No Ordinary Fool

If the atmosphere in the crowd on Saturday night was more one of quiet enjoyment rather than raucous rapture, at least the atmosphere overhead obliged with moody skies, a build-up of temperature, the threat of rain, and a breeze that scattered discarded plastic beer glasses about. After all, there is no point in going to see a band whose songs are packed with dark Biblical lore and not feel like the wrath of a vengeful god is about to descend upon you. Not that this was enough to please Old Nick. “Its not dark enough,” he harrumphed at one stage to the audience. “Its better when its dark.”

Nick Cave is still as lean as the proverbial butchers’ dog and still very much the showman. Waiting until the rest of the band was ready to begin, he bounded effortlessly out onto the stage, dressed in jeans, jacket, and a bright red shirt, grabbed the mike and launched straight into Night of the Lotus Eaters, following it up immediately with the popularly received Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!.

Throughout the show, Cave pranced about the stage, doing deep knee bends and teasing the crowd at the front by beginning some banter with them before casually dismissing whatever they said in response. To his left then was the fantastically bearded Warren Ellis, who was the focal point of the band’s sound, which was completed then by two sets of drums, bass guitar, and keyboards.

Of the new songs, the magnificent We Call Upon the Author, Today’s Lesson, and the adorably sleazy More News From Nowhere all featured, as did Midnight Man, which came across much better live.

In all, the band played two sets of encores and brought out a surprise special guest in a top-hatted Shane McGowan, who struggled through a number before doffing his hat and disappearing off again, as the crowd provided him some warm applause.

While this was an expensive gig to go to (especially as it was completely branded by a beer company who then wanted €6 a pop for their product), the band did stay out on stage for a full two hours. More importantly, it was a show brimming with the dark rock music that this band has produced over the past twenty-odd years. Brilliant stuff altogether.