By Chesney Hearst, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After seventeen years the iconic band, The Cure, will finally return to South America with Rio’s HSBC Arena as the first stop on their ‘LatAm2013 Tour’ on Thursday, April 4th. Old and new fans will get to see them arrive with a wealth of material, including such hits as; “Boys Don’t Cry”, “Friday I’m in Love”, “Pictures Of You”, and “Lovesong.”
Formed by schoolmates Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, Lol Tolhurst and Porl Thompson over 35 years ago in Crawley, West Sussex, UK, The Cure began as a band named Easy Cure in 1976.
In 1978, the first of many lineup changes occurred when Thompson was dropped from the band. The “Easy” was also removed from the name and the trio signed with the Fiction label. In 1979 they released their debut album, Three Imaginary Boys.
The Cure then arrived on the scene as a post-punk era band that was at times gloomy, self-pitying, and dark. With time something proved to be different and enduring about The Cure, and to date they have released thirteen studio albums, ten EPs and multiple singles.
“We are deliriously happy to be coming back to South America at last – we have been away for far too long!” The Cure’s front man Robert Smith announced in a press statement adding, “We will be playing three-plus hour shows, and have every intention of making this the most memorable Cure Tour EVER!”
Mary Byker, a British expatriate living in Rio and owner of Mekong restaurant – as well as front-man for the band Pop Will Eat Itself – shared with The Rio Times. “Probably one of the best songwriters to come out of post-punk era, Robert Smith has consistently written great songs. A three hour show packed with top tunes. A must see gig!”
The band will start the tour in Rio, then go to São Paulo on Saturday, April 6th. After that they move on to Asunción, Paraguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile on April 16th.
“I was a ‘Smiths fan’ back in the day but listened to a lot of The Cure, and even covered a couple of their songs,” Dimitri Rebello of diahum, a Brazilian pop duo with influences both from samba and indie rock, told The Rio Times.
“What I liked most about their music was two main aspects: that it was conceptual in every aspect and the rawness of the sound. I loved how crude it was, how devoid of any ‘musical frillyness’ like other post-punk acts. Their sound was raw and direct as punk, but managed to use that crudeness to sound deep and dreamy and even to be delicate.”
Delicate has been used to describe lead singer Robert Smith, who has sported makeup and lipstick and is famous for his emotionally open lyrics. However, at the same time he and the band seem to portray the strength in revealing underlying weakness.
The Cure’s line-up has been more tenuous, seeing many changes over time with books written about the various rifts between band members but there has been one constant over the 35 years, front man Robert Smith. Currently the line-up of The Cure is Robert Smith (vocals), Simon Gallup (bass guitar), Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Roger O’Donnell (keyboard) and Jason Cooper (drums).
Rebello added, “From The Cure’s sound to their looks, everything fit together and as a result they had a very powerful, peculiar identity.”
Mix to that the promise of an over three hour show and Thursday, April 4th should be a rewarding experience for fans who’ve waited a long time for The Cure to return to Rio.
What: The Cure
Where: HSBC Arena – Avenida Embaixador Abelardo Bueno, 3401 – Barra da Tijuca
When: April 4th 8:30 PM with doors opening at 7PM
Price: Starting at R$150 to R$600 – tickets are available here.