Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Carling Academy, Glasgow
These days Nick Cave cuts a less terrifying, though no less imposing and compelling figure than at the outset of his career.
By the end of the show, with his suit shed for a t-shirt (hardly surprising given the ridiculous temperature in the venue) and engaging in banter with audience members, he is more endearing than abrasive, with only occasional reminders of a more out-there past.
He recalls being urinated on from the balcony at his first appearance in Glasgow and wheels out sufficient highlights from his darker pages (’Deanna,’ ‘Hard On For Love’ and ‘Tupelo’) to keep long-term fans amused, though, as is usually the case with Cave shows, the focus is on his most recent album.
‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!’ is a curious combination of some of his best lyrics and least remarkable tunes, but for the most part it works well in a live context: the call and response of ‘We Call Upon the Author’ and the hypnotic riff of ‘More News From Nowhere’ are the best of the eight songs on display.
In the all things to all people, crowd-pleasing nature of the show, there is also a selection of trademark ballads, notably ‘Ship Song’ and ‘Into My Arms,’ with Cave swapping from guitar to piano, but never losing his ability to hold his rapt and devoted audience.
He remains on a unique musical path, and while there are disappointments along the way (fortunately the mid-life crisis of Grinderman is shelved until later in the year), the end result of a Bad Seeds’ show is always the same – it is exhilarating and rumbustious, even if it lacks the cantankerousness of his past.
John,
There’s not much I’d disagree with in what you’ve said. The one thing I did enjoy was that Nick was less tied to the keyboards than on previous tours which gave him more of a free rein to be energetic and entertaing out front.
The Bad Seeds, as ever, were incredible, and special mention must be given to Warren Ellis for his performances on all of the instruments he played over the 2 hours.
For anyone interested, the full set-list was:-
1. Night Of The Lotus Eaters
2. Dig Lazarus, Dig!!
3. Tupelo
4. Today’s Lesson
5. Red Right Hand
6. Midnight Man
7. Let Love In
8. Deanna
9. Lie Down Here (& Be My Girl)
10. Moonland
11. Jesus Of The Moon
12. The Ship Song
13. We Call Upon The Author
14. Papa Wont Leave You Henry
15. More News From Nowhere
Encore
16. The Lyre Of Orpheus (
17. Hard On For Love
18. Into My Arms
Encore 2
19. Wanted Man
20. Stagger Lee
jc
May 5, 2008 at 10:42 pm