Cursive at The Academy 2 on June 5th 2012
Review: Greg Synnott
Photos: Yan Bourke
Going to see Cursive on Tuesday night was a lot like, a lot like… you know what, I spent a lot of time running through a lot of different analogies for this to try to soften the blow, but the entire set can be summed up in pretty much one word, apathetic.
Don’t get me wrong. Cursive is a solid, reliable band that plays everything flawlessly and more competently than a lot of bands I’ve seen grace Academy 2. Tim Kasher’s vocals swing effortlessly between soft, agonizing and downright fucking angry. But the band never veer off the straight forward path they’ve set off on from song one, there’s no surprising jolts along the way to make you remember the show.
What they do is play an enjoyable set of reliably impassioned songs that appeal to their audience, even when the audience were clearly calling for older material, any flash of excitement was less than evident. This lack of enthusiasm however, may stem from the fact that there appeared to be less than eighty people in the room, a short order considering the show was originally advertised for the main stage upstairs.
The band appeared to just play through their set with little audience interaction, and the music eventually seemed to just blend into one constant stream of sound. This wasn’t helped by the sound engineers lack of understanding that it was all too loud for such a small venue, with many audience members evidently wincing often at the sound come from the speakers.
This all comes shockingly after the opening acts more impressive performance. Kevin Devine, added to the bill just days before the show, seemed more than happy to be back in Dublin after his last show three years ago, opening for Manchester Orchestra in the same venue. Taking to stage without his Goddamn Band he instead showed off his more than impressive guitar and vocal skills as a solo performer. With songs like ‘Brothers Blood’ and ‘Off Screen’ from his new record, and transposed acoustically, Kevin Devine clearly gained more than a few fans that night.
It’s rare to sing the praises of the opening act over the main show so highly, but in this case, I’d have preferred to see Kevin Devine play headline to Cursive as the opening act. Truth be told, only a die-hard Cursive fan would’ve truly been overwhelmed with what happened this evening. A few of those fans were visible, but they were very much in the minority. For me, tonight was about hearing some songs I liked, nodding my head for the highlights, showing my appreciation for the opening act and going home, not exactly disappointed, but certainly not overwrought with emotion, either.
Cursive Photo Gallery
Photos: Yan Bourke
[wzslider height=”600″ lightbox=”true”]