The soundtrack to my angsty high school years was riddled with tracks by The Cure. At 15, my first love interest turned me onto the British goth-pop foursome at a school dance after he managed to talk the DJ into playing "Lovesong." Hence my resulting obsession with 1989's brooding Disintegration, an album I played on repeat for several weeks until my step sis' turned me onto the band's 1976-'86 singles compilation, Staring at the Sea. I discovered The Cure wasn't all doom and gloom — once upon a time, they had a sense of humor and could pair dark lyrics with playful, upbeat dance music. They still do, theoretically, though whether any of the albums following 1992's Wish are anything more than mediocre is debatable. The Cure brings its rescheduled U.S. tour to Tampa and will likely play some tunes from its yet-to-be-titled 13th studio album, due out Sept. 13. The opening act is an unlikely one: England's 65daysofstatic, which plays expansive instrumental electro-post rock.
The Cure w/65daysofstatic, 7 p.m. Wed., June 11, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, $45 and $65.
