Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds treated the audience of the Rudolf Weber Arena with nine live debuts off their new album Wild God on Tuesday night in Germany.
Fresh off celebrating his 67th birthday, the eternally dapper Cave sat at the piano, stomped around the stage and gave fans everything they came for during the 22-song set that would have gone longer if not for that dreaded curfew.
The record is the Australian's eighteenth studio LP and one Cave says evokes the joy he and the band feel.
“I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me. It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious," he wrote in a statement.
There is never a masterplan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.”
The title track paints a surreal picture of a long haired god searching for "a faraway girl" while the people below ask what's going on. His reply:
I'm a wild god flying and a wild god swimming
And I'm an old, sick god dying and crying and singing
Maybe Cave feels old when he looks at his birth certificate, but he neither sounds nor looks his age.
He led the large band through 9/10s of the new album, paced around the stage, and spoke casually with the opening night crowd while injecting humor and good will.
The new music is moody and sensitive; deep and thought-provoking. His rich baritone is strong and confident.
The lyrics are as weird as ever and the arrangements evoke Brian Eno U2 filtered through a Tom Waits nightmare.
"Now is the time for joy," he sang to kick off the show with the new tune, "Joy" as background singers seemed to moan in a twisted approval.
Although the Germans got a big dose of Wild God, it only accounted for 40% of the show, the rest was classic Cave and deep cuts.
Songs like "Jubilee Street" from 2013's Push the Sky Away was a welcome reminder at how much the theme of transforming and flying has been to the singer songwriter.
"Look at me now!" he said stalking the stage, slapping the hands of the fans and retreating to his grand piano to tickle the ivories.
The show included the addition of "Straight To You" into the set, a song that hadn't been performed since 2009.
One of the more tender and beautiful numbers of the night was near the end of the encore, "Into My Arms," a subtle and romantic song the crowd gently sang along to.
I don’t believe in
the existence of angels
But looking at you
I wonder if that’s true
Cave recently admitted that when he was younger he was egomaniacal with “low self-esteem and a huge sexual drive.” But on the flip side, "I believed in myself to an inordinate extent, even though — in those days — there was nothing to suggest that I had anything valuable to offer the world. But I’ve changed.”
One driver of change was the tragic death of one of his twin sons in 2015 who fell off a cliff while the family was on vacation. Two years ago another of his sons also died.
“I don’t know where I would be if Arthur hadn’t died," he told El Pais. "I say this very cautiously, but I think it’s grief that really makes you a person. I was [incomplete] before Arthur died. I was very different. Now, I see things clearly.”
May none of us have to endure what Cave has had to go through to see things clearly. May there be mercy.
Nick and the Bad Seeds will continue around Europe through the middle of November. Next year they have a spring tour scheduled in North America with a few dates featuring support from St. Vincent.
Tickets available on the Nick Cave website.
