larch 31, 2000
ENTERTAINMENT^
loodflowers ... The Last Resolution?
With every bright flash of the
Ispotlight, his dark intense eyes
learned straight into the entire
rowd. He was electrically charged,
ind the intensity of his voice was
lagued with enchanting melan-
BY LILLY
SCARPINITO
choly. Robert Smith gave his fans
an unforgettable show on February
24 at the Roxy Theater in Atlanta,
jcorgia. Could this be the end of
The Cure! Will Dream Tour 2000 be
[the last of these gothic pop leg-
2nds?
The Cure, a British band,
[formed in 1976 when seventeen-
lyear-old Robert Smith joined
fechoolmates Michael Dempsey, Lol
pdhurst and Pori Thompson. The
group’s original name was The Easy
ICure. In their first year, they were
blready writing their own songs and
recording demos. They produced
[two popular songs, which grabbed
[the attention of the rock world:
[“Killing an Arab” and “10:15
Saturday Night.” Since these early
beginnings, they have sold over 27
lillion records.
Many members of The Cure
jhave come and gone, but the only
ponstant of the now legendary
gothic pop band is Robert Smith.
He is known to tease his raven
black hair and don lily-white facial
makeup with blood red lipstick; he
is often called the “messiah of
melancholy.” Smith composes the
lyrics, plays the guitar and is the
lead vocalist of The Cure. The
present members of the band are
Robert Smith, Simon Gallup on
bass guitar. Perry Bamonte on the
guitar, Roger O’Donnell on the
keyboards and Jason Cooper on the
drums.
In their third decade of
entertainment, The Cure has finally
released the last installment of their
masterpiece trilogy, Bloodflowers.
The first two albums in this collec
tion were Pornography in 1982,
and Disintegration, in 1989.
Bloodflowers is the band’s thir
teenth studio album, debuting in the
United States, February 2000.
In the week of release, the
album climbed the charts to number
16. This was the best showing from
a new release that week. The nine
tracks on this album make up what
is, in Smith’s opinion, the most
perfect Cure album to date.
“Performed with a musical
sensibility that is truly moving, the
emotional and lyrical clarity com
bine to make the listener uncom
fortably aware that this could
indeed be the oft threatened ‘last
ever’ Cure album.”- The Cure
biographer, author unknown.
Rumors floated indicating
Bloodflowers could truly end the
The Cure. Indeed, the current tour
could be their last. Before the
official start of the band’s Dream
Tour 2000, they are performing a
limited number of smaller promo
tional shows in Europe
and the United States to !
promote the debut of
Bloodflowers. I had the
fortunate opportunity to
attend one of these
promotional shows in
Atlanta.
Tickets for the
show in Georgia sold
out in a matter of
seconds, but against all
odds, we decided to
make the trip anyway.
We had no tickets, but
we^ent, merely
hoping for a glimpse of
Robert Smith. We got
much more. Not only
were we able to meet
him, but all of us got
his autograph, chatted
with him and received
free tickets for the show
that night! He added us
to the list of people to
be let in to the show, no
questions asked. We
were all thoroughly overwhelmed
and in awe of his presence.
“It was unexpected that we got
the chance to meet and talk with
Robert Smith,” said Diana Diehl,
who also attended. “It was ‘Just
Like Heaven’! My mind went blank
except for the oblivion of him and
his words. I watched him graciously
sign autographs, and couldn’t
believe his willingness to let all four
of us in for free.” For four tickets
into the Roxy Theater that night, it
jFirehouse speaks on releases
I Back in 1989, Firehouse
lasted on the music scene with
their self-titled debut album. The
ilbum featured such hits as “Love
)f A Lifetime” “Don’t Treat Me
lad” and the grungy rock anthem
[/‘All She Wrote.” Now an older and
/iser Firehouse will release three
lew albums next month. Bring Em’
BY CHRIS
“FLOWBEE”
FREDRICKSON
Out Live, Super Hits and Category
5. Even though music’s “flavor of
the month” trend is different every
month, Firehouse has not given into
trends of pop culture.
“Category 5 symbolizes us
staying true to our roots lyrically
and melodically,” said Firehouse
guitarist Bill Leverty. Category 5
features numerous power ballads
and awesome guitar licks. How
ever, the mellow feel separates it
from previous albums.
“We have matured as musi
cians and as people. We are all now
married and it has affected our
music but you can still hear the new
stuff on the radio and know that it is
Firehouse,” said singer CJ Snare.
There is also more acoustic
work on this album than any
other Firehouse album.
Super Hits is just
another greatest-hits album but
is worth checking out. Featuring
all the hits, this album will help
the newcoming become more
familiar with Firehouse. Eighty
percent of music lovers would
recognize the songs on the album.
Bring Em’ Out Live features 15
songs from the Japan concert last
April, and new songs from Cat
egory 5 such as “Acid Rain”
“Dream” and “Bringing Me Down”.
An awesome acoustic version of “I
Live My Life For You” gets the
crowd roaring. The audience sings
along with CJ on “Don’t Treat Me
Bad” and creates enormous inten
sity. The intensity is hard to appre
ciate because it was recorded in the
presence of a small crowd.
Listening to Firehouse’s music,
I have never once heard anything
vulgar or obscene in their lyrics
which is hard to find these days.
“We try to write music that we can
play for our families even though it
is hard sometimes,” said Bill
Leverty. That is something to
really admire in a rock band. “We
are all very religious which most
people, find hard to believe,” said
drummer Michael Foster.
All three of these new albums
are worth checking out if you like
bands like Kiss, Whitesnake or Van
Halen. Category 5 is very inventive
and magnifies the entire band’s
talent and how they come together
as a whole. Super Hits is a great
album but it is hard to rate a greatest
hits considering all the songs on
Photo by Diana Diehl
Robert Smith (above) signs autographs before
the Roxy Theater performance.
would have cost us a maximum of
$2,800.
“Smith sings his own
epitaph in his haunted voice: ‘The
fire is almost out...,’
said Arion Berger of the Rolling
Stones Press. Is Bloodflowers truly
The Cure’s farewell album? No one
knows for sure at this point. How
ever, in the lyrics of Bloodflowers,
strong evidence hints towards the
end of the professional group. Even
if this is goodbye for The Cure, they
will certainly never fade away.
“This dream never ends, you
said...The time will never come to
slip away...These flowers never
fade.’’-Robert Smith, from
Bloodflowers.
Pick up a copy of
Bloodflowers in the bookstore... it’s
definitely worth it!
that album were chart toppers.
With the help of Rudy Radovich
who said, “this CD rocks and I
can’t wait until it comes out (in the
states).” Much could have made
the album better, such as Bill
Leverty’s awesome 6 minute long
guitar solo he plays at every gig
and a live version of my favorite
song on Category 5, “The Day and
The Week and The Weather.”