THE CURE IN TAORMINA: THREE HOURS AND FIVE MINUTES OF PERFECTION

Every fan has an idea, a dream of the 'perfect concert', of the magical, unique and unforgettable evening they would like from their favourite band. Every Cure fan has a dream that is on average more demanding than a fan of any other band, because every Cure concert is always unique, magical and unforgettable. BUT... there is always the unexpected! Imagine an August evening in Taormina, almost 5,000 adoring fans in front of the stage, the full moon and the lights on the sea as a backdrop in an ancient Greek amphitheatre. On stage the CURE. Inevitably, the dream came true. At the Teatro Antico in Taormina, on Saturday 20 August, their only Italian date, The Cure played the closest thing to their 'perfect concert'.. Three hours and five minutes, 36 songs, four encores (meaning that the band returned to the stage four times!), and a visibly excited Robert Smith reassuring the delirious audience 'You will hear all the songs you expect, so I wouldn't worry if I were you'.

And so it was: from the inevitable opening with 'Open', through some of the darkest tracks of the Cure repertoire, some b-sides, the hits that also consecrated them to the general public during the 80s and 90s, up to the song that everyone acclaims but that has not appeared in their concert setlists for at least 10 years, 'Killing An Arab', which on this occasion becomes 'KISSING An Arab', we consummate what everyone (including the Cure) has no difficulty in defining one of the 3 best concerts in the band's 27-year history. On stage, Robert Smith, Simon Gallup (who seems to have found the elixir of youth), Jason Cooper and Porl Thompson put on a compact, dark and magical sound that does not make one regret the change of line-up or the renunciation of keyboards. Taormina's Teatro Antico seems to offer the ideal setting for the most successful concert of its season and for the show that no one present will ever forget, with a backdrop of psychedelic lights that illuminate the ruins of the Greek amphitheatre, creating a scenography that no special effect will ever be able to equal. The rest is costume news: fans arrived from all over Italy, Ukraine, Great Britain, Australia, the United States, young people of all ages, some dressed up like their idols, others not so clearly identifiable, as quiet and orderly during the wait in the narrow streets of Taormina leading to the entrance of the theatre, as warm and explosive during the show. To say memorable would even be trite. If it were not true.

Ladder :

Open
Fascination Street
A Strange Day
alt.end
The Blood
The End of the World
Shake Dog Shake
Us or Them
A Night Like This
Push
Just Like Heaven
A Letter to Elise
Lullaby
Never Enough
The Figurehead
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
Signal To Noise
The Baby Screams
One Hundred Years
Shiver and Shake
End