This was the 5th time I saw The Cure at Roskilde Festival's Orange stage. Roskilde can be a truly magical place, but it is actually not my favorite place to see The Cure. I prefer them at dedicated The Cure gigs where the crowd is less casual listeners, experienced with The Cure's songs and the band can freely explore the darker songs without the crowd losing focus. At a festival concert like Roskilde the setlist needs to suit the casual listeners to make the concert work well. This means more hits instead of darker songs. It doesn't have to be bad though, because The Cure have made a shitload of odd hits over the years.
There seems to be 2 variants of how the setlist is being constructed for the current tour. The "Lost World" setlist variant, featuring "Alone" and "Endsong", and the "Disintegration" setlist variant, featuring "Plainsong" and "Disintegration". Last night was the "Disintegration" variant. Both pairs are brilliant opening and closing songs and I really can't say I prefer one over the other, or maybe I can. Opening a concert with
"I think it's dark, and it looks like rain," you said
"And the wind is blowing like it's the end of the world," you said
"And it's so cold, it's like the cold if you were dead"
And then you smiled for a second
and then ending the main set with
I leave you with photographs, pictures of trickery
And stains on the carpet and stains on the memory
And songs about happiness murmured in dreams
When we both of us knew how the end always is
How the end always is
is bloody near impossible to beat. And however much I love the songs from the latest album "Songs of a Lost World" [2024], I'd still prefer the 2 "Disintegration" songs. They are pure dark and cold magic.
The brand new version of Roskilde's Orange stage did a great job. Lights and backdrop looked fantastic and the darker it got, the better it looked against the night sky. The sound wasn't particular great from our position. We were outside the second pit area, leaning against the barrier, facing the right speaker tower. The bass was great, the guitars and vocals were clear and distinct, but the sound lacked a lot of warmth and depth and was rather sharp. It wasn't horrible, I just wish it had sounded better and more full. It might have sounded better elsewhere, but given the massive crowd, it wasn't exactly possible to try a different listening position. You were pretty much stuck at your initially chosen spot.
Some critics kept babbling that there are no or not enough hits in the main set. I don't know, man. Look at this list: "Pictures of You", "High", "A Night Like This", "Lovesong", "In Between Days", "Just Like Heaven", "Play for Today", "A Forest". Those just being the most obvious crowd pleasers. Add to that gems like "Fascination Street", "A Strange Day" (a wonderful surprise!), "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea" and most of all "Push", a song that should always be in any The Cure setlist.
Like strawberries and cream
It's the only way, it's the only way to be
It's the only way to be, yeah
I'd say last night's setlist was bloody brilliant for a festival gig. I think there was something for everybody, and it never lost momentum or got too dark for the casual listeners. Maybe it even opened some minds that The Cure is NOT only about great pop songs. They are much more and much bigger, darker, deeper than that. There is a whole dark ocean to explore for the uninitiated, if only they dare to dive in.
Anyway, the encore was all hits. The crowd exploded when the band got to "Friday I'm in Love". I'll never quite understand the massive love for this particular song, when they have so many other great songs, but it was fun to observe. If only the crowd had shown the same dedication for the song "Play for Today" that should inspire the crowd to join in loudly, but it sadly never does at Roskilde.
In the end it seemed that everybody got what they came for. I certainly did. It took me nearly 3 hours to get back to bed. Bloody public transportation on the night after Wednesday, is not efficient at all. It's easier to sing "Let's Go to Bed" than actually making it happen. It was worth it though. The Cure are fantastic musicians and Robert's voice is nothing short of amazing. It is pure magic that he still can sing this this well after all these years. The band (including new band member, Eden Gallup, Simon's son) seemed to be having a great time, and Robert was very charming in a very Robert Smithy way. I will never get tired of going to see The Cure live, and I hope I have many more The Cure gigs yet to see. In fact I have tickets for 2 gigs in Berlin this month. I almost can't wait.
Rating: 
Bands: The Cure
Venue: Dyrskuepladsen, Roskilde, DK
Concert Date: 2026-07-01
Setlist:
- Plainsong
- Pictures of You
- High
- A Night Like This
- Lovesong
- Burn
- Fascination Street
- Never Enough
- alt.end
- Push
- In Between Days
- Just Like Heaven
- The Last Day of Summer
- A Strange Day
- Play for Today
- A Forest
- From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
- Disintegration
Encore:
- Lullaby
- Wrong Number
- The Walk
- The Lovecats
- Let's Go to Bed
- Friday I'm in Love
- Close to Me
- Why Can't I Be You?
- Boys Don't Cry
Ticket Price (DKK): 1430
Ticket Provider: Tickster
Content Type: Concert Review
Language: 
Updated: 2026-07-02 15:08
Created: 2026-07-02 14:34
