The very idea of being tasked with interviewing cultural luminaries like The Cure is enough to rattle anyone’s nerves, whether you’re gifted in correspondence or not. On the red carpet of this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, TV personality Carrie Keagan had the honor of chatting with frontman Robert Smith ahead of their induction at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Keagan attempts to greet Smith with a brand of enthusiasm that has likely helped her navigate her career up to this monumental point. The interaction is instantly awkward.
Keagan asks, “Are you as excited as I am?” Without missing a beat, Smith responds, “By the sounds of it, no.” What follows are nearly five somewhat excruciating minutes of Smith bluntly (but kindly, still) conversing with an unrelentingly excited Keagan while the rest of the band hilariously watches on.
To her credit, there are greater sins than wanting to deliver an energetic interview, and who among us can honestly say that they could flawlessly keep their shit together while speaking to actual living legends? Still, reading the room (or carpet, as it were) is key.
After their induction – which included an introduction from Nine Inch Nails lead Trent Reznor – The Cure went on to perform “Shake Dog Shake”, “A Forest”, “Love Song”, “Just Like Heaven”, and “Boys Don’t Cry”.