(a) setlist

1. Plainsong
2. Pictures of You
3. Closedown
4. A Night Like This
5. Push
6. In Between Days
7. Doing The Unstuck
8. Friday I’m in Love
9. Like Cockatoos
10. The Caterpillar
11. The Walk
12. Lovesong
13. Just Like Heaven
14. Jupiter Crash
15. Want
16. The Hungry Ghost
17. Prayers for Rain
18. Disintegration

Encore:

1. It Can Never Be the Same
2. Pornography

Encore 2:

1. Step Into the Light
2. Us or Them
3. Burn

Encore 3:

1. Last Dance
2. Lullaby
3. Never Enough
4. Fascination Street

Encore 4:

1. The Perfect Girl
2. Hot Hot Hot!!!
3. Close to Me
4. Why Can’t I Be You?
5. Boys Don’t Cry

(b) highlights

• The Cure. Madison Square Garden. 4 encores. WHAT.
• I can’t even really discuss this setlist, like how freaking incredible is this band
• “Pictures of You” is one of my favorite songs of all time – I love it so much that I can’t even listen to it that often; seeing that shit live feels like an out-of-body experience
• Disintegration is probably my favorite Cure album and I’m always so pleasantly surprised when “Disintegration” pops up in the setlist…I love that song so freaking much, wow
• the crowd was so freaking great, like wow – even in the upper level seats, everyone was so into everything going on: old songs and new songs alike
• this really doesn’t even need to be said but Robert Smith is so amazing and perfect and still sounds freaking great and looks like the coolest vampire of all time, I want to hug him; he looks like he gives great hugs

(c) lowlights

• apparently my section – 224 – was freaking BUMPIN’ because two separate fights broke out that involved security and drunk people and it was all actually pretty funny, to be honest; the crowd was mostly middle-aged and it was so just amusing to see that combination of drunk-emotional people
• I would’ve liked to hear “Let’s Go to Bed” or “The Love Cats” but I am SERIOUSLY reaching, this show was phenomenal

(d) overall thoughts

I feel like there’s no band like The Cure. They defined an era of music, created a subculture, and then redefined their own identity twice over all in about a decade and half’s time. The work they put into the 80’s and 90’s is still incredible to think about and it’s pretty clear to me that Robert Smith is an inarguable genius.

I have seen The Cure once before – at Lollapalooza 2013 – but this Madison Square Garden show felt very special. They played 4 sold-out nights – nearly 3 hours of non-stop music each night – and it was so obvious to me that their discography could easily allow the band to perform for another week. Playing a combination of classic singles, deep cuts, rarities previously unheard for years, and even new (!) songs, the band totally nailed it. Each song’s performance felt connected to the one before it while also a uniquely pleasant experience in itself. The number of times I thought, “Wow, I totally forgot about this great song” were innumerable, and the emotional moments in tow were endless.

The stage set-up, production, and atmosphere were so quintessentially The Cure in every way – dripping lights, dense fog, and black trestles offset by bright white lights brought forth the gothic vibe while Robert Smith’s in-between song banter reminded everyone that he’s an older man now, but no less interesting, talented, or funny than he was in the band’s heyday. The crowd’s vigor and excitement barely waned over the nearly-three-hour performance and everyone knew to the words to all the classics. Few things beat the feeling of singing along to “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Friday I’m in Love,” and “Close to Me” with 20,000 fans. You just couldn’t leave that night without feeling what it seemed everyone had felt: that The Cure are a freaking amazing band with an untouchable, transcendent discography that sounds just as good in 2016 as it did in 1986.

Bottom line: Robert Smith is an angelic vampire, the Cure’s discography is truly unrivaled in vastness, diversity, and quality, and every performance removes all doubts otherwise.