Heartland

SINsister wrote:I told you that you'd have a blast with our man in Hungary, now didn't I?

psichonaut wrote:"talking about the Iraq war"

psichonaut wrote:"talking about the Iraq war"

Pista wrote:Hi it's me (Batman).
& want to say that if anyone is heading to Sardinia for hols this year, you have to give Marco a call.
He is a terrific guy. Funny & his English is better than he lets on (& has access to some home made grappa that will blow your socks off).
Fcuking great couple of days. Thanks my friend, you are a diamond.

& big hugs to Terry & the girls (Kikina & Elisa).

mh wrote:

Any milk to go with that t-shirt, Steve?

To save a long review, like the Vienna one, we ran the “miniblog� so I could keep to the subject for the review.
Hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed making it.
The Palalottomatica is like a large hat-box, so seating all around a central floor area. This effectively means the arena was 2/3 full, as the seats behind the stage were not used.
There were microphones & cameras dotted around which suggest that a recording of some kind was being made.
While the roadies dismantled 65DOS’s gear, we had whale noises, so I really thought Open was going to start the show.
But, instead, we got what I had hoped for. The newly arranged version of Plainsong.
I am still in love with this arrangement & could listen to it over & over.
Prayers For Rain was a thunderous version, perfect from beginning to end. Sure it wasn’t the Enreat one, but this was the best I’ve heard on the 4tour so far. I called ceho to share in the magic for this one.
Although they added A Strange Day earlier in the tour, I was still surprised to here this & as it’s from my fave album, I wasn’t complaining. Tight & moody performance that could have been from any ’82 bootleg.
Alt.End, The End Of The World & The Walk all in quick succession. The projections (you’ve seen in the photos) look really good as a backdrop & add something of another dimension to the show.
3 absolutely beautiful pieces followed in Lovesong, To Wish Impossible Things & Pictures of You.
But, although Lovesong is a great song, the live version still doesn’t do it justice.
Someone once wrote that Lullaby was the most goth song the Cure ever wrote. I found that funny, being a Pronography fan. But this tale of nightmares & so-on was made so very dark here in Rome & now I find myself checking as many versions as possible to find what I have missed. It is one of their best singles & to play a show without it would be a crime.
Regular feature, From the Edge Of The Deep Green Sea, followed by newbie, Please Project were not a surprise to anyone & Push is still one of the Better tracks from HOTD, so good to see that one get an airing.
Now, the next 3 tracks had the entire audience singing & on the balconies, they were all dancing too. Friday (had to be done really), Inbetween Days & Just like Heaven, the latter being the most recognized song in this audience. It was as if everyone had learnt the lyrics especially for tonight.
The slow rendition of Primary upsets me. It is a far cry from the 1984 versions we used to get, but the projections were really cool for this one. Still needs to be faster, I think.
A Boy I Never Knew was just as dreamy as in Vienna & I am sure this song is going to win a lot of fans back. It is sad without sounding like someone complaining incessantly. Second time I’ve seen it & it still gives me goosebumps.
Would have been better if RS had picked up the right guitar at the beginning, but he managed the switch very well.
Us or Them was suddenly so load, that I honestly couldn’t tell what it was to start with. I am one of the few who actually like the song, but it was as if the sbd guy had knocked into a gain control. It started to get back into shape, but I have heard better.
Never Enough was Simon’s opportunity to show off his dancing “skills�.
He had been the most active all night, but this song was a really thumpy excuse to be a rock star.1. Wrong Number is surprising me yet again. Porl Thompson’s riffs & solos are just amazing. After all the moaning, I have to say he is the best guitarist that the Cure have ever had.
On the phone again, terrible connection but the mood seems to be just awesome
One Hundred yrs is a shadow of it’s former self. I still listen to Toronto 2004 to use as a benchmark version. This version tonight started pretty weak, but got more sinister as it went on. Projected images from WWII further created the uneasy feeling that the song should generate. By the end, I was content in the fact that this was the best outing for this song in a long time.
Disintegration to finish the mainset & RS looks 150% into this show. There is anger in the right places for the darker numbers & it shows
So the first encore was a standard “copy paste� of previous shows?
No. In terms of songs, yes, but M was just astonishing & it seems that A Forest is growing in length.
We were treated to an additional guitar break & ad-lib verse for this one. My fave song is still different every time the play it.
Pop encore time & Lovecats to start. RS abandons his guitar & spends the whole of the encore dancing & being “cute�.
HHH is a laugh again, just as I think it should be.
Freakshow we won’t talk about & for CTM he went over to stage-right (that’s left to those watching) & sang to Porl’s kids who were at the side of the stage.
Curious thing in this was it was the first time I really noticed the keyboard track. That sort of bugged me a bit TBH.
Then they launch into WCIBY & this was crap. I think the sbd guy accidentally (I hope) turned off all instruments except the bass & the drums. Effectively it was unlistenable.
Old school encore started good, but Grinding Halt was a bit sloppy. Vienna’s old school encore was one of the best things I’ve heard them do. This was really below that standard.
But, then comes 10:15 & Killing Another.
10:15 captures the crowd & they go bonkers for it & Killing Another was fast, punchy & packed full of energy with RS attacking the guitar riffs absolutely perfectly. I have heard this song hundreds of times & a personal fave is on the Hanging Garden 10�. Tonight’s version was, I think, better than that.
Then lights down, roadies on & the crown begging for more. Would my Trevi fountain wish come true? Would we get Faith?
3minutes of torture ended in the house lights coming up.
It is in their list of songs, along with other classics, so it is likely someone will get it soon (lucky barstewards).

In summary, these guys play for 3hrs+ & although the set lists seems fairly uninspiring to the reader, the combination of the audience, the projections & the performance makes that seems un-important. They are still great to see live.
Song of the night: Prayers For Rain. Simply stunning version & I want to hear it again!
Worst moment: WCIBY. Utter rubbish thanks to a deaf sbd technician.

Was great to meet Emy & she got that beer as I promised. First time I had met her, but it felt like I had known her for ages. Thanks for the help with the flyers upstairs.
Have a great time in Milan.