Well well well, the day finally arrived to hop in the ol' vehicle and take the two hour long drive to West Palm Beach to see one of the most respected bands of past and present generations, The Cure. Not only was I uber excited to see them, but a lot of the headliner bands intrigued me as well. I was assigned to do an interview with Head Automatica, and I was already excited about that, me being the huge Daryl Palumbo/Glassjaw fan that I am. I wanted to see what all the hype about Interpol was. A lot of my friends love Thursday, and I wanted to see if their live show would change my opinion about their music. And I was eager to see how Melissa Auf De Maur's music and appearance has changed since I last saw her doing stuff with Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. Overall, I had high expectations for this show.

The first band to perform was Head Automatica, and having just done the interview, I was very excited. They put on an excellent opening performance. They have this unique stage persona, dressing in spiffy bright-colored suits and ties despite the excruciatingly hot Florida weather. And you definitely cannot beat Daryl Palumbo's eccentric stage presence either. People kept slowly filtering into the amphitheater, and since they played on the smaller second stage, they'd pass by and stop to listen and watch the performance, and by the end of their set, they had quite a good on looking crowd. Other than The Cure, they were definitely my favorite set of the night.

Mogwai came on next, on the main stage, and I wasn't too impressed by them. Melissa Auf De Maur was next on the second stage, and I was definitely impressed by her stage presence. The music was very, very generic rock. And it seemed that most of her lyrics were focused on things dealing with the senses- seeing, touching, tasting, etc. I will admit that I liked watching her perform though. There's something about seeing a chick with a guitar rocking out like any guy would that impresses me. It's inspiring, in a way. I sat down in my seat to watch them for a few minutes and try them out, but I just wasn't pulled into their music. They were a purely instrumental band, and it just didn't click with me. So I basically just tuned them out after a few minutes and went back to the second stage to wait for The Cooper Temple Clause to come on. They didn't catch my attention much either. All of their songs, to me, sounded like the kind of songs that you'd hear in a movie in an extremely dramatic moment. Back to the main stage to check out The Rapture, and as well, I wasn't into them. Other than Head Automatica, who stuck out like a sore thumb aside from Thursday, the rest of the list of bands was mainly a strict "indie" label, and due to the fact that I'm not really deep into that genre of music, I wasn't aware of the bands who were playing, nor did I really find them interesting.

Moving along here…. Interpol was on the main stage. I've heard a lot of stuff about them, but I'd never actually heard their music, and to say the least, I wasn't impressed. Decked out in suits and ties, and quite spiffy-looking I must say, their music wasn't that great either. So .. back to the second stage where we waited for Thursday to come on. Like I said, a lot of my friends are really into Thursday, and for some reason, I'm just not. I can't really get into them. To me, the singer never stops singing and it kinda annoys me. But I was very open minded and hoped that their live performance would change my opinion of them. And to tell you the truth, it did in a way. I was very impressed by their live sound and the crowd interaction. Although I won't be rushing out to buy their cd's anytime soon, I will say I have a less judgmental opinion of them now.

By now it was almost eight o'clock, it was getting dark, and there were a bazillion people there. So we made our way to our seats to wait for The Cure to come on. After a good wait and a little show from the light crew who were testing the lights, Robert Smith and company walked onstage. Throughout the whole two hour set, the amphitheater crowd was constantly getting up to dance for specific popular songs. Even the guys were dancing, which I found kinda funny. These big macho guys who I never would've expected to like a band like The Cure were standing up and swaying around singing the words to songs like Bloodflowers, Pictures of You, Lovesong, and Boys Don't Cry. I really really enjoyed their performance.

I've never been a really hardcore fan of The Cure, but I know most of their songs, so when they'd start one, I'd recognize it and get excited. They even played Fascination Street, one of my favorite songs by them, and I was jumping up and down for that. Overall, it was a really good performance, and a really good show, despite the unbearable heat and the mass of bands that I didn't particularly like. But even so, if you in any way like The Cure, just go for them, 'cause they put on a show that you, and even I, will never forget.