The Cure live at Colours of Ostrava

Ostrava, July 20, 2019


It's been 3 years since I last saw The Cure. This time it's another summer festival tour that they love so much. The closest option to me was The Colours of Ostrava festival and it was most probably chosen to please all the Czech and Polish fans that the band has in abundance.

Unfortunately there was nothing interesting for me apart from, maybe, Mogwai and Olafur Arnalds but they played on a different day so I just got a day ticket to see The Cure.

Ostrava is in the east of Czech Republic, very close to the border with Poland. It's so close that, in fact, it's basically the same region called Silesia. Most of it is in Poland with Katowice being the capital, but Czech Silesia still has over a million of inhabitants. Ostrava is the center and by far the most populous city of the region.

It takes slightly over 2 hours to get to Ostrava from Krakow. I was told that there was nothing to do in Ostrava. It's a mining blue-collar town and that's obvious when you get there.  There is still some interesting architecture but overall Ostrava is rather grim-looking. Lots of drunks and gypsies roam the graffiti-filled streets. So overall, the Colours of Ostrava are grey and brown.



Anyway, I had a short walk in the city and then chilled in the big mall near the festival ground and took a tram to my hotel. I must say that all the prices for the hotels were unbelievable for the festival dates but, thankfully, I was able to find one with a very decent price and the distance was manageable.

I guess the festival is mostly famous for its location in the area that used to be a still factory. The furnaces are very prominent and visible from everywhere. But I did not have a chance to take a walk and marvel the industrial splendor. I was there to see my favourite band so I had to find a good spot close to the main stage and hold it. There was one French artist called ZAZ who played before the Cure and the less is said about her, the better.


I knew what to expect from the festival set. I'd rather see a proper solo concert but it's not really an option at the moment. Still, the concert was much better than I had anticipated. The crowd was actually not bad, lots of fans in Cure shirts, plenty of black-wearing, goth-looking boys and girls. There were quite a few old-school fans in vintage shirts, I even spotted an original Prayer Tour '89 shirt.




The tour has 2 starters and we got Shake Dog Shake. Unfortunately that also means there will be no Disintegration. Too bad, cause it's probably my favourite Cure song and I only heard it once. My other big favourite is Sinking and I have never seen it live. With that said, I thought the band was magnificent. Robert looked better at 60 than at 54 when I saw him. He was in a great mood and became very playful and chatty along the way. And there was a surprise. A Strange Day was played completely out of the blue in the middle of the set. Talk about pleasing festival crowds. I really liked Fascination Street and Burn. A Forest was exceptional and they tweaked it again a little. Just as last time in Montreal, the highlight for me was Last Dance that Robert sang really close to the edge of the stage where I was standing. Oh, and of course Just One Kiss that I simply adore.


Unfortunately, as always recently, the encore was again a "happy" set. I have nothing against those songs, I actually love them, but there are so much better options to close the concert. While Lullaby is always great, I feel like The Catterpillar does not sound good live, they can skip Why Can't I be You and The Walk should have been played during the main set. In fact, all those songs must be there during the main set, while the encore should be reserved for something special and epic. It sounds like I'm complaining too much, but that's The Cure and nobody else has those standout setlists, so there is a feel of an opportunity missed. Well, I hope everything goes according to plan and we'll see a new album this year as promised. And then there will be proper shows for me to attend. So, till next time!













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