Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

There’s no one quite like Brighton resident Nicholas Cave; an artist who invites and divides opinion, from adulation to loathing, via mere indifference. But there was plenty of love for him tonight, an invite only warm-up gig (allowing for the occasional song re-start) for his forthcoming tour, presented in the unlikely environ of The King Alfred ballroom. Always a cracking live outfit, with Cave’s singing getting better with age, the Bad Seeds now include original member Barry Adamson back to the fold, plus there’s a string section and a small choir made up of local girls and boys. The new album (‘Push The Sky Away’) is played in the order of the album, plus a selection of so-called ‘greatest hits’ including some very early Bad Seeds material such as ‘From Her To Eternity’. While admitting that much of the new album is based on Brighton, the newer stuff finds Cave and the Seeds in less coruscating, more downbeat form, the strings and choir adding an air of epic solemnity. But the material, as ever, is often dark and foreboding: Cave never truly lets the light of optimism shine on his self-doubting, and largely dissatisfied soul, and violent/militant metaphors crop up constantly in his work. Thankfully, and remember this is the band’s 15th album – a remarkable statistic – he doesn’t let despondency get the better of him, rather using it as a tool to navigate his way through a world steeped in power, corruption and lies. As Cave has said himself: “If I were to use that threadbare metaphor of albums being like children, then ‘Push The Sky Away’ is the ghost-baby in the incubator.”

The King Alfred, 8 February 2013

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