Find The Right Cure For A Slow Summer

The Cure’s Robert Smith takes a lot of grief for his mascared and black-mopped look.

But not from Dennis Rodman.

Rodman was the host the night the Cure appeared on “Saturday Night Live” last spring to promote their new record, “Wild Mood Swings.” He was quite complimentary, Smith said.

The Cure is the Energizer Bunny of the post-punk era of the late ‘70s. They were part of a class that included U2, the Psychedelic Furs, Echo and the Bunnymen and Joy Division.

Along with such bands as Souixie and the Banshees, they ushered in the post-Romantic conceit called goth. Their art-school demeanor and elegant melancholy earned them a devoted following, and their intelligent approach to making music resulted in worldwide sales of more than 28 million units.

All without much radio airplay.

Today, the Cure, who will appear at The Gorge Saturday, have toned down the glamorous gloominess of their earlier work - for the time being, at least. As its title suggests, their latest record, “Wild Mood Swings,” covers the emotional waterfront.

The despair is there, certainly, but so is a sense of playfulness. Breaking with longstanding tradition, singer-guitarist Smith imported outside musicians to add new textures and depths: mariachi trumpets punched up the beat on the first single, “The 13th,” an Indian orchestra adds an exotic touch to “Numb” and “Gone” swings with big-band cool.

“Everything on the album is real,” Smith said. “In the past, I would have tried to keep it in the family, so to speak, and tried to attain a realistic sound through emulation or simulation. Now I feel much more comfortable having people around who are really good musicians.

“I suppose deep down I must feel that we’ve kind of reached that level where they’re not going to laugh at us.”

But the Cure never really accepted the punk “can’t-really-play” ethic.

“I like the idea of being able to play,” Smith said. “I think it’s to be applauded. I despise people who revel in the ignorance of not being able to play their instrument. I think there’s a kind of a pathetic side to it, really.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT The Cure perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Gorge. Tickets are $38.60, $33.35 and $28.10, available at Ticketmaster outlets (Pay Less Drug Stores at University City, Northgate, downtown and South Regal) or call (509) 735-0500.