Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 'Skeleton Tree' (September 2016)

I listened to it once and it sounded fantastic (and devastating) but I need it to get colder and darker before I really immerse myself in it.

Tonight's the Night of course being a kind of "fun" sad record in the way a drunken wake is "fun". This record just feels more like...sitting around the kitchen table after getting home in your funeral clothes and the world moving on and feeling hollow and sad.

I love the way he let's the meter & rhythm of lines spill over the music, like he isn't going to let when the measure ends stop him from getting out this idea he has.

Last night the thing that at dawn on me that makes his performance so striking...this is a Nick Cave record where he has no swagger, no confidence, no Grinderman dick swinging, no Birthday Party nihilism, no Bad Seeds Dylan-cum-Elvis-cum-Cohen he is just barely getting through it, except for one moment in "Distant Sky" where he leans in on the line "call the gas man, cut the power" which is kind of the weirdly heartbreaking moment of the whole record for me.

Great post. So otm

Yeah, and none of the precision or poise of the previous ballad records - even the vocals on really downcast, gloomy songs like "Darker With the Day" never sounded less than elegant and considered.

This is growing on me, and I want to listen to it but I should really not listen to it

One More Time With Feeling is being shown locally again on the 1st of December. So I assume that must mean it's being shown elsewhere on the same night.

I saw a trailer for it the other night. Presumed it's going on general release.

Not sure how general. still seems to be limited. From the website it looks like it's a one off in a lot of places.

Thee was an article on him and the director in the Guardian today
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/24/nick-cave-doc-director-andrew-dominik-he-hated-a-third-of-my-movie

So got to see the film tonight and it is very moving.

Wonder if it is going to get a full distribution at any point, since i think tonight was just like September in only being a one off showing in a number fo venues.

Don't know if i've seen Thomas Wydler's drumkit before but it looks a bit weird dunnit? Pretty minimal. Is that what he normally plays?

The Cave/Ellis 'Mars' soundtrack is really lovely stuff

Live sets from the Australian tour are around on torrent sites. Have seen 3 so far.

Arena tour announced for the autumn:

http://www.nickcave.com/

Great that he's able to play arenas now, but I can't imagine how his fire-and-brimstone approach to live performance will translate to a barn like the O2.

Have you seen him live? He'll be fine.

I meant for the audience.

I'm a bit wary of the size of these venues and it isn't what I expected after Skeleton Tree, but I hope they'll make it work. I also fear the price of tickets, but we'll try to go regardless.

seen him open air twice, he had no problems at all

that was before skeleton tree, tho

If it was coming off the back of different kind of album maybe I'd feel less wary, but I'm sure they know what they're doing, so I've faith enough to buy tickets.

i have a review copy of the 3-disc greatest hits "lovely creatures" and it sounds great, everything is taken from the remasters, and actually does work as a representation of his artistic permutations in chronological order. why anyone would get the out-of-order 2 disc box set, tho, is anyone's guess

I saw the movie on an airplane and it was as good as many said, even in 2D. (And on an airplane.) I did wonder, though, how much someone who didn't know Cave at all would get from it. It does tackle some universal themes, however elliptically, and it's quite artistic, but I dunno.

It's funny, I was just thinking of compiling a career overview and this does the trick very nicely. As with any of these I could quibble about a few tracks included or missing but overall it's great. It flows really well and reminded me how fantastic "Abboitior Blues" and "Dig Lazarus" are.

Excellent, wide-ranging new interview:

http://www.gq.com/story/the-love-and-terror-of-nick-cave

yup good stuff, thx

love the Russell Crowe anecdotes that guy seems so hilarious

That is excellent, thank you.

yeah damn, what a great piece

Chris Heath, doing the business again. Think he's incapable of writing a bad piece.

That GQ piece was impeccable. Didn't even notice it was Chris Heath.

wow, that is an incredible piece - thanks for sharing, anagram

also how the fuck is nick cave 59 years old

I went to the two LA shows & they were great. I was impressed by how sinister some of the new songs came off live, specifically "Girl in Amber" and "Magneto". Actually the real gut-wrenching moment for me wasn't during any of the new songs, but during the climax of "Weeping Song" with Nick wading out into the hands of the crowd delivering the line "I’m so sorry, father/I never thought I hurt you so much"

It also doesn't get said enough but man the Bad Seeds are such a fantastic band.

saw him in berkeley a few days before that, it was easily the best performance I've ever seen him give. this iteration of the Seeds is a bit stripped down and sloppy compared to the last few that have been out but that seemed to work; but he himself, holy shit. Now that Prince and Bowie are gone, I cannot think of a more charismatic and engaging performer in rock music.

Same in Chicago a few days earlier.

The immersing himself with the audience resonated with me in a post-Batalclan way -- instead of fearing the audience, crowds, public, he goes even further into connecting with them.

Also, the projection of the audience onto the screen both made it more immersive and acknowledged how photographing a concert is now (and forever) part of the concert experience.

The old chestnuts feel...if not cartoonish at least detached in their violence. He's at the top of his craft now.

Here's a photo a friend shot from the Chicago show.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds pic.twitter.com/kL6PKcHgFJ

— Patrick Monaghan (@pkmonaghan) June 17, 2017

taken in conjunction with how he's spoken about how important it was that strangers came up to him and asked him if he was ok, and offered sympathy, and how that kept him and Susie alive after the death, the crowd interactions did take on another rather obvious dimension; but the obviousness didn't detract from it's meaningfulness.

beautiful picture there

There are a couple of recent live sets up on Dime. Got one lined up to play after what i'm listening to now.