Manchester loves a massive gig, and not content with having two enormodomes and 2 football stadiums, it also turns it’s two biggest municipal parks over for live music in the summer too. Heaton Park famously hosted the run of Oasis shows last year, and the annual rite-of-passage rave for hedonistic teenagers ‘Parklife’. At the southern end of the city is the lesser known Wythenshawe Park and very lovely it is too boasting a historic hall, a proper city farm, wildflower gardens and makes for a suitably enjoyable stroll deep into the park for this evenings show. Headlining are the unmissable, global (never mind national) treasure that is The Cure.

The show sold out in milliseconds not least because the band have made a stance against extortionate soaring ticket costs and ‘Dynamic pricing’. They could probably have charged a lot more – Oasis, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and countless others certainly do and seem quite happy to turn their fans upside down and shake every last penny out of their pockets. The fact that a band with a colossal global fanbase like The Cure is making a stand against the pure, cynical greed endemic in the live music industry is very important. They have proved it doesn’t have to be that way.

The park is gradually filling and there are loads of folk who’ve made the effort to dress for the occasion – dapper post-punk clobber, full on goths, lots of make-up, leather and lace, tats and piercings and pretty much everyone is in varying degrees of black. Very much a multi-generational, all ages, whole families of fans that embrace The Cure as a look as much as the music and proudly wear their musical allegiances on their t-shirts. But civilians are welcome too, The Cure after are a great rock band, a great Indie band, a great Pop band, even a great Dance band at times- something for everyone. We like Cure people – we’re among friends it seems.

PhoningItIn is there in time to catch Slowdive‘s support set and while it can’t compare to seeing them in full, reverb drenched flight indoors they still make an impact in the early evening sun. Like the headliners, Slowdive have found they resonate with the younger generation and have a whole new audience – they’re the Shoegaze Fleetwood Mac in that sense, and are enjoying a well deserved second act in the 21st century and now way bigger than they ever were in the early 90s. They have a finely tuned support set which shows the songs from their most recent two albums such as the soaraway ‘Star Roving’ are as good, if not better than their first wave. I can’t help wondering if bass player Nick has got some tips from the Cure’s Simon Gallup as his bass is particularly crisp and strident, slung low and almost the lead instrument as the immense wash of guitars builds behind him. Outdoor gigs can be notorious for dodgy, drifty sound but Wythenshawe Live have got a magnificent sound system and even at the back it is loud, clear and immersive. Sure enough – Slowdive get some goosebumps going as the pedals hit ‘stun’ and the guitars explode into space. Fantastic.

As people mill around getting chips and pints the backing music becomes more orchestral and moody gradually morphing into the sounds of gathering storms and rain (the actual forecast rain does not dampen the evening) – it’s almost comically gothic and then right on cue 20.15 Friday Night and here are The Cure.

They have a habit of doing long, slow burning sets so we’re eased in with the brooding and dramatic ‘Alone’ from the new record – time for Robert to pace around and eye the audience and get the measure of us. Only The Cure could start a gig with the words “This is the end of every song that we sing – alone”. One of the reasons they resonate so much with a new generation is they confront the sadness and worry of our grim times but we also know that the bittersweet ‘Friday I’m in Love’ is going to be on the setlist – we’re ready for wild mood swings because life can’t be one long Champagne Supernova can it?. The Cure truly are a band of the people.

What immediately stands out is Robert Smith’s vocals. We can forgive artists of a certain age a bit of gruffness, thinning power and even using a bit of technology to assist them. None of that is needed here. He is 67 and has clearly taken care of his pipes and sounds absolutely identical to his younger self – pitch perfect, soaring and every so often doing a magnificent ascending “woooooooooaaaaaahhhhhhhh!” He is on stunning form throughout and giving it genuine gusto for over 2 hours. He is also dressed, and made-up as “Robert Smith”. Some may question whether a man of 67 should still be rocking the same look he did 40 years ago but I say yes! He looks brilliant – the gothic barnet is thinning only a little but frankly the fact that he insists on donning the eyeshadow and lippy is endearing and admirable – it’s also – as Simon Price points out (in his excellent Curepedia) it’s a mask, it’s warpaint, it’s what Robert feels comfortable in and it’s also a bit of ‘Theatre’ That’s why we are gathered in this field and boy oh boy that’s what we get.

The line-up of The Cure is a bit fluid but this is by no means an Echo & The Simple Order situation bordering on ‘triggers broom’ line-up. It isn’t Robert Smith and yer granny on bongos. This is very much yer actual Cure.

I’m glued to the utter coolness of Simon Gallup – long serving lieutenant who has now reverted to his 1980 era haircut and exudes a fantastic hybrid of Goth and Rockabilly – Gothabilly if you will. Bass slung low, Peter Hook or Paul Simonon style – and pacing the stage like Ronnie Wood in the Stones taking it in turns to interact with everyone on stage (including Gallup jr Eden Gallup who is also on backing guitar duties) – he appears to have the best job and some of the best melody lines in rock to play. There is a moment where he and Robert almost lean on each others backs for a while – rather affecting as they have had their ups and downs but probably need adding to this list.

The great Roger O’Donnell is on the keys – another Cure veteran of almost 40 years service – looking nowhere near his 70 years and another excellent eyeliner sporter. I don’t know the technical spec but I get the feeling The Cure is very much ‘live’ and nothing much is sequenced so he has his work cut out and delivers every orchestral thunderous drone and the synth pop moments are so key to the Cure sound. Over on lead guitar is Reeves Gabrels who infamously was a key part of Tin Machine and is all over David Bowie’s 90s material. I must confess I wasn’t always a fan of his skronkery but with The Cure he proves he can also fill the role of just serving the song and just playing brilliantly. Every so often The Cure let him out of his box and he is allowed to squall and widdly widdly just a little bit which I think he can be allowed and his solos never outstay their welcome. Holding it down on drums is Jason Cooper – a mere 59 he has been with the band a modest 31 years. He sports a haircut that looks like he’s suspended upside down but is remarkable throughout – nailing the gothic tub thumping and the immense pummelling required of a 27 song Cure set. Cooper junior, Gabriel, also takes an excellent turn on Sax during ‘A Night Like This’.

The songs? Well unlike many other bands of their vintage ver Cure play a different set each night. On this tour you can expect 25-28 or so songs (they have been known to go on much longer) but they have such a massive catalogue to choose from and while Setlist.fm might give you some idea of what to expect you certainly can’t plan your toilet/bar breaks by it. They get some huge songs away early – ‘Pictures of You’, ‘High’ and ‘Lovesong’ are early doors highlights – songs good enough to build a whole career on. They do an immense twofer of ‘In Between Days’ and ‘Just Like Heaven’ mid set. There are plenty of deep cuts for the diehard fans who jet around and like surprises – the acoustic guitar strumming ‘From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea’ for instance shines like a diamond and is surely a mega Cure hit that never was.

There is never a sense that I am at a nostalgia event. This is not ‘Goth Rewind’ or ‘Lets Rock Wythenshawe’. The Cure perform and sound like a band very much of our times and for our times – underlined by the epic and thrillingly dark ‘Endsong’ from ‘Songs of a Lost World’ (one of those that builds before several minutes before Robert starts to sing) which ends the main set. They emerge for what is technically an encore but in Cure world, this is a whole 2nd set. It is pretty much back-to-back hits save for ‘Wrong Number’ (a song dropped onto their 1997 hits collection ‘Galore’) a rare misfire in the set with it’s somewhat dated Jesus Jones vibe but you just know someone out there will be overjoyed to hear this oddity. You can forgive that one because we get a joyously stripped back ‘Lovecats’, the inevitable song (it is Friday after all) a glorious ‘Close to Me’ and ending with a hugely uplifting ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. A majestic set overall – it’s Friday and I leave here thoroughly in love with The Cure and all they stand for as the goths and the regulars file out into the night. This is not the end.