The Cure was working at the 2007 Download fest
By Jim
Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 1:49 am in AFI, Black Rebel Motorcyle Club, Download, Kings of Leon, Metric, Shoreline Amphitheatre, The Cure.
The Cure proved to be just what the doctor ordered on Saturday (Oct. 6) at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. The legendary modern rock band thrilled fans during what was only its second (and final) U.S. date of 2007.
Take away the Cure, however, and fans would’ve been left with a festival in need of serious life support.
The Live Nation manufactured Download Festival, which made its debut just two year ago at Shoreline, could well be on its last leg. The 2007 edition drew poorly _ at best only half filling the 22,000-capacity Shoreline _ and the lineup, besides the Cure, was mighty mundane. It’s pretty safe to say that the Cure could have drawn just as many _ or more _ fans to the venue without the assistance of the other acts on the bill.
Those are some of the reasons why it won’t be a surprise if Download doesn’t reappear on the Shoreline schedule next year.
Unlike last year’s go-around _ which featured Beck, TV On the Radio, Muse and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs _ there was very little buzz about Download 2007. What talk there was centered on the Cure, with almost no complementary chit-chat talking place about AFI, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, She Wants Revenge and the other headliners.
Many people didn’t look at the event as an all-day festival _ they saw it as a Cure show with way too many opening acts.
For the most part, those acts didn’t do anything at Shoreline to prove Cure fans wrong and show that they deserved space on the bill. The one exception to that rule was Metric.
The Canadian rock quartet, led by terrific vocalist Emily Haines, delivered a thoroughly enjoyable early evening set out on the secondary stage erected in the venue’s parking lot. The band charmed the crowd with a seamless mix of ‘80s New Wave, ‘90s dance music and dreamy indie-rock sounds _ the latter being very reminiscent of that of the Sundays and Bettie Serveert.
Having seen the band live it now makes sense why the Rolling Stones once requested Metric to be their opening act. Haines, who wore a Jerry Garcia T-shirt at Shoreline, is a powerful front woman and she knows how to sell a song as well as nearly anyone in indie rock.
Far less interesting was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, which offered up a bland dose of pop-rock and, in general, came across like one of the most overrated acts in rock history. Kings of Leon’s bluesy take on alt-rock provided a few nice moments, but not enough to distract many fans from using the time to shop the merch booths for more Cure paraphernalia.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the East Bay’s own AFI, which seemed to be in the midst of an identity crisis during its set. The group jumped from goth rock to punk to pop and basically acted like a less-interesting version of My Chemical Romance.
Then, finally, it was time for the Cure.
The group sounded as strong as ever _ like not a day had gone by since the release of 1985’s “The Head on the Door’’ _ as it charged through such cuts as “Open,’’ “Alt.end’’ and “The Baby Screams.’’ Vocalist Robert Smith _ now 48 _ delivered his words with the same kind of remarkable intensity and longing that he did when he was in his 30s.
Best of all, the Cure didn’t treat this show like part of a festival. The band gave the fans a full concert experience _ 2 ½ hours of music that grew stronger and more focused as the night progressed.
The Cure proved to be more than enough to fix what ailed this year’s Download. Next year, however, is a different story.
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October 9th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Making fun of The Cure is like shooting fish in barrel. But for a band that’s been recording music since the late 70s, they are a solid act (as you noted).
A co-worker of mine went to the Download Fest, I’ll have to get his opinion on the acts who played and what he thought of The Cure. I’m going to forward your review and see if the two of you are on the same page.
October 9th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Ok, I’m back after a long time so here is my recap of the Download, along with a link of some more pictures…
http://www.zooomr.com/photos/norcalrock/view-blog/
We got to the Shoreline at about 3:45pm or so. Went straight to the 2nd stage to see the Vau Di Ville or something like that. They sounded interesting, the lead lady had an old 20′3 o 30’s style singing. Whatever we left to go check out She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge (Main Stage)
They were better than I thought. They have a Depeche Mode sound to them but don’t act as depressing. The new single they have out “True Romance” is catchier than anything they have put out previously. I still wouldn’t go to a show with them headlining but good enough mixed in with a bunch of bands.
The Black Angels (2nd Stage)
I actually have their cd and was into a few of the songs. “Black Grease” sounds like the title. They were not as good live as I thought. I think it would have to be in a small club at 2am with no lights to really appreciate their style as opposed to 5pm in the afternoon in a parking lot. The sound is a bit Doorsish.
Metric (2nd Stage)
Think Blondie meets Garbage meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I know comparisons galore but that’s what came to mind. they were pretty good, decent number of people watching them. Didn’t make me want to follow her around the country but enjoyable for a few songs and makes it comfortable to take a bathroom break in the middle of the set.
KOL (2nd Stage)
Kings Of Leon rocks, I’ve been folloing these guys for the better part of 4 years! I had seen them at the Warfield earlier this year and also at Bonnaroo in Tennessee. The best part is all three shows had a different vibe but were enjoyable in their own way.
Bonnaroo showed that they are here I think for the long run, electricity went out in the middle of a tune and they finished the song, this while on the main stage so unless you were a few feet away like we were you would have scratched your head.
The Warfield in San Fran showed that they have upped the ante in their game. It’s a more polished band than I saw several years ago. From stage presence, to the simple name backdrop to being more disciplined playing and singing alike.
Download they went out kicked out the jams in a shorter set and delivered the goods for the purpose that they were there for and had fun doing it from what I saw. it was more of a frat party with a badass band playing in the backyard.
I don’t predict much on who will end up in the rock icon bin versus the $.99 cent bin but I bleieve the Kings may be headed as the next great thing. Methodical with thier music and growth (each new album becoming more complex layers of sounds, paying thier dus on small stages, festical, and opening for the likes of Bob Dyaln and U2) Let’s see if tme proves the theory.
The Cure
Ummm, I don’t know, I like some Cure songs but I’m not a huge Cure fan. So The Cure were pimps by playing almost three hours but if you don’t know their whole catalog or a “true fsn” of music your left asking for a longer version of “Love Song”. Not to mention Robert Smith swelled to balloon like proportions. I guess with goth music you don’t have to be exactly in shape to deliver depressing punk/pop songs but it would help.
BTW… I would have liked to seen 65daysofstatic but got there too late and glad I didn’t see BRMC this go around.
‘Nough Said if anyone cares.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Are you kidding? BRMC are one of the best bands out there these days and they are
amazing live. So are Kings of Leon The Black Angels are amazing too.