The Cure Wrap Up Tour With Marathon Set in Miami

Anyone driving along Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami on Saturday night probably saw throngs of people walking toward the Kaseya Center dressed all in black. The superstitious might have presumed it was a full moon, but it was just music fans wanting to see the Cure wrap up its 2023 tour.

The art-rock band that has been evoking the strongest of feelings in listeners for 45 years drew a packed arena of passionate fans who were treated to a show with more songs than there are miles in a marathon.

After the Twilight Sad wrapped up its brief set, the patter of rain played over the speakers for half an hour. At 8:15, the house lights dimmed, and bright stars illuminated the backdrop behind the stage as the six members of the Cure walked out to cheers. The loudest roar came when singer Robert Smith's distinctive silhouette appeared.
As the band went into the extended instrumental intro for "Alone," Smith slowly strolled around the stage, eating up the applause. When he finally took to the microphone, you could see why there could be no wasted movements. Every ounce of energy was used to interpret his poetic lyrics and emote feelings of love, sadness, and joy to a rapt crowd. Remarkably, Smith's voice can still sound the same as on the recordings from 30 to 45 years ago.

For "Pictures of You," Smith strapped on a guitar as the band started the show in a bit of a pattern of playing one new song like "A Fragile Thing" or a deeper cut like "Burn" followed by one of the more recognizable hits. A highlight of the set was when the green lasers shot through the arena as the Cure did a rendition of the postpunk cut "A Forest." When he repeated the refrain of "again and again and again," the crowd went wild.
After 90 minutes, the band left the stage for a few minutes without a word, only to march back on to play five more songs, eventually leaving the stage again and coming back a minute later to rip through the most massive of their hits. "Here's a song we haven't played in I don't know how long. Let's see how it goes," Smith said before the Cure faithfully interpreted the jazz-tinged track "The Lovecats." Later, the band went into perhaps its most upbeat song, "Friday I'm in Love," as an animated heart flashed on the big screens.

Finally, at two-plus hours into the show, Smith made his first abrupt rock-star movement as he jumped for joy during the end of "Close to Me." He even danced a little during "Why Can't I Be You," perhaps sensing a finish line. But he kept up the energy for the band's two biggest hits, "Just Like Heaven" and a slowed-down version of "Boys Don't Cry." That was the final song for previous stops, but the Cure wasn't ready to call it a night. "We got six minutes left, but it's the last night of the tour. Fuck it," and they went into the drip drip drip of "10:15 Saturday Night" and the aggression of the Camus-inspired debut single, "Killing an Arab."
With the band member's advancing age and the fact that they left even the kitchen sink on the stage, a sensitive sort might worry this could be the last time Miami would ever be able to see the Cure. But as Smith expressed gratitude to the crew and fans, he put those fears to bed.

"It's been fucking wonderful. Thank you," before most crucially adding, "See you again" — and again and again.

Setlist:
- "Alone"
- "Pictures of You"
- "A Fragile Thing"
- "A Night Like This"
- "Lovesong"
- "And Nothing Is Forever"
- "Burn"
- "Charlotte Sometimes"
- "Push"
- "Play for Today"
- "A Forest"
- "Shake Dog Shake"
- "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea"
- "Endsong"

Intermission:
- "I Can Never Say Goodbye"
- "Trust"
- "Plainsong"
- "Prayers for Rain"
- "Disintegration"

Second Intermission:
- "Lullaby"
- "The Lovecats"
- "The Walk"
- "Friday I'm in Love"
- "Close to Me"
- "Why Can't I Be You?"
- "In Between Days"
- "Just Like Heaven"
- "Boys Don't Cry"
- "10:15 Saturday Night"
- "Killing an Arab"