Nick Cave at the Ryman, 10/17/2023
Early in his set Tuesday night, Nick Cave told fans gathered at the Ryman Auditorium to expect “an extremely reduced show.” He and his colleague — Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood, who joined Cave on bass for most of the set — would try to “open up these songs and see what’s inside them.” Cave explained that this would require more attention than usual from us showgoers.
Indeed, just a few minutes earlier, the 66-year-old goth icon took the stage with no preamble, no entrance music, no fanfare. There had been no opener either. Cave simply entered at 8:15 p.m., taking a seat at a jet-black concert grand piano lit by a rose-colored shaft of light and — with Greenwood nearby stage left — launching right into “Girl in Amber.”Â
Most but not all of the songs in the set list were Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds tunes, from heartstring-tuggers “I Need You” and “Into My Arms” to “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry.” Cave explained that he’d often sing the latter as a sort of strange, dark lullaby to one of his sons decades ago while living in Brazil — that one was tinged with shades of tragedy, as two of Cave’s four sons have died in the past decade.
Nick Cave at the Ryman, 10/17/2023
Dark and moody though Cave’s catalog may be, not every song was dour, of course. There was the triumphant “Jubilee Street,” as well as surprise treat “Euthanasia,” a heretofore unreleased song. There was also an uproarious rendition of “Balcony Man” from Cave and Warren Ellis’ 2021 record Carnage. During that one, the spindly, suit-clad Aussie asked those of us seated in the Ryman’s gallery to holler each time he sang the word “balcony” — a word that comes up a half-dozen times or so in that song and was met with roars from the packed balcony each time.
Throughout the two-plus-hour performance, Cave popped up from his piano bench from time to time to cue the house lights, blow kisses to the crowd, cheekily engage with smitten audience members or offer morsels about the background of various songs. Throughout it all there were no flubs or sour notes. Just Cave’s supple piano playing and powerful vocals, with Greenwood’s subtle low-end undergirding every line — though he ducked into the wings to sit out every third or fourth song.
After a main-set-closing “Push the Sky Away,” Cave and Greenwood returned for an extended two-part encore that featured, among other tunes, Grinderman’s “Palaces of Montezuma,” a fan-requested “Idiot Prayer” and a rendition of “Shivers.” The latter was written by Cave’s late fellow Birthday Party member Rowland Howard when Howard was just 16 years old and The Birthday Party was still known as The Boys Next Door. It was one of many special moments throughout the evening — a long, enchanting tour of a fascinating career, and one of the more enrapturing intimate performances to grace the Mother Church in recent memory.
The Spin: Nick Cave at the Ryman, 10/17/2023
Nick Cave at the Ryman, 10/17/2023
