A set filled predominantly of piano led ballads is the call of the evening for Nick Cave, in an all seated venue, where general firecracker Warren Ellis only rises from his perch once during a two-hour set; doesn’t sound what you would expect from a Nick Cave set, still, tonight is spectacular.
Cave’s captivating presence and smooth delivery has the crowd in a trance from the off, as he sits behind piano delivering haunting and lovelorn vibes with ‘Water’s Edge’ and an indulgent reworking of ‘The Weeping Song’, before things spark into action when that ever familiar, unnerving beat of ‘Red Right Hand’ kicks in.
Cave gestures dramatically between piano parts and rises to his feet, for the first time during the set, for the track’s violent crescendos.
Addressing the crowd for the first time Cave utters knowing “I don’t know if we’ve played this before, but it’s a classic piece of mid period Cave,” before serenading the crowd from the from his feet with ‘Brompton Oratory’.
Perhaps the moment of the set comes during ‘Higgs Boson Blues’ as Cave toys with a crowd lost in a hero worshiping mist, placing the hand of a woman in the front row on his chest and sing directly into her eyes “can you feel my heartbeat,” in a moment that is sure to have made her life.
It’s a set splattered with points from all over the Bad Seeds back catalogue as ‘Mermaids’, ‘The Ship Song’, ‘From Her To Eternity and an impressive reworking of ‘Let Love In’ flow through with that rise from multi-instrumentalist virtuoso Ellis coming in before the second as he breaks out that beloved violin.
Cave continues to toy with the crowd as heckles of “I love you Nick” are followed with song requests, to which UK resident Cave mocks “I can’t understand you… I’m from Australia”.
It’s awe inspiring stuff, an almost perfect rendition of ‘Into My Arms’ is enough to send shivers down your spine, while the tip tapping xylophone accompanied by Cave’s familiar wobbly swagger for ‘Up Jumped The Devil’ is enough to rouse any anyone who isn’t already captured by the sheer power this man has.
A slowed down version of ‘Mercy Seat’ that’s enough to make you melt gives way to a galvanising ‘Jubilee Street’ before Cave and his four band members saunter off stage before the encore.
Arriving back on stage Cave utters “what do you want to hear, the only thing we can’t do is ‘Stagger Lee’,” clearly the filthy fan favourite is saved specifically for Bad Seeds shows, but whether the actual opportunity to hear anything from Cave’s back catalogue is ever truly received is up for question, probably with intent; Cave is probably the best man to chose what he plays anyway, it’s just another method of playing with a crowd who have moved down in bunches to the foot of the stage, hands stretched for a touch of their hero.
‘We No Who U R’ opens things back up again before Cave introduces ‘Avalanche’ with a little bit of praising of his own, drawling “if we fuck it up it’s Leonard Cohen’s fault for writing such a complex song”.
Some more hilarity ensues from the front of the stage and Cave gestures “I’m watching you” at a man in the front row, as banter ensues and a rather comical confusion of “he’s got back up” and “he’s got bad karma” between artist and crowd spills out.
“Do you want to hear ‘God Is In The House’…? It is optional” Cave spills, with no intention of not playing it and no one protesting, before closing things out with a cradling version of ‘Jack The Ripper’ and the soft spoken perfection of ‘The Lyre of Orpheus’.
Tonight puts beyond question the abilities of Nick Cave and this collection of musicians, tonight they draw on heartstrings and woo out every emotion with dramatic ease; Cave’s stage pretense is controlling yet soothingly beautiful and as he puts a guy down front in his place with “I’m in control here, not you” during the final track, there’s not one person who’s going to question him, not one at all.
Words: Iain Dawson
Photos: Stewart Fullerton
