stepped from behind the guitar and did his trademark wander across the stage. Porl absolutely ROCKED!
FTEOTDGS - "Put your hands in the sky"
Play for Today - I finally had the chance to sing the "whoa, whoa, whoa" parts - loved it, and loved that the fans in Perth knew to do it!
A Forest - Simon is a Legend!
Wrong Number - Fantastic lighting!! Fantastic version - 1st time I have heard this live, and loved it! The "colour of the music was 'not' too loud"
3rd Encore - What a great set, it had the crowd jumping and my blood pumping - wow!!! "Killing An Arab" was fantastic - it's a song that I never thought that I would get to hear live.
What else to say? Really, I just can't find the right words! Let's leave it with, I am trying desperately (but probably, in vain) to talk my husband into letting me go to Melbourne to see them again, it's worth a try.
Oops, forgot to mention the merchandise . To be honest, it was VERY disappointing. I think there were 5 or 6 t-shirts (I grabbed a couple, and will take photos and send them through. ). Beyond the t-shirts, there were only a set of 4 badges and the Concert Program - that was it - very disappointing. Hopefully, it is just an Australian problem - we don't seem to get a lot of the same merchandise as you get in the States.
- Jo

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