25/05/2000
watching me fall very slight cut
want
fascination street
open
the loudest sound
maybe someday
shake dog shake
from the edge of the deep green sea
inbetween days
sinking
prayers for rain
one hundred years
end
39
bloodflowers
plainsong
disintegration
cold
siamese twins
pornography
lovesong
just like heaven
a forest same nite/different recording
faith same nite/diff. recording (extra lyrics)
and what a brilliant show!! but first, about the two recordings that i've got from dallas 25/05/2000. both are audience recordings, one is better than the other--but misses the last two songs ("a forest" and "faith"). the complete show is good, but the incomplete show is really really much better--so i'm going to treat them as one, using the lesser quality show performances of both "a forest" and "faith" to complete the really good recording.
and the better quality recording sounds great--one of the very best audience recording that i've heard--ever!! excellent shimmer to the acoustic guitars, brilliant shine to cymbals and well mixed w/all instruments/vocals.. excellent all around, and the vocals sound nice--the lesser show has vocals that kinda echo (like they would in a larger venue), but the incomplete show sounds great!!
the band opens w/the dream tour standards--"out of this world" (nicely played/excellent acoustics) "watching me fall" (strong and hard) "want" and "fascination street."
"watching me fall" has the slightest of cuts, barely noticeable--just a blip out of one of the inbetween vocals guitar parts, but a good performance/recording anyway.
robert then says "thank you.....and hello again..." before a really full-sounding and pounding version of "want." excellent mix of guitars/synths and everything...really good. and then right into "fascination street," complete w/a nice groove and more excellent sounds/mixes.
a nice thumping version of "shake dog shake" goes back to 1984 (thanks to the cure line-up 2000)...good and cool, nice to get this one in dallas!! some cool sounds in the mix, really good--and then into "from the edge of the deep green sea." this one's really good as well, the high quality of the recording helps bring out the nice guitar sounds--not just the parts alone--but the sounds.
"inbetween days" comes next and is the first real smile of the night, an up song in the middle of the dark set. well played and everyone up out of the seats. the next song is from the same album, a nice performance of "sinking." the good sound/good mix of the recording--again--makes for a nice listen, really nice w/everything working together....the guitars/bass/synth/drums all click perfectly in a good mix.
another excellent dream tour "prayers for rain" on this night, (robert holds the last "rain" for almost twenty seconds in good voice) and then "one hundred years." it's pretty good =) and pretty sharp, everyone playing well and robert in fine form...and the same holds true for "end." none of the great guitar sounds are lost in the stadium or in the mix, you can hear them all in almost every song--rawk!!
the end of the set works really well, "39" starts with the guitars from the last song still ringing--and it has a nice good kick to it, a real good guitar-mix (w/excellent noisy sounds/scratches and feedback from perry, and cutting/direct parts from robert) with strong bass/drums underneath. robert stays on top of the vocals as well, making them really good. "bloodflowers"is almost always a high point, and this version/recording is among the better ones, helped along greatly by the mix/sound quality--but even so, the performance itself is what really drives it home--and like "39" before it, "bloodflowers" features really solid bass/drums with excellent mood/atmosphere, and robert is in great form both lyrically and vocally.
the first encore starts w/a wonderfully cold and grey version of "plainsong," sweeping synths and sparkling effects (and bass lines/melody), breathtaking--even at home!! and "disintegration" follows, pushing things closer and closer to the end...more great sounds (the back-and-forth guitars/bass line/keyboards) working together, pushing more and more...and robert keeps the vocals strong and sounds really good.
they come back and get even darker w/"cold," "siamese twins" and "pornography." "cold" is good, but "siamese twins" and "pornography" are better. "siamese twins" just features a better overall performance, but "pornography" has a brilliant mix of sounds (guitars/tumbling drums/feedback/backwards tapes) that makes it feel really crowded and claustrophobic--in the best way, like sensory overload--excellent!!
the singles come out for the third encore, starting w/one of the best performances/recordings of "lovesong" that i can remember (except for one note--ha!)...and then "just like heaven" seems to open up the sky, the crowd goes crazy and the performance/recording is really good and solid. robert actually sings the different "you you you" in the first line of the last chorus that ends the song.
the last two songs are taken from the lesser quality complete show recording--it's still a really good recording, just not quite as good as the incomplete version. the lesser quality show has a good mix/sound, but the most noticeable difference is w/robert's vocals. the lesser recording makes him sound like you're hearing him in a larger place, where the better one makes his voice/vocals sound really good/direct.
that said, the singles encore ends w/"a forest." they don't really take advantage of the moment, it was really moving and working pretty good, but this is just a short version.
with time for only one more song, the cure says goodbye w/a nice performance of "faith." nothing earth-shaking, just a few extra lyrics and some guitar--but a good performance and a nice goodbye. this is a really really good dream tour recording, there are some pretty good ones around--so it's hard to single out must-have dream tour shows/recordings. but dallas is a keeper...especially if you were in the fifth row =)