Live Review: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - De Montfort Hall, Leicester
NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS
DE MONTFORT HALL
LEICESTER
[01/10/2021]
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis present an intimate exploration of their recent material together via a unique and deeply moving experience. One that presents the Bad Seed’s pairs works in a completely different light.
★★★★★
There’s a hushed feeling of anticipation in the moments before Cave heads out onto the stage. First, come his accompanying musicians for the night; Johnny Hostile who provides a strong foundation of dark ambient loops, guitar and percussion for the evening, three glorious choral singers who frequently add a divine layer to the presented material Wendi Rose, Janet Rasums and TJae Cole. Finally, there’s the man who shares the bill with Cave this evening, a member of the Bad Seeds and frequent collaborator Warren Ellis who shines on this rare occasion under the spotlight. They’re all greeted by firm cheers and claps, but it’s Cave himself who receives a mighty and thunderous reception upon his arrival as he slinks across the stage
The reaction is no surprise for a man who has evolved throughout his incredible and lengthy career into a messianic figure with a devout cult following, rapturous applause and adulation are part and parcel of the 21st century Cave experience. Tonight, however, is rightfully a different experience and his crowd understand their assignment. You could hear a literal pin drop when the praise subdues and Cave takes to the microphone. This silent appreciation occurs throughout the night, there’s no signing along, just fervent applause between each track.
The material on display tonight has been heralded by critics as some of the finest of his career, the double album ‘Ghosteen’ from 2019 finally gets its live showcase as does the lockdown collaboration album between Cave and Ellis ‘Carnage’. Both records are at times bleak and sombre, ‘Ghosteen’ a painful introspection of a man who has lost his son, while the latter also tackles questions at large about our society as a whole, fascism, racism and unsurprisingly, what has become a deep underlying theme of his career, religion.
The live set-up this evening is stripped back, yet no less powerful. Cave takes to his piano frequently and at times he will carry a song with just an intense presence and his microphone. The sound this evening is crisp, Cave’s dark, poetic lyrics boom as he mesmerises with an opening salvo of ‘Ghosteen’ selections ‘Spinning Song’, ‘Bright Horses’ and a touching rendition of ‘Night Raid’ dedicated to his wife. The tracks are captivating, leaving you clinging to his every word.
Cave is unforgiving about the nature of this evening, when he informs Leicester he’s going to delve into ‘Carnage’ and its title track he’s greeted by a jeer and an audience member yelling ironically “a party song!”. Unphased by the interruption, Cave with his quick dry wit dedicates the track to the crowd “yes, Carnage, a party song for you Leicester!”. Despite that one apparent member of the audience’s disappointment, Carnage is not just a clear album of the year contender but houses some of the most impactful material of the night, ‘White Elephant’ for example is visceral, such as the fury and power behind the words “A protester kneels on the neck of a statue, The statue says I can’t breathe, The protester says now you know how it feels, And kicks it into the sea”. Cave spits the lyrics with devastating venom.
It’s on such tracks that Cave and Ellis’s ensemble brings an additional might to each song, coming alive in this environment, the percussion on ‘White Elephant’ is foreboding and thunderous. The choir and Ellis scream in unison, transforming the eerie ‘Hand of God’ into something utterly sinister and volcanic. Whilst ‘Carnage’ itself becomes a glorious lovelorn herald when propelled by Cave’s gospel ensemble choir, who provide such transcendent beauty to each note.
Nick Cave - Photo Credit - The Perfect Tempo
Whilst Cave is the enigmatic frontman, the show bears Ellis’s name for a reason, the pair have an almost psychic connection, the pair riff off one another both sonically and personally. At one point during a humorous segment, they make light of each other as they struggle to count each other in. Quite sweetly, however, they’re often found acting as a cheerleader of sorts for each other. During ‘Hand of God’ Ellis is incredibly animated, almost kicking and screaming Cave to take his performance further. Whilst as Ellis captivates with a striking electric violin solo on what starts as a delicate cover of T Rex’s ‘Cosmic Lover’, Cave rightfully begins egging the crowd on, the duo forced to halt their performance partway through due to the cheers for Ellis’s shining moment.
So enraptured and transfixed is the audience that there are a few moments they forget to interact in the sparing moments of crowd engagement. On a beautiful rendition of ‘God Is In The House’ Cave quietly whispers building to the song’s crescendo of “Hallelujah”, his arms aloft directing the crowd to pitch in… and then… silence. After a few giggles and more than a handful of prompts from Cave later, De Montfort Hall is finally loud in response. During the main set finale of ‘Balcony Man’ the crowd once again miss their mark, part wondering if they’re just afraid to interrupt the finely tuned performance they’re witnessing, Cave jokingly instructing everyone it’s simple to join in, just like a pantomime.
As Cave, Ellis and co. depart there are reverberating foot stomps echoing around the Hall for their return, dutifully obliging not just once but twice, the crowd are treated to a series of fan favourites to close out the evening. ‘Hollywood’ is a grand masterpiece in the hands of Hostile and Ellis with a heavenly accompaniment from the choir. There’s a humorous ribbing at the “failing NME, a struggling paper” for their derision of the track, Cave quickly changes tune with a tongue-in-cheek remark about how actually in fact he loves them for their recent glowing praise of his live show.
Once again acknowledgement has to be given to Cave and Ellis for the setup and choice of surrounding musicians, the arrangements tonight really bring alive the songs. Most noticeable on a series of beloved tracks that close out the evening, the choir make a sublime accompaniment to ‘Henry Lee’ whilst they add subtle and sweet harmonies to classic Cave single ‘Into My Arms’.
Whilst the favourites are a treat to hear live and in this setting, it was made clear from the outset that tonight would be an opportunity to present their recent material in a way that befits the nature of the music. To display such deeply moving and personal songs about grief and love could never be achieved in the traditional Bad Seeds tour-de-force of performance, it required a subtler approach. Cave and Ellis have crafted an unmissable production that is in tune with the very essence of his recent outstanding work. It was a delight to witness a pair of accomplished and acclaimed musicians at the peak of their powers, and I’m certain if the house lights never rose, the crowd would still be stomping their feet now for them to return.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis continue their tour with the following dates; for more info visit his website.
4.10.2021 - Theatre Royal, GLASGOW, UK - BUY TICKETS
6.10.2021 - The Royal Albert Hall, LONDON, UK - BUY TICKETS
7.10.2021 - The Royal Albert Hall, LONDON, UK - SOLD OUT
9.10.2021 - Kings Theatre, PORTSMOUTH, UK - BUY TICKETS
10.10.2021 -Brighton Dome Concert Hall, BRIGHTON, UK - SOLD OUT
Setlist
Spinning Song
Bright Horses
Night Raid
Carnage
White Elephant
Ghosteen
Lavender Fields
Waiting for You
I Need You
Cosmic Dancer (T. Rex cover)
God Is In The House
Hand of God
Shattered Ground
Galleon Ship
Leviathan
Balcony Man
Encore
Hollywood
Henry Lee
Encore 2
Into My Arms
Ghosteen Speaks