It seems inconceivable that Nick Cave has gone from the terrifying, confrontational loose cannon of The Birthday Party to become an arena-filling crooner and agony uncle to his worldwide fan base. His writing and stagecraft have elements of Lee Hazlewood, Jacques Brel and Scott Walker, but he remains his own man, an enigmatic fire-and-brimstone preacher cum earnest lounge singer, who commands and receives devotion from his audience.
There was an hour interval for the capacity crowd to calm down and refresh after the unique experience that is a Flaming Lips show, so by 7:25 everyone was fed, watered and ready for the main event. The start was perfectly timed for the sun to set directly behind the stage. There was a huge roar as the band, then Cave, all in black and sporting a large paisley tie, took to the stage and kicked off with ‘Get Ready For Love’. He went straight down onto the walkway along the front of the crowd with eager hands reaching out to touch their returning hero. A thunderous start rounded off with Cave exclaiming, “Thank you fucking Brighton. This is deeply overwhelming”.
He announces “I wanna tell you ’bout a girl” before launching into ‘From Her To Eternity’, spitting out the words into front row faces as Warren Ellis grabbed at his violin like it’s a guitar and he’s Johnny Ramone. The four backing singers swayed in time as Cave briefly bashed out chords on his Yamaha grand piano, with Ellis thrashing around like a man possessed.
A repeat of ‘Train Long-Suffering’, performed atop Resident Records earlier in the day, saw him giving it his best backwoods preacher with the repeated “in the name of pain” lyrics then the four excellent backing vocalists became a choir for ‘Wild God’, with Ellis switching to electric guitar.
‘Oh Children’ is prefaced with Cave asking if there are any kids here and expresses relief when told no, until the screen shows a young girl in the audience but of course he continued, conducting the crowd’s voices from centre stage.
The crowd is instructed to lift up their hands for ‘Tupelo’ and as Larry Mullins’ primal drums reverberate underfoot, Cave grabs the hands that are reaching up to him. The song explodes when the Bad Seeds join in with Cave repeating “the King was born in Tupelo” to dramatic effect. ‘Carnage’ was introduced as being from Cave and Ellis’s Simon and Garfunkel period, in which Warren was the musical one. A wonderfully tender performance.
For ‘Joy’, Ellis is seated with his keyboard on his lap but still writhing. Every line dripped with the pain of loss accentuated by Ellis’s wailing cry. Cave delivers the last lines minus the band, teasing the final notes like the master of stagecraft he is.
‘Rings of Saturn’ was delivered from the piano stool accompanied by George Vjestica’s acoustic guitar before heading to the place he spends most of the show: up close and personal with his audience. By engaging and merging with the crowd he is giving himself wholly, trusting in them as they give themselves to him. It’s a beautiful synergy that few artists can attain.
Many had heard rumours, or just wished for it, but when the words “Can we invite Kylie Minogue onto the stage?” there are audible gasps from many. On she walked in an angelic white lace Susie Cave dress to duet on ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’. Her voice was excellent and the genuine connection between the two was visible as the pop princess leaned her head into Cave’s chest and they hugged as she sang her final words. It was a real “did that really just happen” moment.
Cave returned to the front of the stage, effortlessly flirting with an audience member and flatteringly remarking, “I’m a reflection of your beauty”. For ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ Jim Sclavunos took to the drums, pounding out the thunderous beat as Cave jumped and kicked out, leading a call and response with the crowd as Ellis’s scratchy guitar fed back and Carly Paradis’s keyboard added flourishes, before being held aloft, standing on the shoulders of the audience.
‘Red Right Hand’, probably The Bad Seeds’ best known song, still packs power with Sclavunos sounding the death knell bell. Cave hushed the band to a whisper as he grabbed an audience member’s limited edition 10” Jubilee Street single, saying “I’ll swap it for something better, a Flaming Lips one”.
‘Hollywood’ was introduced as “the last song but it’s a long one”. Performed at the piano and propelled by the double percussion duo, Cave pounded out the notes before returning to a gentler pace as he whispered the final poignant lines. Clocking in at thirteen minutes, he wasn’t wrong.
There was a quick return and Cave began wailing on a harmonica, with all guns blazing Sclavunos beating out the railroad rhythm of ‘City of Refuge’. He dedicated ‘Lovely Eyes’ to wife Susie and explained it was about Brighton and the beach (not the nudist part). A photo of the remains of the West Pier was projected behind the lyrics and the gorgeous harmonies and sensitive, soulful arrangement made for a moving experience.
The Bad Seeds were thanked and exited, leaving Cave to take his seat at the piano for a final, beautiful ‘Into My Arms’. With the devoted congregation backing him on the chorus, he proved he’s grown to become one of the all-time greats.
There was a final thanks to all the performers, then “God bless, good night” and he was gone. He is a charismatic performer you can’t take your eyes off, and it takes something for one man and a great band to make a two and a quarter hour set seem to fly by like a blissful moment.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Preston Park, Friday 31st July 2026.
Photos: Chloe Hashimi.
