The Cure hailed for ‘phenomenal’ performance as band plays ‘absolute bliss’ 30-song set

The Cure has delighted yet again with a 30-song set that lasted two-and-a-half hours. The Robert Smith-fronted band performed three nights at Festival de Nîmes, with the final show at the French festival taking place last night (July 26). The Cure had performed Faith and Letter to Elise during the first of three nights, the latter for the first time in a decade.

While there was nothing in the way of setlist changes, fans who attended the show praised the band for a staggering live performance. Others noted the identical setlist from the three Festival de Nîmes nights could be a sign the band has recorded the shows for a live album or concert film. No details of this are confirmed, but speculation ran rampant on The Cure subreddit.

A full setlist for The Cure’s third and final Festival de Nîmes set can be found below.

• Alone
• Pictures of You
• High
• Lovesong
• Catch
• Burn
• Fascination Street
• Never Enough
• Push
• In Between Days
• Just Like Heaven
• The Last Day of Summer
• In Your House
• A Night Like This
• Play for Today
• A Forest
• Primary
• From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
• Endsong
• It Can Never Be the Same
• Faith
• A Letter to Elise
• Lullaby
• The Walk
• Mint Car
• The Lovecats
• Friday I’m in Love
• Close to Me
• Boys Don’t Cry

The Cure will perform eight more shows this year, concluding their European tour at Rock en Seine on August 30. Shows in Lithuania, England, and Scotland will precede their final performance of the year.

One fan hailed last night’s performance, taking to the band subreddit and writing: “I have waited so many years to be able to see The Cure in concert. The gig in Nîmes last night was phenomenal. Two and a half hours of pure bliss.” Another claimed that the same setlist from night to night is a sign the band had been recording their shows.

They wrote: “Very same setlist two nights in a row in the same venue. You’d imagine a DVD is on the way.” A third person added: “I’m pretty sure the three concerts were filmed; let’s hope they release it somehow. The setlist was perfect in my opinion, a mix of all eras flowing perfectly. I could sense the joy and emotions around us. I was in awe.”

That perfect setlist featured songs like Play for Today and Friday I’m in Love. While the latter song is a classic, it’s not a song that Smith appears to be all that fond of when compared to other works. He said: “The people who like Friday I’m in Love aren’t actually fans of The Cure. They’re not the ones who buy my records.”

Smith would later suggest he had struggled to write the song, mentioning as much in an interview given to SPIN magazine. The “out of character” song seemed difficult for Smith to create, especially when it came to avoiding the feeling of being “desperate”.

Smith explained: “Friday I’m in Love is a dumb pop song, but it’s quite excellent actually because it’s so absurd. It’s so out of character – very optimistic and really out there in happy land. It’s nice to get that counterbalance.

“People think we’re supposed to be leaders of some sort of ‘gloom movement.’ I could sit and write gloomy songs all day long, but I just don’t see the point. Genuinely dumb pop lyrics are much more difficult to write than my usual outpourings through the heart.”