The North American leg of the Cure's "Dream Tour 2000" gets underway May 18 in Atlanta, and will bring the band's message of gloom to 19 cities in the U.S. and Canada. The band's itinerary is dominated by amphitheater appearances, but it also includes scattered indoor dates.

Tickets are now on sale for The Cure [ tickets ]'s June 2 appearance in the San Francisco Bay area and are scheduled to go on sale Saturday (3/18) for the band's May 20 appearance in West Palm Beach, Fla. No other ticket on-sale information was available at press time.

The Cure warmed up for its world tour in February by making a few European appearances followed by a short series of radio station-sponsored club dates in the U.S.

The ''Dream Tour'' opens March 27 in Madrid and wraps up its European leg on May 8 in Rome. No opening acts have been announced.

The Cure released ''Bloodflowers''--the 17th album of the band's 23-year run, and its first album of new material since 1996--last month. The album entered the Billboard 200 chart three weeks ago at No. 16 and has since faded to No. 65.