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Story by Tony Bonyata In support of the new record Cave & The Bad Seeds rolled into Chicago for two-sold out shows at The Riviera Theatre earlier this week, and after witnessing the second electrifying performance on Monday, it's apparent that age isn't about to slow this 50 year-old musician down. Although they didn't perform any songs from last year's Grinderman project, much of the intensity of their live performance was captured on newer numbers such as "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" and "Midnight Man," along with the psychedelic dirge of "Tupelo" from their 1985 effort The Firstborn Is Dead. This was largely due to the fact that since Grinderman, Cave has taken to playing electric guitar onstage (nevermind that since then he's also been cultivating a fine hedgerow of a moustache). When behind his stringed instrument he's developed not only his own style of playing but has already perfected his own signature (eat yer heart out, Keith) guitar histrionics - spine thrown back in a spastic jerk while kicking up his right leg. But Cave wasn't content to just play 'rock guitarist' all night as he perched himself behind the keyboards for the black-humored ballad, "God Is In The House," as well as returning to his role as impassioned expounder as he worked the crowd into a frenzy for the dark "Red Right Hand," "Deanna" and the harrowing number "The Mercy Seat," a composition of Cave's that Johnny Cash would go onto cover for his American III: Solitary Man album back in 2000. Perhaps the most electrifying moment of the evening, however, was during one of their newer numbers "We Call Upon The Author," where violinist Warren Ellis (who also played a Fender Mandocaster for a good portion of the evening) was on his knees pounding on a myriad of electronic pedals and knobs while wallowing and rolling on his back as if possessed. This all going on as The Seeds' ringleader incanted the lyrics "and we called upon the author to explain" in an angst-ridden, stream-of-conscious fashion. A quarter-of-a-century after forming, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds not only sound more vital and virile then ever, but in many ways it seems as if they're just hitting their creative stride. Not bad for a bunch of old punks. |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds September 29 Chicago set list: | |
| 01 Hold on to Yourself 02 Dig Lazarus Dig 03 Tupelo 04 Weeping Song 05 Red Right Hand 06 Midnight Man 07 God is in the House 08 Nobody's Baby Now 09 The Mercy seat |
10 Deanna 11 Moonland 12 Get ready for love 13 We call upon the author 14 Papa Won't Leave You, Henry 15 More News From Nowhere Encore 16 Jesus of the Moon 17 Hard on for Love 18. Stagger Lee |
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