If you look closely, my avatar is pretty silly.
But yes, I enjoy the Cure. I saw them twice in three nights at the beginning of the summer, and they played a remarkably different set from one night to the next.
I think the theory on M not wanting to pay for the rehearsals sounds pretty feasible, given his notorious penny pinching. But that also hints toward something else that is troubling. A: That he no longer feels passionate enough about his music to want to revisit much of it, and B: That his players don't feel passionate playing it. Most bands will use their soundcheck time, or the hours of waiting around backstage to try and work out songs to add into the setlist. If they don't, and especially if they don't want to- that really seems to indicate that this is a paycheck, and nothing more. With any band, once the passion fizzles, is there a point in carrying on, or is it cabaret for cash?