"You're gonna be surprised!" Robert Smith told the Madison Square Garden crowd on Thursday night at the start of The Cure's final encore. "Maybe not at first, but you will be!"
This was the final show of the band's three-night MSG run and fans in attendance, at least ones who have been looking at other setlists on this tour, already knew something was up. Almost always on this tour, the main set and first encore are made up of The Cure's moodier material, with the extended second encore all the pop hits. On Thursday night they dropped "In Between Days" and "Just Like Heaven" into the main set. My friend and I turned to each other immediately, asking "What is going on?!?"
We'd find out after "Boys Don't Cry," which is usually the last song of the night. They then went into an extended dip into early classics with "Jumping Someone Else's Train" leading straight into "Grinding Halt," both of which made their tour debut on Thursday, followed by "10:15 Saturday Night" and "Killing Another" (aka a reworked, both musically and lyrically, version of "Killing an Arab"). Watch video of "Jumping Someone Else's Train" and "Grinding Halt" below.
It was thrilling end to a night of surprises. Thursday got half of Disintegration: In addition to "Pictures of You," "Lovesong," and "Lullaby," the first encore got "Plainsong," "Prayers for Rain," and the album's title track. They also played "Hungry Ghost" from 4:13 Dream, and Bloodflowers' "The Last Day of Summer" which they did not play on Night 1 (the actual last day of summer).
There were also, of course, the tour standards, which include "The Walk," "Burn" from The Crow soundtrack (a real highlight of this tour), "Push," "A Night Like This," "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea," "Close to Me," "Why Can't I Be You?" and a handful of new songs. All in all it was a 31-song set (two more than most shows) spanning the range of all The Cure does and a great end to what's been a genuinely great run.
Check out The Cure's MSG Night 3 setlist and more video below.
Check out pics, setlists and reviews of Night 1 HERE and Night 2 HERE.
SETLIST: The Cure @ Madison Square Garden 6/22/2023 (NIght 3)
Alone
Pictures of You
A Fragile Thing
A Night Like This
Lovesong
And Nothing Is Forever
Want
The Hungry Ghost
Push
In Between Days
Just Like Heaven
The Last Day of Summer
Burn
A Forest
From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea
Endsong
Encore:
I Can Never Say Goodbye
Shake Dog Shake
Plainsong
Prayers for Rain
Disintegration
Encore 2
Lullaby
The Walk
Friday I'm in Love
Close to Me
Why Can't I Be You?
Boys Don't Cry
Jumping Someone Else's Train
Grinding Halt
10:15 Saturday Night
Killing an Arab