Summer festival season peaks with The Cure closing Riot Fest, finale just like heaven

The anticipation had been building all day for the grand finale to Riot Fest 2023. Bands from Cults to The Dresden Dolls waxed ecstatic about being able to even share the same stage as The Cure. Festivalgoers wore T-shirts from all eras of the legendary British gloom rockers — including the special design sold just for Sunday’s event.

The rain held off for the two-and-a-half-hour set (though a shower or two would’ve been a total vibe). And when it came time for the goth heroes to plug in for the first notes, they — unsurprisingly — did not disappoint in the marathon performance that deserves the title of the best headlining set in Chicago’s summer festival season as it comes to a glorious close.

The Cure lead singer Robert Smith enters the stage for the final performance of Riot Fest 2023. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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The Cure performs on the Riot Stage on day three of Riot Fest at Douglass Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Guitarist Reeves Gabrels performs with The Cure on day three of Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Robert Smith seemed to be in good spirits during The Cure’s closing set at Riot Fest in Douglass Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Robert Smith sings during The Cure’s Riot Fest set Sunday at Douglass Park. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Bassist Simon Gallup performs during The Cure’s set on day three of Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Guitarist Reeves Gabrels performs with The Cure on day three of Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Robert Smith wears an Amy Winehouse T-shirt during Sunday’s performance by The Cure at Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Bassist Simon Gallup plays during The Cure’s set on day three of Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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Guitarists Perry Bamonte and Reeves Gabrels back up Robert Smith on Sunday at Riot Fest. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

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“Hello … again,” Robert Smith, wearing an Amy Winehouse T-shirt, cheekily addressed the crowd after the band ripped through “Alone.” It was just three months ago that the six-piece was in Chicago, playing an epic 31-song, three-plus-hour set at the United Center — not that anyone minded the repeat.

The musicianship of Smith, bassist Simon Gallup, keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, guitarists Perry Bamonte and Reeves Gabrels, and drummer Jason Cooper is unparalleled and best appreciated in the latest concert experience. Together they create a symphony for the solemn, kicking up a bevy of memories and emotions that fans packed with them like baggage for the night.

The 45-years-young band heightens feelings, not just the dark cloud of heartbreak the band is often chided as invoking but also a total celebration of requited love. The Cure is the master of puppets that pulls at the heartstrings of anyone with a beating pulse.

From the crowd favorite “Burn” (made popular in the soundtrack of “The Crow” from 1994) weaving into “Fascination Street,” additional hits like “Lovesong,” “Close to Me” and “Just Like Heaven” and sonic sweepers such as “A Forest,” The Cure were instrumental perfection and perhaps the loudest set of the weekend. Whether that was acoustics or the fact that the attentive listeners held their breath and kept a silent lull over the park is up for debate.

Smith, too, was having a ball — making faces at the camera, cracking a few smiles and bringing all of his vocal register to play.

Like other shows on the tour, in which The Cure fought for fans by reimbursing ticket fees and keeping merch costs low, the musicians did what they could at Riot Fest; the special edition T-shirts were just $25, and there’s no doubt they sold plenty as a memento to remember the night.