The Cure - Festival 2005

Correct, it is heavily weighted in favor of the albums in which Porl Thompson was involved. That only makes sense as these were his first shows with the band since 1992. I'm betting he was interested mainly in those songs/albums and I can't fault him or the band for that. The albums and songs (and gigs too) with Porl's contributions are definitely the best the band ever did (although I do LOVE the first album). The stripped-back version of the band seen on this disc is truly lean and mean, forcing (in a good way) everyone to focus and contribute at all times and the result is stunning. This is a small window giving a glimpse of what might have been had Porl not been shown the door prior to the recording of the first album. It is also possible that I am completely wrong but I choose to believe the former. The towering screaming guitar in place of the keys on songs like 'In-Between Days', 'Just Like Heaven' and even 'Plainsong' gives these songs new life, significance and above all POWER. If you like your music stripped-back, dripping with hooks and melody while also distorted and powerful then this is for you (even if you are not a long-time Cure fan...this is a different Cure, it may alienate some but will bring far greater numbers into the fold...even if only temporarily...nothing lasts any more). Buy it, you will not be disappointed. Three months later... I had my favorite parts on this DVD but after watching it repeatedly I have to say that the whole thing is awesome. For whatever reason, the early songs are particularly enjoyable. This band may not have had the subtlety of the Smith/Gallup/O'Donnell/Bamonte/Cooper line-up or the psyche-deliciousness of the '92 band but they do have something over all the other line-ups. This is a screaming spitting squalling swearing m*****f***ing ROCK BAND and I love it. The first song they played together, 'Open' at Live8, was a nice indication of just how heavy they could be. The visual effects were probably (somewhat) necessary to keep the whole thing cohesive. When you've got video and film from a few different sources over the course of nine gigs I suppose it's necessary to put a little frosting on top in order to make it hang together. Liner notes say that the disc is to be played loudly and with no additional lighting (other than the television) in order to experience it properly. The liners did forget to mention that someone somewhere along the line took LSD during the production sessions for this DVD. That's it, it's an 'LSDVD'. I like that.

For those that think this is over produced, I would totally disagree. I loved the production. So many close ups of the band members it felt like I was on stage with them. Concert videos can get boring, but this video added a lot of special effects which I thought were very cool. I would highly recommend this, just as good as going to a concert if not better. I do wish they would have had more of their popular songs on this, but they still had enough good ones to make it worth while. But if you want to see and feel what its like to be on stage, this gives you that feel.

Throw away the synthesizers and crank up the amps. That's what Robert Smith and The Cure chose to do in the Summer of 2005. The result: a sound I like to refer to as 'rock'. No synth-pop or new wave dance stuff here. Robert Smith has always nodded to Jimmi Hendrix from time to time and in this compilation of festival appearances shows off Smith's guitar chops like no other live DVD available. The guy can play guitar. Snooty video-philes and industry experts will tell you how horrible the editing job is and how terrible the video effects in this compilation turn out. I don't get it. After reading some of these reviews I expected some tortured, terrible creation that was barely watchable. Quite the contrary. The myth of its poor quality is just that - hardly relying on much of the 'amateur' footage from cell phones and what-not, the filming and effects capture the mood of each song nicely. If you have a Phd in film studies, you will not agree since you know oh so much better than the rest of us philistines. Anyway, if you like The Cure, the price is nice and there is absolutely no reason you do not want this item. I'm glad I ignored the naysayers. You will be too.

A great overview of one of the pioneering and most unique rock band to grace the scene with their best songs. I've recently attended their Concert here in Singapore and I'd a great time and I'm still mesmerizing with the songs they performed. This is a great Concert captured on DVD and they constantly captivate the audience with spectacular lighting and again a great rock band! I strongly recommend for those who just want to seat back after hard day at work and enjoy the great performances by The Cure!

I would actually rate this about a 4.5 due to the video quality. Some of the camera shots are not great and the skipping around can be a little annoying sometimes. Some of the cameras are operated by people in the audience and you can tell which ones pretty easy. It is a nice idea that just did not cut it...... Overall the music is great and with Porl rejoining his mates, it makes it a kind of homecomming. No complaints at all on the main part of the show. The music is awesome and Smith sounds as good as ever. I loved the whole set. This is not as good as Trilogy, but ranks up there with Live in Orange.

Nachdem weder im April zu Robert Smiths Geburtstag, noch zu Hallowe'en eine neue Cure-Scheibe in den Verkaufshallen zu ergattern war, trumphen die Engländer aus der Grafschaft Sussex jetzt rechtzeitig zum alljährlichen Why?achtsgeschäft mit einer neuen Live-DVD auf, die m.E. eine ideale Ergänzung zu den Trilogy-Konzerten darstellt. Geboten wird eine Setlist aus fast der gesamten Schaffensperiode der Düsterrocker, wobei der Sound deutlich gitarrenlastiger und rockiger ausfällt als im Fall des Trilogy-Projekts, was z.B. bei Songs wie "End" unangenehm aufstößt, die überdies vom Tempo her zu schnell sind. Das macht allerdings letztlich auch die zu Recht in eher geringer Zahl auf der DVD enthaltenen Songs interessant, die von den legendären Alben "Pornography", "Disintegration" und "Bloodflowers" stammen und jetzt schon wieder in neuen Live-Auskopplungen zu hören sind, wie etwa "One Hundred Years", "A Strange Day" oder "Disintegration". Die Synthesizereffekte allerdings werden aus dem Off gesendet und sind insgesamt ziemlich reduziert, was allerdings etwas ungewohnt ist, aber wohl diejenigen Feinschmecker begeistern wird, die ohnehin nach Abwechslung dürsten. Aber insgesamt ist die Auswahl doch ziemlich repräsentativ für den vielseitigen Output der Band, d.h. mal melancholisch, mal fetzig, mal rockig mit angezogener Handbremse. Konzeptionell ist die Machart des Machwerks hinsichtlich der Videofootage nicht uninteressant; sowohl Fans als auch Roadies wurden mit Kameras ausgestattet und durften während der Sommergigs des Jahres 2005 wild drauflosschießen, und das gesamte Videomaterial wurde dann später gesichtet und in eine finale Version gegossen, die natürlich auch weiteres professionelles Material enthält. Meine persönlichen Favoriten sind "One Hundred Years" (kann man da was falsch machen?), "A Strange Day", "Just Like Heaven", "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea", "The Drowning Man" und "Push". Wer the Cure wirklich mag und ihre Karriere längere Zeit verfolgt hat, wird nichts zu meckern haben.

5 étoiles

excelente concierto

DVD che io ho ritrovato grazie ad Amazon,si tratta di 30 brani suonate dai cure in vari festival europei nell' estate del 2005 Particolarità e che non ci sono i tastieristi Roger o' donnel e Perry bamonteappena mandati via dal gruppo,al suo posto con la chitarra solista ci pensa il cognato di robert Smith,porl Thompson polistrumentista il risultato è notevole

This DVD proves that after 25 years The Cure are still a force to be reckoned with. With Porl back on guitar it seems there is a renewed freshness within Robert Smith and the band. This compilation of their headlining 2005 festival tour is raw, heavy and the most passionate they have sounded in years. The cinematic aspect isn't anything like the Trilogy experience... but they sound even better here and it is a great reminder of The Cure's immense power on the live stage. On this evidence The Cure have a good few years left in them yet. 2007 promises to be an exciting year with a new album and tour, this DVD wets the appetitite quite nicely for that new material.