We have to admit to not really knowing a lot about Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds. To be honest, our only real exposure is the big hit single, ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ with Kylie Minogue and things we have heard or read. But this is what is so good about our roles for GetToTheFront, that we get to see acts we would not normally gravitate to and, like tonight, get an interesting insight and entertained by the act, and we were.

He is a marmite sort of artist, and yes, a lot of his songs are a little downbeat, which is surprising because he seems to have a wry sense of humour. After seeing this gig tonight, it is obvious that you need to leave all sense of normality at the door, because Cave live is on another planet, which to be honest is not a bad thing these days. A mixture of post-punk, gospel, and rock, with even the most downbeat songs, seemed to gather pace and switch up a gear or two, becoming a cacophony of sound. Very hypnotising indeed. Backed by the Bad Seeds, who are a tremendous set of musicians, with absolutely outstanding backing singers, and on guitar/violin/most instruments, Warren Ellis, ideally suited as Caves henchman, although I’m not sure what planet he’s on! But my word he can play, and at one point when asked by Cave if he wanted to tell a story, he replied not really, and sat down and ate a banana!

It’s no good going through the songs as we are not well-versed in them, but it’s safe to say, the big crowd tonight get him, and when they get him, they get him. Especially the crowd jammed up to the front, greeting him like a messiah, and Cave occasionally leant over onto the front rows, being supported by their outstretched arms, confident they were going to support him. It was interesting to observe that there was a large span of ages in the audience, and when we left the newly named bp LIVE arena tonight, we had been entertained and intrigued by what we had seen, along with all the Cave disciples. Would we go to see Nick Cave again? Well, yes, to be honest.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe