I'm somewhat of a Cursive novice as I hadn't given the band a lot of attention prior to last Thursday's show at Maxwell's. I was expected a fairly mellow show after watching the band perform "From The Hips" on Letterman and was floored to see a Fugazi-like energy in the room.

A leaky ceiling panel over the stage seemed to slow down the set change-over so the room was completely packed prior to Cursive's set. When Cursive made their way through the crowd to take the stage, they were greeted and back-slapped like hometown heroes.



The band started off with a bang as Tim Kasher eyeballed the crowd as the band started into "Butcher the Song". The minute Tim took the mic, the crowd went wild with singing and dancing along.







When the band didn't slow down after the first 4 - 5 songs, the dancing turned into an on-again/off-again pit and crowd surfing.





This was one of those nights where 'anything goes' but it never got to the point of being out of control (like some matinees at CBGB). The band finally slowed down when Tim went off on a rant about how the devil is real which ultimately segued into the song "Big Bang".



After a few more songs, which included a cover of David Bowie's "Modern Love" and "From the Hips", the band finished their set. It is nights like this that made the walk down Washington Street and the long train ride back to Brooklyn worth it. (How frequently does that bloody PATH train run? I swear I was on the platform for more than 30 minutes.)

Tomorrow night is the final show of the current tour:
Aug. 11 2009, 7:00PM, CD Central - FREE In-Store, Lexington, Kentucky
Aug. 11 2009, 8:00PM, The Dame, Lexington, Kentucky

Links:
Cursive's MySpace Profile