Hey,
I discovered this forum a little while ago and wanted to ask about something I think I've noticed. I haven't been to many shows, only 3, but last Saturday it felt like Robert Smith was really enjoying himself on stage, taking the mic and teasing the crowd. I'm not a die hard fan but from the numerous recorded shows I've watched it always felt like there was a distance, a certain persona on stage.
Now he ends the show like a rock star, and looking at his body language there is more involvement, emotion. Or maybe I haven't seen him on stage in a while, who knows...
It was a very nice moment, this show. I had forgotten about how powerful 'One hundred years' was. Have those strong pictures always been there? there were so many...
Thanks for reading.
Quote from: larkhon on November 22, 2022, 23:14:31from the numerous recorded shows I've watched it always felt like there was a distance
there is more involvement, emotion. Or maybe I haven't seen him on stage in a while, who knows...
Well, he has been "wandering around" looking (& sometimes waving) at the audience since the Bloodflowers tour (as far as I know).
I tend to agree, he tries to "take in" more of the audiences' love at the end of the show, sometimes in the old days he'd just say "thanks, goodnight" and then walked off.
First time I saw him doing this was in 1996. Can't say anything about earlier shows though.
But I guess that the longer the band lasts, the more RS can accept that people are enthusiastic about seeing them. To me it seems that he has always perceived audiences with a degree of disbelief, as if he thought, "I really don't know what you're screaming about, after all it's just us playing some songs." Maybe this is gradually giving way to more appreciation.
I've seen 'only' three shows since 2008 and his transformation on stage is already striking. I saw him up close in London. He seemed almost shy, but once he's in his element, that's gone. He's like a star to touch. 🤩
Quoteit always felt like there was a distance, a certain persona on stage.
This was once described as 'disengaged from the audience'... but it's been a while.
I read somewhere, or maybe listened somewhere, don't know, that he had very bad sight,that he couldn't see things in front of him, everything was blurry, so maybe he got that fixed sometime ago and now can interact a bit more with the audience?
He has also probably been enjoying not having the pressure of being in the spot (like in the disitegration-wish era), and just enjoys playing, which is why most bands exist, at least early in their trajectory....