Excellent show. Surprisingly shambolic (he seems to forget more lyrics than he remembers on certain songs!) but in a way kind of better for it. Brilliant live performer obviously.
Favourite were probably We Call Upon the Author, Get Ready for Love and Hard-On For Love, which is surprising as they aren't my favourite on record but they sounded astonishingly good live.
Only downside was no Mercy Seat but obviously Nick Cave's got a strong enough back catalogue for that not to matter too much...
PS Word of caution for anyone going tonight. Last night he did two encores. A lot of people got caught out and were halfway out the building the third time he came on stage.
Yeah, it was great
A bit overlong for me, but he's an asbolute legend and when the Bad Seeds got rocking they were unstoppable. I totally wouldn't want to meet Warren Ellis down a dark alley though...
There was literally no way it could have been overlong for me!
If he'd played all his albums in sequential order I'd have sat glued to my seat (admittedly probably glued by bodily fluids given the time that'd take!)
I think Warren Ellis looks kind of cuddly...
3rd time he came on stage?
Was I caught out?
If you didn't hear Into My Arms and Wanted Man
then you probably were.
and he played Tupelo?
he did yeah
We Call Upon the Author
was incredible and like you I don't really like it on record!
This was a brilliant gig. Stagger Lee!
I thought it was good in parts.
The stuff from the current album was all really strong, but some of the older material suffered from the full-on bludgeoning of the latest Bad Seeds. Subtle it wasn't.
This
Is particularly true of Let Love In, which was quite shoddy.
And to a lesser extent, the Ship Song.
Most of the rest worked OK for me.
A friend of mine commented that it mainly sounded like Grinderman covering old Bad Seeds songs - not too far off the mark.
Hammersmith Apollo is a terrible venue, also. And it was far too hot to be watching Nick Cave last night. /Moan.
We call upon the author
was worth the ticket price alone. I agree with theguywithnousername too, the ad libbing of lyrics actually enhanced the show.
quick question
how long exactly have the bad seeds been playing with a pink drumkit?
must say, in all honesty, i was underwhelmed...this was not a classic cave performance by any means...maybe i've just seen them so many times now i always compare to former glories
alot of the material from the new album was very very good but alot of the old faves sounded a little lackluster to me
red right hand - poor
tupelo - poor
deanna - poor
the ship song - poor
but you are damn right, get ready for love was incredible...and no mercy seat WTF???
It was embarrassing! What the fuck are you people on?
I have never seen him so fucking half-arsed, so ridiculously out of tune, and so embarrassingly amateurish.
He shat all over the Ship Song (miles out of tune) and Into My Arms (forgot the words. Three times. Despite having them on a piece of paper in front of him).
He clearly didn't give a shit about the show. Even Mick Harvey looked embarrassed at the end. "Shambolic" is fine in a gig. "Fucking rubbish" isn't.
I am so angry!
Yeah, it did seem a bit off at times
but as someone who went to see The Bad Seeds without little prior knowledge of his back catalogue, I was suitably impressed. It seems to be the hardcore that are most disappointed by the show...
Yeah, I mean I'm a big fan
but I hadn't actually ever seen him before so my perception was as someone seeing him for the first time and I was happy enough.
Maybe if there'd been other shows to compare it to I'd have felt differently but as a first time seeing him I definitely wasn't disappointed.
I've seen him maybe six times, and Grinderman twice
And this was far and away the worst performance. Maybe you're right about the whole first-time perception.
But then the guys I was with were seeing him for the first time, I think, and they though he was rubbish too.
Hmmm. It felt literally painful at times. I found myself actively wishing that he'd avoid my favourite songs, as I didn't want to see them shafted. And he did avoid most of them, though the Ship Song and Into My Arms took a beating.
Thought Tupelo was excellent though.
PPS
another warning to those going tonight. If you want to see Barry Adamson get there by 7:30.
I got there at 7:50 last night (later than planned due to fucked tube) and missed all but his last 3 songs.
I'm going tonight...
What sort of time were Bad Seeds on and what kinda time did it finish?
Just wondered as need to make the last train back from Victoria at midnight!
Bad seeds
was 8:45 - 10:45
Yep
Despite the Apollo website saying 9-10.30.
Well done them.
I had to leave during first encore...
...although I was told there'd be a second - the fiancee had to go to bed (up early this week).
Gig was awesome. Bit sweaty mind.
(I liked the rough edges)
...
Rough edges is fine
But that "Into My Arms": too fast, weak and weedy pseudo-piano keyboards, bass way too loud, completely unnecessary drumming, and HE KEPT FORGETTING THE SODDING WORDS.
Maybe I'm being a little precious. But he seems to have completely abandoned one part of his art: the gorgeous balladry. He's been commenting in interviews for a while that he finds "The Boatman's Call" a bit embarrassing.
I'm still too angry to approach this rationally. ARRRGH!
I think I'd have been upset...
...if THAT song was messy. But I'd gone by then.
Last time I saw them do it I was a wreck of teary blubbing loser mess.
Me too ... <sob>
This time I was a ball of angry loser fury.
(Still a loser, apparently, but there you go.)
I've decided to go for the positives. Tupelo was immense.
I thought
the gig was so-so. Highlights were Lie There And Be My Girl, Wanted Man, Stagger Lee (despite the missed lyrics) and I Call Upon the Author.
It was a bit shambolic, and at times put me in mind of the Pogues. Still, as others have said it was my first time seeing them and I was well impressed. My friend who has seen them before less so.
* oops
bit of a contradiction there. When I started writing it I was thinking yeah, a bit all over the place but then remembered how great some of the stuff was and changed my mind mid post.
first time i've seen the full seeds
i loved it, i thought tupelo was immense, and generally prefer the up-tempo, loud bludgeoning
interesting, as I felt the opposite
and it's the first time I'd seen them too. I thought they flattened all of the subtle dynamics out of both Tupelo and Red Right Hand, both of which I really like on record. I did like Stagger Lee and I Call Upon The Author, though it's perhaps telling that I don't own either of those on record so had less to compare the performances with. Overall I was disappointed, to be honest.
not the best i've seen them
but still bloody good !
im going
tongiht. first time, looking forward to it.
I'd never
seen him before and got in half an hour after he started due to friend with ticket getting caught out on the tube but I thought it was bloody amazing. He's such a great showman etc, although I don't have an extensive knowledge of his back catalogue.
Is anyone else
off to see Einsturzende Neubauten at The Forum on the 22nd?
I would do
if it wasn't at The Forum. Horrible venue.
Thurs night set was something like -
Night of the Lotus Eaters
Dig Lazarus Dig
Tupelo
Today's Lesson
Red Right Hand
Deanna
Midnight Man
Your Funeral My Trial
Nobody's Baby Now
Lie Down Here and Be My Girl
We Call Upon the Author
Poppa won't leave you Henry
Hold onto yourself
More News from Nowhere
------
Far From Me
Lyre of Orpheus
Get Ready For Love
Hard-On for love
The Ship Song
------
Moonland
Stagger Lee
For me the gig was a game of three thirds:
1/3 Great
1/3 Good
1/3 Bad (occasionally embarrassing)
Still a good gig but I am experiencing the law of diminishing returns right now. Was worth it for Poppa won't leave you, We call upon the author, nobody's baby & far from me.
Any setlist differences on Wednesday?
Weds ...
We got "Jesus of the Moon" and "Into My Arms", though I wish we hadn't (see above). Also he finished with "Wanted Man".
We didn't get "Far From Me", "Your Funeral My Trial", "Nobody's Baby Now".
The order was slightly different too.
Still no Mercy Seat! Very strange. And I think "Night of the Lotus Eaters" is a terrible choice for opener.
can't believe
they got your funeral...fuckers
I was thinking that
But then he'd have probably forgotten the words, danced like a sleazy uncle, and generally made a tit out of himself.
I AM STILL ANGRY!
Highlight for me was him forgetting the words
to We Call Upon The Author, as he was all the way on the other side of the stage from the lyric stand. He then proceeded to try and think of a Nick Cave type word to use instead, resulting in:
"THEY IGNITE...SS...S...SSSSSOME SORT OF...SSS...SSSS...SSSSSS...SSSPOOKY POWDER TRAILS..."
Cue mass hysterics on the part of the band.
You're really not happy are you?
Tickets still available tonight I believe, go again, I'm sure it'll be better!
I'm going to see Balkan Beat Box tonight, otherwise I would!
I'm sure I'll get over it. Eventually.
But it's the same feeling as finding out your favourite person in the world voted for Boris because they thought it would be funny. Deeply upsetting.
Meh, I'm just being precious.
<sob>
so are there still tickets on the door for tonight or something?
everywhere says they're all sold out.
Might take my girlfriend, if she can stand it.
Sorry I may be talking bollox
They were certainly still on sale last week, obviosuly not now it would appear.