| manchester wish two 24/11/1992 |
| tape shake dog shake inbetween days dressing up the big hand pictures of you high friday i'm in love apart catch play for today in your house from the edge of the deep green sea just like heaven let's go to bed a strange day cut end at night never enough one hundred years foxy lady lovesong lullaby boys don't cry a night like this a forest doing the unstuck |
| the cure plays the second of two wish tour shows in manchester... and a very interesting show it is...first, about the recording itself--not bad, not bad at all--which means...it's good!! the sound is good and solid, not brilliant--but really good. during the intro of "tape" and then into the first song the level changes a bit (goes from loud to soft and then back a little), but this is very listenable and enjoyable... now the show itself--very interesting really. given that this is the second night in manchester, things go a bit differently just to make sure that they don't play the same show...starting w/"shake dog shake." it's slightly off tonight, robert's first few words are lost (due to mixing/microphone problems?) and it just doesn't feel as solid and powerful as it usually does..."inbetween days" is slightly better, and then "dressing up" is quite good. robert claims that the band will play whatever the crowd shouts out at them (a good laugh if it does--or even if it doesn't--explain the song selections this night) and then the band plays a nice version of "the big hand." robert switches some lyrics around, but it's actually very good. solid wish tour performances of "pictures of you," "high" and "friday i'm in love" follow... after a shaky start, the show continues to grow stronger w/an excellent version of "apart" that outshines the version found on "paris," then comes a good version of "catch" too...a good and energetic "play for today" comes next, good even though robert goes a bit off w/the lyrics...more than once... |
| another "seventeen seconds" track, "in your house," comes next--and then "from the edge of the deep green sea," (w/porl's guitar solo mixed up pretty well in the mix--kinda cool!) making for an interesting mood...different than most wish tour shows, followed by "just like heaven." "let's go to bed" is slower than usual, more laid back...in fact, robert plays around w/the phrasing of the lyric in the second verse--either having fun w/the song, or mocking the song itself. "cut" feels a bit more chaotic than usual, robert half-sings lots of the lyrics...and then the middle quiet part is extended for more guitars/feedback/noise before he starts singing again. kinda cool, but kind like a mess =\ and of course, "end" follows right behind...very similarly done, kinda messy and all. a very grey "at night" starts the encores, good performance--and a solid "never enough" lingers in the air w/feedback until boris starts playing the drums for "one hundred years." it's a good--if unspectacular--version, and they use the noise at the end for robert to play "foxy lady" riffs until eventually it comes round to a full song performance. not bad. the next set of encores starts w/"lovesong" and "lullaby," both are just ok...."lullaby" features some really shaky six-string bass lines, like perhaps someone has had a few too many glasses of wine...it's not awful, just kinda silly/sloppy messing around. then comes "boys don't cry" and "a night like this" which are much better. but things go off the rails again when robert messes up the guitar parts in the long instrumental introduction of "a forest." laugh out loud, he misses the line once--and then plays around w/the familiar line the rest of the way thru, slight changes and wrong notes...and it just doesn't work =) the rest of the song feels kinda forced...and even the "again and again and again" vocal comes out strange, the long ending has some funny things going on--and then simon even plays some bum notes in the end--more than once!! they try to pick things back up w/"doing the unstuck," and kinda make it work--even though it's very odd to think of any cure show ending w/"doing the unstuck." robert misses more lyrics and porl's solo goes a little crazy as well...more lost lyrics! more lost vocals! and then "thank you, and goodnight." this is just a strange show on what must have been a very (!!) strange night in 1992--and given that the set-list is so different--this is a good trade, not bad at all. the performances are also hit-and-miss as well, but even so..the cure on an off night is still an interesting listen!! not a must have show, but good fun. |