Aching for The Cure

My love affair with The Cure began one summer when my cousin came to visit for a few weeks. As soon as we picked her up from the airport, she began playing the tape Staring at the Sea: The Singles for the entire three hour ride home. I hated it. Couldn't stand it. Thought it was the worst music on earth and would rather enjoy my bee-bop music with its predictable tempos and peppy fun. She said by the time she left, I'd fall in love with them, and then proceeded to play that freaking tape non-stop for the entire visit. Surprisingly, she was right. By the time she left, I was hooked on The Cure and have never looked back. Twenty years later and they're still my favorite band (followed by Depeche Mode and Duran Duran). Anytime I'm in a horrible mood, Robert Smith's voice has an amazing quality that calms me down. Their music affects me unlike anyone else and seeing them live again was something I've been looking forward to for a long time (even though I've never looked the part and could never pull off a "goth girl" ensemble).

They were actually scheduled to play last October and I'd bought the tickets for me and Triangle (although, that was even planning too far ahead, considering we stopped seeing each other in September). Luckily, my friend Lagoon Jeff agreed to go with me last night (which was great, since he loves them just as much as I do). I'm so glad I asked him to come, because he's much more skilled in the concert world and was able to inspire me to be far more brave than I ever would've been on my own. Now, granted, I can be somewhat bold when it comes to seeing celebs at Sundance, but sneaking into seats at a concert that weren't mine? No way. Never happen. Even if I'm higher than the nosebleed section, I'll stay where my ticket says I should be because I don't want to get into trouble. I'm quite the concert prude in this way.

This was my third time seeing The Cure live. The first time, The Wish Tour in 1992, was at the Rose Bowl in LA. The second time, The Curiosa Festival, was a few years ago at the Usana Amphitheater. Both times I was far away from the band (except for walking into the festival and seeing Robert Smith standing RIGHT THERE and thinking it was someone dressed up like him....but don't even get me started on that...). Last night our seats were no exception. Behold the view from our original seats:

Crappy, right? Yeah, so Lagoon Jeff took charge and we made our way to the front. Like, way front. I thought we were just going on the floor, but somehow we ended up in the fourth row. Look how close we were to The Man himself, Robert Smith:

Does it blow your mind? It totally blew mine! LOOK AT HIM! We were so close we could see his smudged make-up. See the necklace he wore. See his outfit and how he moved. See the sweet, shy little smile he'd get that showed how much he was truly doing what he loved. I could even see his hair being held in a little ponytail in the back of his head (perhaps he was wearing one of my scrunchies???). He was incredible. They played for THREE HOURS with three encores and I think would've played all night if his voice hadn't gone out at the end (although, it must be said that if I'm 100, he must be 150...and boy, can he still rock!). It was so much fun. I loved the energy of the audience and how we all became as one...especially while singing "Why Can't I Be You" together in unison. Even the security guard busting us (several times, but still we made our way back up front) couldn't get me down. Oh, did I mention they were selling PINK Cure shirts? My dream come true! :)