Nick Cave touring with Warren Ellis?
There is no need to think about that, you know it will be brilliant.
And they were coming to Newcastle at our glorious Civic Theatre. However, it was mid-week, and Andrew and I wanted to see it together so Sydney it was.
The Opera House!
The day of the ticket buying came and it was a shit show, I was something like 10,000th in a queue, or so it seemed. But I scored us tickets, shitty nose-bleed tickets, but tickets all the same. So you gotta be grateful and blessed and all the things the kids say!
When it came to sitting in those seats, all the gratefulness went away and I was bitterly disappointed. I felt I had let us down big time, but Andrew didn't care.
He said he was just happy to see Nick Cave with me.
I should have known better, because as soon as the band graced the stage it felt like you were there in the palm of his hand.
And the sound in the newly renovated concert hall was second to none!
The sound was magnificent in fact.
Now I should admit I have only seen Nick once previously and only a few years ago at that. Yes, I know!
So I knew to expect brilliance. But this concert was something else.
The energy lifted right up to us at the very back of the theatre like we were much closer than we really were.
The band were tight, Nick sounded amazing and Warren added that particular 'Warrenness' to the event. They were also backed by this wonderful group of 3 gospel singers and their stunning voices lifted everything.
Seeing Nick live is very much a spiritual or religious experience, so the gospel singing really added to that.
I am not religious at all, but a good concert in a great venue is my religion, my church, my spirituality. And some acts are transient, you really feel like you are bowing at the knees of something godly. Nick Cave is one of them.
They opened with The Spinning Song from Ghosteen which I love and it was perfect.
The setlist was mostly songs from the last 2 albums, Ghosteen and Carnage. I love them both so was pretty happy with that. There were a handful of older songs scattered throughout. And songs you wouldn't usually hear. We loved that so much. I love being surprised by a setlist, not knowing what is coming up and thinking YES!
Warren and Nick were playful and had fun, their exchanges full of simpatico and love. They were obviously loving every minute of their performance, which resonated throughout the evening. We laughed a lot, which you wouldn't think of at a Nick Cave concert, but he IS funny.
After a particularly rousing cover of T-Rex's Cosmic Dancer the unthinkable happened.
Nick played my favourite song of his, from my favourite album, The Lyre of Orpheus.
Breathless!
To my knowledge it is not a song he plays live often, and it has a quirky flute opening, so having Warren there to play it made it all possible.
(Aside: Nick tells the tale of that flute solo in the Red Hand Files, it is a great story. Also Warren did his upmost best to replicate the solo and he did great)
He introduced it saying it was one of his more upbeat songs and everything would be downhill from here so to make the most of it and have a dance.
As soon as Warren started playing that quirky intro I was beside myself.
It was one of those perfect moments that feeds your soul, and dance I did after squeezing Andrew's arm so strongly I am sure I left marks!
Next up, to counterbalance the joy, was Hand of God. And if we didn't think the concert was spiritual or moving before then ( hint: we did! ), we certainly did now.
Hand of God is a song only Nick could write and perform. He came out into the audience and waded through the audience like a god walking on water, moving through and touching the audience members with his hand. It was a supreme moment, glorious to watch. It sounds intense and I guess it was but it was also done with irreverence and cheek. And whilst it would have been amazing to be in amongst the audience and 'getting touched' the view we had of it was something else. It was like looking down on some kind of wonderful miracle.
The final song before the encore, Balcony Man, was destined for us up the back too. With Nick amping up all the balcony and top sections, we all felt the love.
After a brief break, they were all back on stage for the fantastic encore. Beginning and ending with songs from Ghosteen, the small list in between was gold.
The ever wonderful and dark, Henry Lee from The Murder Ballads, with one of the gospel ladies stepping in for PJ. The Weeping Song and Jubilee Street, both faves of mine, and a song he says they have not played live before, a lovely dark ballad from Tender Prey called Watching Alice.
And a few hours after it started, we were making our way out of the beauty that is Sydney Opera House. The privilege of seeing great art in that great building will never tire me.
The music was utterly brilliant, Nick and Warren were god-like, and yet whimsical and amusing, chatty and fun. This will easily end up in my top 5 concerts of all-time.
Setlist
1. Spinning Song (Ghosteen)
2. Bright Horses (Ghosteen)
3. Night Raid (Ghosteen)
4. Carnage (Carnage)
5. White Elephant (Carnage)
6. Ghosteen (Ghosteen)
7. Lavender Fields (Carnage)
8. Waiting for You (Ghosteen)
9. I Need you (Skeleton Tree)
10. Cosmic Dancer (T Rex cover)
11. Breathless (Lyre of Orpheus)
12. Hand of God (Carnage)
13. Shattered Ground (Carnage)
14. Galleon Ship (Ghosteen)
15. Leviathan (Ghosteen)
16. Balcony Man (Carnage)
Encore:
17. Hollywood (Ghosteen)
18. Henry Lee (Murder Ballads)
19. The Weeping Song (The Good Son)
20. Jubilee Street (Push the Sky Away)
21. Watching Alice (Tender Prey)
22. Ghosteen Speaks (Ghosteen)
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