a memorable musical mass by the Australian dandy

We were warned: Australian singer Nick Cave, 64, is turning into a hurricane under the spotlight. If he entered the stage in all sobriety, it didn’t take long for the concert to become explosive. Nick Cave moved to Rock en Seine, Friday August 26, for a show of more than two hours. A blessing for a large audience, and the impression of being at the Stade de France.

In the shadow of a blue light, the Australian dandy arrives on stage as if entering a cozy and warm living room. His team, made up in particular of his faithful traveling companion Warren Ellis, settles down. The musicians adjust the shoulder strap of their guitar, turn their tuning keys one last time. Three singers, in spangled ensembles, clear their throats. No time to lose, the thousands of people glued to the scene have been shouting for several minutes already. “Get ready for love. Praise him!”, begins Nick Cave with his recognizable baritone tone. The instruments are warming up, the concert can begin and the audience is already in a trance.

“Nick Cave has lived through very painful episodes, music is a particular outlet for him, he gives himself madly on stage, the public is not mistaken”, had summarized at the microphone of AFP Matthieu Ducos, director of the festival, a few days ago. After losing a first child in 2015, the Australian rocker announced the death of his 31-year-old son last May. A terrible event which did not make him cancel his tour in Europe, to the surprise of all his fans: his mourning will be done in music, alongside his group and his public, in concerts more cathartic than ever.

With his three-piece suit, his long jet black hair impeccably styled back, we understand why his song Red Right Hand was chosen for the credits of Peaky Blinders. Like the protagonists of the British series, the Australian singer is a kind of gentleman bandit. The gaze posed, the locks stuck behind the ears, he gives the impression that his every move is controlled, orchestrated. And yet, that does not prevent him from exploding with each musical explosion: he throws down his microphone, kicks his easel, hammers the keys of his piano without any part of his shirt coming out of his pants. .

With Jubilee Street (2013), he is overwhelmed by an exacerbated rage: he leaps, howls. He throws his scores in the air, pushes his microphone stand. It’s not anger anymore, it’s fury. Behind him, technicians pick up the objects to put them back in their place as if nothing had happened. The piece ends without a microphone, only the five musicians continue the melody and amplify the voice of the crooner yet inaudible.

The tornado passes… and it’s back to calm. The inexhaustible singer sits down in front of his piano and begins to play Bright Horses (2019). Musician Warren Ellis, pissed off on his guitar a few minutes ago, has also let himself down and sings softly: “And I’m by your side and I’m holding your hand / Bright horses of wonder springing from your burning hand” “). Nick Cave regains control and envelops the audience, still shaken, in a velvet embrace, dragging them from one atmosphere to another without ever losing them.

Founded in 1983, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have composed seventeen albums in total, the latest of which, Ghosteen was released in stores in 2019. Always very rock, the titles also flirt with blues, folk or country. A wide range of styles for an equally wide range of emotions that Nick Cave embodies with passion on stage.

Beyond being a singer, he is also a storyteller. Throughout the concert, he shares painful, tender or violent stories. For his third piece, From her to eternity (1984), it recounts the life of a melancholy young woman with whom the narrator is madly in love. Staring the audience straight in the eye, the Australian dandy bends over and articulates the lyrics to his song. He grimaces, frowns. His breathing is sometimes panting and his voice full of tears. He throws himself to the ground, kneels and groans. “Cry, cry, cry”, he repeats in front of the spectators who hum the words they know by heart. When the inimitable happens Red Right Hand (the credits of the series Peaky Blinders), he takes us with him through the streets of London in pursuit of a man with a red hand. He borrows a beret from the crowd and pretends to put it on his head. Its musicians, multi-instrumentalists, go from guitar to violin, from tambourine to xylophone, to the rhythm of stories and pieces.

As the evening progresses, Nick Cave talks about both the cruelty of a vengeful God with City of Refuge (1988), and absolute goodness in OChildren (2004). It also evokes the weakness of the flesh in the explosive Jubilee Street and the strength of love with Waiting For You (2019). But the most moving moment remains when he interprets the song I Need You (2016). This track, released in 2016, is dedicated to his two remaining sons, Luke and Earl. Facing his piano, the man, suddenly so fragile, has nothing to do with the one who leapt on stage a few minutes earlier. “He moved me to tears”breathes a lady in her forties, once the piece is finished and the singer is acclaimed.

Amazed by his stories, the public is also amazed by his generosity. Nick Cave deploys a two-hour scenario in which he includes the spectators and his musicians. He takes the role of the narrator, leads the dance. As soon as he brushes the edge of the stage, fingers try to grab him and pull him into the pit. Instead of struggling not to fall, the singer lets himself fall without losing his microphone and his poise. He grabs every hand his eyes meet. On Higgs Boson Blues (2013), as he slides his long fingers around those of a spectator, dozens of hands weld this union. Intense.

These strong contacts with the public, he also creates them between each song. Number of “Thank you Paris, you are amazing” can’t be counted anymore. After the first sound, he stares at someone randomly in the crowd. “This song is for you. What is your name ? Annabel? My song is not called ‘Annabel’ but I will sing it for you”. Nick Cave gives the public the impression that he is unique. Even after two energetic hours of concert and fifteen songs performed, he returns to the stage for two tracks, including the iconic In my Arms (1997).

The singer expresses his friendship for his team just as frontally. As he sings White Elephant, he invites his three singers to come to the front of the stage. They comply, mingle their voices with that of Nick Cave who then kneels in front of them to give them the light. But it is above all his complicity with his musician Waren Ellis that touches our hearts: on Higgs Boson Blues the two men kiss and embrace in a great moment of brotherly love.

“I can’t get over it, I’m going to have a hard time coming down, it was incredible”, confides a young boy to his friend, still in a state of shock. When the spectators leave the Rock en Seine meadow, most of them are still completely overwhelmed. Rockers, fans of the group since the 80s, were happy to find their idols. Others, perhaps there out of curiosity, leave amazed at this discovery. The power of seduction of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is unstoppable.