Last week, I spent an hour fighting through Ticketmaster’s abysmal Verified Fan ticket sale for The Cure‘s upcoming North American tour. After getting tons of errors and being kicked off and put back into the queue three times, I finally managed to score tickets to see the famous 80’s goth-pop-alternative rockers play the Hollywood Bowl this May.
I was surprised by just how low the ticket prices were for the seats we got – Cure frontman Robert Smith had said they were working to make tickets as affordable as possible, and the man kept his word. Unfortunately that asshats at Ticketmaster decided they couldn’t let this stand, and charged a ridiculous amount for their additional fees, in some cases costing more than the tickets themselves.
Proving himself a true hero to his fans and the people, Smith did not let this stand. The icon went to bat against Ticketmaster, publicly sharing his outrage at the company’s clear greed, and the unthinkable happened: Ticketmaster blinked (meaning they are actually refunding parts of the fees of everyone’s tickets)!
So while Taylor Swift‘s fans filed a lawsuit that led to empty investigations, and Springsteen did jack shit (I love the guy, but he should have put up more of a fight), The Cure actually got something done that helped their fans. Legend! So in honor of the band and its awesome frontman, it felt appropriate to throwback to one of their classic tracks today (since we are still all waiting on the new album). While the band has a heap of recognizable, beloved hits, I decided to put some focus on a lesser known single; “Caterpillar” from 1984’s The Top.
With some jazzy piano chords, off-kilter violin, bongos and other weirdness launching the song, you might think you’re about to hear an arty piece of avant-garde music. But then the acoustic guitars come in with a summery melody, and Smith’s vocals melodically coo and spout romanticisms (“You flicker and you’re beautiful. You glow inside my head. You hold me hypnotized, I’m mesmerized”), and you’re reminded of the pop genius of this group. They can build a track on disparate parts and flutter it into a wonderful song.
Listen to the track here and share your appreciation of The Cure!
The Indy Review 