The Cure Ends its 2023 Tour at Miami’s Kaseya Center (Review)

In one of the hottest, most anticipated shows of the summer, The Cure meandered into Miami on a sultry Saturday night in early July. The Cure ended a 26-city North American tour at the Kesaya Center in Miami, their first tour in 7 years.

It started May 10th in New Orleans.

The Cure, hailed by Rolling Stone as “the hottest rock tour of the summer,” is leading a current revival of 80’s emo-music that appears to be loved by all-ages. Other 80’s emo acts like Depeche Mode and Morrisey are soon to tour.

But the scene in Miami could only be described as A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Women, grandmothers to children, a few in Victorian dresses, fans in hand, others decked out in fine Wednesday Addams threads. Men in makeup, pale-skinned, prim and proper, nails polished, black, a tropical sea of tranquility in a city otherwise known for its plastic.

The Cure in Miami was a freaking scene, man.

It ran the gamut of emo, indie culture.

The Cure sold out Miami to the hilt. 19,000 plus.

As we imagine it transpired all across the country.

The Cure Miami

On its first tour since 2016, their last visit to Miami they played two shows at Bayfront park, this show started promptly at the Kaseya Center at 8:10pm. People arrived early, the show started on time (again very weird for Miami) and a long night of music began, a two-and-a-half hour musical journey, spanning decades of material and an amazing 30 songs.

The Cure played 14 songs, then took a 5-minute break before an encore.

Highlights of the first set included “Pictures of You,” “Lovesong,” and “Charlotte Sometimes.”

The first encore included 5 songs, sort of slow, and listed below. Then they stepped aside for a few and came back for a second encore that kept the sold-out show on their feet for a whopping eleven more songs. It was epic.

The Cure’s Last Show of Tour 

The Cure ended a great four days of music in Miami. Cigarettes After Sex played to a sold out crowd at Bayfront park filled with teenage girls right out of an episode of Euphoria. Then legends Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead took their side project The Smile to Miami the next night, which was an amazing show.

And 48-hours later The Cure capped it all off with what we referred to earlier, aptly put, a midsummer night’s dream.

The Cure Miami Setlist

  1. Alone
  2. Pictures of You
  3. A Fragile Thing
  4. A Night Like This
  5. Lovesong
  6. And Nothing is Forever
  7. Burn
  8. Charlotte Sometimes
  9. Push
  10. Play for Today
  11. A Forest
  12. Shake Dog Shake
  13. From the Edge of the Deep Garden
  14. Endsong
  15. ENCORE # 1 — I Can Never Say Goodbye
  16. Trust
  17. Plainsong
  18. Prayers for Rain
  19. Disintegration
  20. ENCORE # 2 — Lullaby
  21. The Lovecats (tour debut)
  22. The Wall
  23. Friday I’m in Love
  24. Close to Me
  25. Why Can’t I Be You?
  26. In Between Days
  27. Just Like Heaven
  28. Boys Don’t Cry
  29. 10:15 Saturday Night (which came 10:50 on a Saturday night).
  30. Killing an Arab

How amazing was that last encore?

And who knows if we will ever see them again in Miami.

But if we don’t, at least tonight was a classic.

2023 The Cure Miami Poster — the merch lines were VERY long and the poster on the right highly coveted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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J.J. Colagrande

Has written about Miami culture for almost twenty years, first with The Miami Herald, then Miami New Times and Huffington Post. He's the publisher of The Jitney and a full-time professor.