Technical difficulties delayed the start of The Cure's headlining performance at Spain’s Bilbao BBK Live festival on Thursday night. So rather than leave the large crowd stewing while repairs were done, Smith filled the time himself, emerging with an acoustic guitar and playing solo versions of three well-selected Cure songs, and stating "Don’t applaud too loudly or you’ll give me ideas.".
- Three Imaginary Boys
- Fire in Cairo
- Boys Don’t Cry
This sort of thing doesn’t happen often, and as Smith said to close his performance,
"That’s why it’s The Cure and not Robert Smith."
The Cure followed that up with a marathon 35-song set, wrapping up with a full-band version of Boys Don’t Cry.