Written by: Leif Gaslow

I’ll cut to the chase.

The Cure were mercilessly great last night at their headlining Hyde Park gig in London for the British Summer Time Festival.

The band is set to release new material in 2019 with a massive tour to follow and if this show was any indication, The Cure are set to surge once again.

The heat was sweltering, the show was sold-out, and as the sun set the band was in total control of every moment. Somehow, in front of a crowd of almost 70,000 people The Cure made such a massive setting feel incredibly intimate.

For those of us who spent years listening to The Cure in the dark, the irony of it still being light outside was not lost on Robert Smith. “I can’t really talk until the sun goes down,” he confessed.

But he sure could sing.

With the shadows darkening each second, Smith and his band tore through their discography with energy and heart. It’s hard to believe we’re in the 40th year of The Cure’s existence because every note sounded so fresh and vital.

“In Between Days” crackled with immediacy; “Shake Dog Shake” was post-punk bliss and “A Forest” soared with dark beauty. They also surprised the crowd by playing “Grinding Halt” and “Jumping Someone Else’s Train”–two numbers they hadn’t done live in almost ten years.

The nearly 30-song set closed with what was surely the greatest encore I’ve ever seen. Starting with “Lullaby,” the band ripped through “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Friday I’m In Love.”

The whole thing ended with a breathlessly sublime version of “Killing An Arab.”

The Cure are back, my friends.  And we will never stop needing them.

Set List:

Plainsong
Pictures of You
High
A Night Like This
The Walk
The End of the World
Lovesong
Push
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
If Only Tonight We Could Sleep
Play for Today
A Forest
Shake Dog Shake
Burn
Fascination Street
Never Enough
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
Disintegration
Encore:
Lullaby
The Caterpillar
Friday I’m in Love
Close to Me
Why Can’t I Be You?
Boys Don’t Cry
Jumping Someone Else’s Train 
Grinding Halt 
10:15 Saturday Night
Killing an Arab