The Cure returns to Brazil after ten years to play their best and longest show at Primavera Sound 2023 | Primavera Sound 2023

At two and a half hours, The Cure’s show that closed on Sunday (3) at Primavera Sound 2023 was not only the longest of the festival, but also the best.

Duration helps, but that’s not all. The gothic post-punk band uses their experience gained over 45 years of existence to keep the audience, who mostly came to see them, on their toes from start to finish.

This show is the British group’s fourth visit to Brazil. After 1987 and 1996, the last time was in 2013, more than a decade ago.

At 64 years old, with his signature messy hair and smudged lipstick, lead singer and sole founding member of The Cure Robert Smith guides the audience on a journey full of emotional ups and downs and a voice that remains one of rock’s best.

More introspective moments, like the sequel to “Lovesong” and the new song “Nothing Lasts Forever,” alternate with the happy, danceable beats of “Friday I’m in Love” and “Close to me.”

There are also clear spaces for singing with your eyes closed and your hand on your chest, as in “Just Like Heaven.” Even the three songs on their new yet-to-be-released album “Songs of a Lost World” please with pure therapy juice.

This is the case for the person responsible for opening the show “alone”. In the first chords, you can see some curious looks from fans trying to identify the song, confused.

In the end, despite the timid applause, Smith said his first “thank you” in Portuguese. “It’s good to be back,” he adds in English, wearing a black T-shirt with the Brazilian flag underneath the blouse, also black.

“Pictures of you,” the first of six tracks from the “Disintegration” album — for some, the group’s best album — that make up the long tracklist, comes soon after and makes everyone stand still and sing along passionately.

“High” keeps the mood going, but the heaviness of “A Night Like This” is the set’s greatest show card.

“Lovesong” features the biggest chorus in the show. “Nothing’s Forever,” another of the new songs, scatters the energy a bit — though it’s beautiful.

The success of “Burn” shows that despite the extended time on the road and lineup changes, the Cure are still at their peak artistically.

“Between Days” opens the guard of fans, who once again warm up their vocal cords in the chorus, for “Just Like Heaven” to bring the audience to the canvas.

The album’s song “Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me” is sung from beginning to end, and remains one of the show’s biggest hits.

The energy dips again with “Into the Night” and “Play for the Day,” only to be restored by “Forest,” which actually generates emotional screams in the long, slow intro.

On Smith’s percussive solo, the audience applauds with Simon Gallup’s voice. With The Cure since 1979, with a three-year gap, he became the oldest member of the band, excluding the singer.

The seven minutes of From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea are perfectly executed, but far too long.

They don’t help provide the latest news of the night. “Endsong” is the last song before the debut and challenges even the most enthusiastic people with its 10-plus minute duration.

With its broad musical moments, the song fits well into the treatment, but loses the audience a bit. At this point, the less fanatical tourists, or festival tourists, began to leave to avoid the rush.

They can’t imagine that there are still 12 songs left, that’s nearly an hour of the show.

In both cases, treatment adopts a “one for me, one for you” strategy. The first clearly consists of five songs close to the heart of the group.

Smith plays calmly, without haste, and makes noise without paying attention to the timid claps.

It’s like that with “It Can Never Be The Same”, “I Want”, and “Sometimes Charlotte”. “Plainsong” sounds like something out of a studio session.

While some tracks gain new characters during the presentation, this one feels like it was inspired by “Disintegration” – and doesn’t change the winning team.

When he returns for a second encore, Smith ventures a few more words to the audience. Like a good introvert, he mumbles words internally, away from the microphone. everything is OK. Save dictation for songs.

“Lullaby” opens the final section with a giant grid illustrating the screen on the stage. Not everyone knows it well, but the verses about Spider-Man’s hunger resonate with them.

“Friday I’m in Love” gets the audience dancing and opens up a sequence to make those who left early regret it.

On “Close to Me,” Smith allows himself to grab the microphone and walk around the stage closer to the fans.

The energy of the party, which even the most distracted person never imagines ending, remains high with “Why Can’t I Be You.”

To send everyone home with a smile on their faces, the group had their biggest hit, “Boys Don’t Cry.”

Come back soon, treatment. Next time may not take another ten years.