European Summer Festival Tour 2005


Sept. 1st, 2005 - Athens, Greece (Terravibe)

Open, Fascination Street, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, alt.end, The Blood, The End of the World, Inbetween Days, Shake Dog Shake, Us or Them, Push, Lovesong, Friday I'm in Love, Just Like Heaven, A Letter to Elise, Lullaby, Never Enough, A Strange Day, Signal to Noise, The Baby Screams, One Hundred Years, Shiver and Shake, End

1st encore: If Only Tonight We Could Sleep, The Kiss
2nd encore: ("I wrote this today, it's a brand new song") Hot Hot Hot!!!, Let's Go to Bed ("just wait until seven"), Why Can't I Be You?
3rd encore: ("Seriously, the Greek stuff is welling up inside me!") Three Imaginary Boys, Fire in Cairo, Grinding Halt, Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing an Arab
4th encore: ("This is a first, I don't think that we have ever ever played anything after that song" (Killing an Arab)) Faith

Show was 2 hours and 52 minutes.

(Thanks to Olivier for the setlist)

Photos

COF

 
(Thanks Christopher)

Reviews


Thursday night I think we saw the best concert of Cure in Athens ever - I wasn't on the concerts of 1985 and 1989 but I'm sure that they weren't
as good as that of 2005. The band chose to play a setlist which could satisfy all kind of fans. As a hardcore fan myself I had enjoyed the concert of 2002 but I enjoyed most the one that I saw Thursday night. Robert, Simon, Porl and Jason were in great mood and they did some magical stuff in the stage. I was in Terravibe from the soundcheck so I could give you some information about it. The songs that they played during soundcheck were Lovesong two times, Catch, If Only Tonight We Could Sleep and The Kiss.

As far as the main concert concerns, I must say that the Cure were supposed to play for two hours but they stayed on the stage for a nearly 3 hour show. They had great energy but they also, I believe, felt surprised by the crowd. Robert was left speechless when he lived the staged after the 1st encore. He tried to say something but he just couldn't. He was very touched by the crowd. That's why after the end of the concert he was on the edge of the stage staring at the people in front of him for about a minute. Before the show I was curious to hear some songs without the keyboards, but at the end of the show I understand that these guys can do anything they want with their guitars, although I really missed the sound of keyboards during if only tonight we could sleep and the kiss. Robert promised to be in Greece next year.
I hope he will return and he will give us the same moments that he gave us Thursday night.

- Spyros


Let me tell you one thing.I've seen the Cure live twice in the past (so this was obviously my third time),I've watched many concerts of other bands and artists, but that show of the first night of September is by far the most memorable! The Cure were in excellent shape and gave me the most magical 3 hour set I have ever experienced! I'm 25 years old and I caught myself jumping, screaming , shouting and dancing like a little child. The sound was great, Robert's voice and guitars were unbelievable, Porl was amazing and I really think that with his contribution the band will be releasing a much better album than the last one, Simon is always the most impressive performer of the band and Jason was powerfull and reached the levels of Boris Williams. What impressed me most was the fact that the Cure actually made exclusive covers of their own songs.I was kind of curious of how they were going to play the "requiring keyboards" songs without Roger. At first I thought that there were going to be many samples and that Porl was going to play both guitars and keyboards. But hell no.. Two guitars, four amazing performers in general made us lose our minds. All the keyboards
parts where substituted by amazing guitar riffs. In my humble opinion the most memorable moments in this great set where: open,fascination street,deep green sea,the blood,end of the world,push,lovesong,,lullaby,shiver and shake,second and third encore (oh my god: Fire in Cairo!!!, grinding halt!!!) and of course faith!!!!
I enjoyed the fact that the band played a b-side,I actually like signal to noise pretty much, but I would prefer to hear this twilight garden,play or another journey by train.During Just like heaven,friday,lovesong and the second and third encore there was a big party going on in the place of Terra Vibe.Especially during 10:15 and killing an arab, I almost sprained my ankle.At the end of the night Robert said "see you next year for a Curiosa"! We will all be waiting.
Thank you for this unbelievably beautiful night! You made me a very happy man
 
- Vagelis from Athens,Greece


1/9/2005 A memorable night...


But let's take things from the beginning..

i arrived early around 4:15 Soundcheck had started i heard "The kiss" and some other unknown instrumentals and i saw Robert with sun glasses and a short-summer look trousers around 4:45? the band left

But a few minutes later a surpise Jason walking through the fans with his wife but no one spoke to him

in the middle of "The Cranes" set Jason came on the stage-corner and watching the show

Around 21:30 the band came out on stage

in the beginning of the concert(untill Just like heaven) i was in the third row very close to the stage almost central between Robert And Simon

And...OPEN everyone starts to jump around and sing along "I really don't know what i'am doing here.." excellent performance

Then "Fascination street"..what can i say?? simon bass is great drives the crowd crazy, i'm so sweat..

And now "From the edge of the deep Green sea" oh my god ROBERT are you trying to kill us?! all the hands in the sky..in the middle i'm screaming
"PORL PORL" yes it's PORL'S TIME  magic moments brilliant guitar solo..i can see now the deep green sea

Alt end another powerfull song very nice live i'm still able to scream and jump

ok you all know the setlist..

Now we have all the SINGLES(and a surprise LOVESONG) and some idiots they're thinking this is korn or iron maiden concert and starting to pushing it's a terrible situation, I missed  "Just like heaven" so during "A letter to elise"  i'm going  back around 4-5 meters ok it's not the same from here but at least i can stand without to fall to floor

i'm wreck i lost my energy from the great open of the show(open fascination deep green...)

The audience is GREAT(except the few pushers assholes) and the band seems to enjoy that Robert is very talkative and also speaks some Greek
words

End..the main setlist is over with many singles(crowd pleasure)

*In the Stage-Corner Porl's side(5-6 meters from him) there're about 10 or more plastic seats with jason's wife some old people(robert's parents?)
and 2 cute young girls(robert's nieces?) the girls singing and dancing during the show(so lucky to be up in the stage with the CURE)

*Jason is taking his revenge is really good NOW!

ENCORE 1
Robert is saying "This is not the right place for this song" and they starting "if only.." then kiss 2 songs for firt encore just good

ENCORE 2(POP PARTY)
Robert is saying "I wrote this song today!!!" and they playing something that sounds familliar but i'm not sure what is....HOT HOT HOT!!! without
keyboards then "let's go to bed" with robert walkin around the stage with the mic why can't i be you?
"HOT HOT HOT" it's a big surprise crowd goes once again crazy but i prefer them with keyboards...

ENCORE 3(OLD SCHOOL-THE BEST ENCORE)
"Fire in cairo"  and i'm starting thing that i'm dreaming and it's not real F-I-R-E I-N- C-A-I-R-O-!,

"Grinding Halt" my feet are aching and my knees are sore But it's jumping and screaming time once again

"10 15 saturday night" everyone singing the drip drip drip line "boys" and KILLING AN ARAB!! THAT'S THE END I'M DEAD TONIGHT GOD
LOVE US Roberts saying in the end "LOVING AN ARAB"

ENCORE 4!!!!!(I SAID BAND IS IN GREAT MOOD)
Some people screaming "Forest" but i scream "FAITH" the light is very dark and i'am feeling it..."FAITH..."
With extra lyrics "I Was Too old to Know,I Was Too Young.."

in the end everyone is clapping with drumbeat

Roberts is saying for one more time "Thank you" and "SEE YOU NEXT YEAR FOR A CURE SHOW"!

time is 12:20..total time 2hours 50 minutes
people i'm sure more than 8.500

a geat performance-dream night-"THE CURE ARE BACK"

now we have 16 gods..

- Antony


After having sorely missed the gig in my homeland Taormina I did not know what to expect from the Greek date of the tour. The festival took place in a very nice thematic park with a most pleasant scenery and athmosphere. The first act, a local band called Film, played a quite energetic set of abrasive rock followed by the Cranes. This was the first high of the day for me, thirty seconds into their set with 'Far Away' and I'm back in year 1992, with all the good and the bad memories of the time. The time travelling experience continues throughout their set as they choose to play more old songs than new ones. After that followed another local act, Alkinoos Ioannidis, which I personally found a strange choice given the other bands in the list, but still an enjoyable set (for those who are keen like me) of greek music. And then they took the stage and didn't leave it for quite a long while. The Cure yesterday night threw a powerful 3-hour set of the "teasing kind". They choose to play safe for the first hour (see the setlist and
you will know what I mean), perhaps due to the fact that last time they played in Greece in 2002 the crowd enjoyed more the "hits" than the Pornography kind of stuff. So yesterday with remarkable ability they first teased people with the Fridays and the In Betweens and then slowly slipped into the set a number of powerful pieces. My personal highs were Push, Baby Screams, 100 years, the 1979 3rd encore all the way to "Loving an Arab", and the really unexpected (also Robert said so) 4th encore with an intense Faith. Overall the set was well played, nothing to say about that, maybe not entirely my kind of thing but both the band and the people around me were happy and that's enough for a festival. I thought I would have been way more impressed by hearing A letter to Elise after a long time and Signal to Noise for the first time, but for some reason they both didn't work for me. Also, one year after, the songs of the last album still don't tell me much and probably never will. In any case, it's clear that the band is in good shape and that the new arrangements have brought in something fresh and dynamic in the music. We shall see now where do we go from here.

- Davide Consoli


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