Photos and words by Taylor Shields
The Cure brought their Shows of A Lost World tour to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly on Saturday, June 24th, marking their final week of shows on their first US tour in 15 years. They were supported by Scotland natives, The Twilight Sad. Over 40 years into their run, Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, and company proved just how much life The Cure still has in them. As Smith greeted the crowd, he silently walked to each end of the stage, smiling and giving attention to each section of fans who tossed bouquets of roses and cheered as he walked about, before finally returning to center stage to open the show with “Alone”, followed by the ever-mesmerizing “Pictures of You”.
Smith’s voice is as strong and crisp as it’s ever been. If you closed your eyes in that arena, you’d be hard pressed to believe that over 30 years had passed since many of these songs had been recorded. The precision with which the band seemed to effortlessly play their tunes was absolutely impressive. After nearly every song, someone nearby would turn to the person next to them and utter a superlative of awe – “That was awesome!” “Incredible!” “Amazing!” Every person seemed just as impressed as the next, as Smith and the band powered through a career-spanning 29-song setlist, playing for over two and a half hours.
With a group this far into their career, it could be easy to write off a long-awaited North American tour as a money grab. However, the band’s commitment to moderately priced tickets and tour merch, along with a truly spectacular performance from beginning to end, made The Cure’s return to the US well worth it. You can still catch one of the last remaining shows before the band takes off to South America in the fall (all upcoming tour dates here). See the full setlist below and keep scrolling to see more photos from the show.
The Cure Setlist (6/24/2023):
– Alone
– Pictures of You
– A Fragile Thing
– Kyoto Song
– A Night Like This
– Lovesong
– And Nothing Is Forever
– Burn
– Charlotte Sometimes
– Push
– Play for Today
– A Forest
– Shake Dog Shake
– From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
– Endsong
// Encore 1 //
– I Can Never Say Goodbye
– It Can Never Be the Same
– At Night
– Plainsong
– Disintegration
// Encore 2 //
– Lullaby
– Six Different Ways
– The Walk
– Friday I’m in Love
– Close to Me
– Why Can’t I Be You?
– In Between Days
– Just Like Heaven
– Boys Don’t Cry
