The Cure review: United Center concert features generous assortment of old and new

It was an exceptional week for fans of glam and gloomy music in Chicago. On Tuesday, the dolorous devoted had their choice of rare appearances by Love and Rockets at the Riviera Theatre or the Sisters of Mercy at the Salt Shed. Saturday’s show at United Center was the main event for moody goths, though. English rockers the Cure made their first visit to town since 2016 and played a nearly three-hour set of succulently sulky pop and rock for a full house.

Many attendees dressed for the occasion. Fans sported their finest black-on-black attire, pale makeup, heavy eyeliner, and hair that was dyed and teased-out in tribute to beloved and disheveled Cure frontman Robert Smith.

After the tour’s launch in New Orleans a month ago, the sold-out “Shows of a Lost World” date in Chicago ran like a well-tuned machine throughout a generous set of 31 songs.

The Cure’s deep musical well of albums and singles has allowed nightly set-list shakeups. Chicago was treated to an adventurous and crowd-pleasing assortment, even while omitting songs as popular as “Fascination Street,” “Hot Hot Hot!!!” and “Let’s Go to Bed.” The audience sang favorites including the plaintive “Lovesong” and shimmering “In Between Days” with gusto. Deeper cuts for diehards included the biting “Shake Dog Shake” and the tour debut of “Like Cockatoos.”

Vintage material included the cinematic and shadowy “A Forest” from 1980’s “Seventeen Seconds” album. Smith’s tale of deceptive allure was propelled by longtime bassist and songwriting partner Simon Gallup’s urgent triplet pulse. The pair faced off at center stage under eerie green light as the song concluded.

Although the Cure haven’t released an album of new music since 2008, Smith has promised a “doom and gloom” record titled “Songs of a Lost World.” Several songs from the project were performed during Saturday’s main set, which opened with the regretful and defeated “Alone” and closed with the somber “Endsong.”

Other new fare included “And Nothing Is Forever” and the fittingly melancholic “A Fragile Thing.”

“There’s nothing you can do to change it back, she said,” sang Smith over Roger O’Donnell’s understated piano. “This love is a fragile thing.”

Smith explained that the devastating “I Can Never Say Goodbye” was written for his late brother. By all indications, the new album will mope along with the Cure’s best and should be a doleful delight for hardcore fans.

The brooding “It Can Never Be the Same” has been performed since 2016 but never included on a studio album. The song hinged upon Smith’s mournful vocal and Gallup’s growling and despondent bass line.

Veteran David Bowie sideman Reeves Gabrels is the Cure’s most recent lineup addition, although the guitarist’s working relationship with Smith reaches back to 1997 for mutual solo projects and Cure single “Wrong Number.” Since joining in 2012, Gabrels’ stylish fretwork has become fully integrated into the band’s familiar sound. At United Center, Gabrels played electric sitar for “Pictures of You” and unleashed dazzling displays of “stunt guitar” during “A Night Like This” and “From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea.”

Jason Cooper’s tom-toms thundered during “Burn.” The drummer crashed headlong throughout the ecstatic “Push” and played with restraint on “Plainsong.” Fans sang O’Donnell’s synthesizer melody during “Play for Today,” and the keyboardist’s delicate piano figure added signature sonics to “Disintegration.”

After the main set dominated by deliciously depressing fare, the Cure returned for a pair of encores that highlighted its whimsical and upbeat side. The skewed and nightmarish “Lullaby” led a string of thrills including the sunny “Friday I’m in Love,” the nervous and wary “Close to Me,” a delirious “Why Can’t I Be You?” and the euphoric “Just Like Heaven.”

The concert closed with a trio of Smith’s earliest singles, including the spiky punk-pop of 1979 single “Boys Don’t Cry,” the terse and swinging “10:15 Saturday Night” and the often-misunderstood debut single “Killing an Arab.”

Smith thanked the crowd for an especially warm reception. “It’s the only show where we can say we’ll see you again,” he said. Fans at United Center and those who missed out will have another opportunity to see the Cure when the band headlines Riot Fest on Sunday, Sept. 17.