Nick Cave
/By Eve Cheesmur
Artist: Nick Cave
Date / Venue: Saturday December 6th, Civic Theatre, Auckland
There's something rather spectacular about Nick Cave, the charcoal blackened dark hair, the brooding eyes, the perfectly fitted suit, his spindly legs, his unabashed reckless freedom, and that voice... butter wouldn't melt.
I was among many adoring fans, waiting for the Vampire of alt rock to take to the Civic Theatre's majestic stage. Old rockers, young hipsters, post punkers and acid casualties... we were all frothing at the bit for the show.
It all started with a Plato-esc introduction, Nick with his gravelly, brittle voice wooed the crowd in. The Civic was his amphitheatre and we were his students, charmed by his gesticulation and charisma.
Nick Cave started the night with The Weeping Song - and the rest of the magic set list followed suit and was as tight and perfectly tailored as the one he was wearing. It became apparent with each song that Nick has lived an extraordinary life and has contributed to the wonderful world of music for what feels like eons.
Classic hits like Red Right Hand from his album Let The Love in flashed me back to the mid 90's, but in a good way. It was nostalgic and hauntingly beautiful.
Nick treated the microphone like an abusive lover, one minute caressing it tenderly, the next, throwing it carelessly to the side - the pop of the mic hitting his piano while singing Sad Waters jolted the crowd from their seats, but we were lulled back into a Stockholm syndrome comfort when the legendary Warren Ellis(also known for his music with Dirty Three) worked wonders on the violin.
Poetic justice and a slap on pop cultures face came dripping from Nick's mouth in the form of the Higgs Boson Blues which is from his latest album Push The Sky Away. We adored his honesty, his integrity and his humour - even Miley Cyrus fans would have even coo'd at him.
He had won us all over, was taking us on a wondrous journey. We were characters from Mills & Boon duringThe Ship Song, and then transformed into his disciples during Lay Me Low, we were walked down Jubilee Street, and then told to still our hearts and still our souls... like a cult following, we wanted to do everything Nick told us.
Kleenex would have made a profit from the song Into My Arms, and also from the night coming to an end. The time had whizzed by and there was never a point I was anywhere else. It's not very often you can go to a show and be completely mesmerised.
Nick Cave is a musical god and I was happy to be one of his disciples last night.