By DAN MACINTOSH
When The Cure headlines the Pasadena Daydream Festival at The Rose Bowl on Aug. 31, the band will do so as an unlikely big festival headliner.
Photos: Check out The Cure at Pasadena Daydream
Although many may only know this English band for its frothy pop hits, which include “Just Like Heaven” and “Friday I’m In Love,” the group also has a rich Gothic past. Even 1989’s Disintegration, which includes the oft-covered “Lovesong,” also features some really dark music.
This, after all, is a band that early in its career released albums with titles like The Head on the Door and Pornography. Whether creating pop hits or pained dirges, though, everything The Cure touches features Robert Smith’s tortured vocals and distinctive electric guitar approach. This is not your typical stadium band, like Springsteen’s E Street Band or U2, which fill football fields with robust sing-along anthems. The Cure fans may sing along, it’s true, but more often than not with tears in their eyes or broken hearts.
Furthermore, unlike many other all-day festivals, which attempt to be all things to all people, this Pasadena Daydream Festival is specifically geared to please hip The Cure fans. In addition to Smith and band, the Pixies (also legendary in their own way), Throwing Muses and The Joy Formidable will help lead the way toward The Cure’s closing set. The Deftones, Mogwai, Chelsea Wolfe, The Twilight Sad, Emma Ruth Rudle and Kaelan Mikla round out a full day’s worth of truly alternative rock.
This concert event is akin to the American version of The Cure’s BST Hyde Park appearance in London back in 2018. Smith has said he wants to create a celebratory vibe for this summer, and for serious music fans, this show may well be the best way to end the summer of 2019.
While many of The Cure’s contemporaries, like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Bauhaus, have fallen by the wayside, The Cure has only continued to grow in popularity and influence over the years. Even 40 plus years on, The Cure is still going strong, with no signs of slowing down.
For Tickets go to the Pasadena Daydream Festival website.
The Cure – Lullaby: