Curious...

Still without any time to really take a day to rest, Irene and I, joined by G, Lurch and Ash (who graciously provided transport) went out to the landfill known as Randall's Island to check out The Cure's CURIOSA festival. The festival on paper is a good line up, filled with interesting bands, most of whom, with the exception of The Cure, I had yet to see. Therefore, this tour provided the opportunity for me to see bands I had been, ahem curious, about seeing perform live.

We hit some traffic so we didn't get to see all of Mogwai, so I have no review to present to you. Thus, the gig starts with Dan Hamill's dreamboat, Melissa Auf Der Maur, who is a redheaded hippie with sweet thighs. She's a bit spacey (not kevin) for my tastes, so once she started singing about horses, I felt it was time to get a smootie. Dan Hamill seemed pleased with the gig, so thats enough for me.

On the main stage, The Rapture took to the stage and they are super talented and super young. These kids look young enough to be The Kidd's kids, and that is saying something. However, they were fun, energetic and played a good set. The dude with the cowbell who dances like an idiot was at first very funny, then annoying, and in retrospect was back to being funny. There is something about The Rapture that never quite clicks with me musically, but they are crazy talented and have potential to really grow as a band. However, until then I felt like this tour had to be over in time for them to register for Freshman Orientation. They get a thumbs up from me.

Then we checked out something called Thursday. Total shit. I recall very little other than Irene deciding to stay at the second stage in order to get a good spot for Muse. She was rather focused and determined and downright scary. But I get like that too...

So then New York's supposed finest, INTERPOL, took to the stage. I'm a fan. I'm not a fanatic, but a fan, so I was really intruiged to see them more than any band on this tour. Sadly, this gig didn't deliver at all. They are lazy, they lack charisma and their performance flat out sucked. The best thing in the band is Carlos D, an amazing hipster douche, and that takes a lot for me to say. He had technical problems with his rig, which might have killed their momentum, but he literally is the only one besides the drummer who looks like they belong on a stage this size. The rythmn section carries this band far beyond anything it should be. The guitar player is a hack who's lack of style or distinction in his guitar playing and sound cripples this band immsenly. The singer's Ian Curtis gimmick goes way too far live and he sings without any conviction or passion. There is a BIG fucking difference between being cool in a nonchalant way and being nonchalant because you dont have the courage or skills to back it up. However, let me say that they do have some great songs on record, especially the new song NARC. After seeing Saintface give their fucking lives in a clubs the night before, Interpol come off as hipster douche hasbeens at 30. The singer from Interpol should go to Mercury Lounge on August 28th for some serious lessons on how to be a frontman.

And yes that was Michael Saintface walking away after a few songs telling us "I've seen enough"...

Luckily this horrible experience and the whole day was saved by current UK sensations MUSE who made everyone on this tour look like fucking amatuers. While I have always liked them on CD, my concern was that they were products of the NME hype machine. Well, I am happy to report that they are more than deserving of the hype they have gotten in the UK. They are shockingly good musicians and the energy they had on stage was staggering. It was the best 45 minutes of the day and one of the best performances I have seen in ages. Matt Bellamy, the frontman, plays guitar in ways that are alien and while this is a rock band, the use of occasional loops makes me a sucker for them. Worth the hype. And thanks to Muse for making my girlfriend a very happy fan. Great stuff.

And well...The Cure. They came on, and they played, and it was the first time I felt that they seemed, well, old. They seemed sluggish, especially when the limped through HIGH, and the new songs didn't translate nearly as well as I had hoped. Poor Simon Gallup kept trying to get the energy going and it just wasn't happening. I felt the set list lacked the diversity of other tours and I feel like I have heard this all played before. Of course the older stuff came across well and this was the first time I was REALLY into the very old stuff (Forest, 10:15), but the gig just lacked the spark, the energy, that they have had EVERY time I have seen them since 1989. The encore was great, however, and that helped a lot. I'm a sucker for a good outdoor gig, but when youre sitting on the grass swapping spit with your girl, you know the band just isn't delivering as they should.

The evening ended with the crew grabbing a late dinner at the Gramercy. No sign of Ryan Adams (who is playing here soon, but is so not worth 40 bucks to see). All in all it was a good day, saved by the brits in Muse, so cheers.

F