Big Day Out/Aukland Review in Addicted To Noise

Edited by Jaan Uhelszki

Photo by Jay Blakesberg

...Up next was what I had been waiting for all day. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds new album Murder Ballads is due for release down here at the end of January and this promised to be an ideal opportunity to get a preview. Sure enough, things kicked off with an updated version of Stagger Lee, a murder ballad if there ever was one that is the second track on the upcoming album. Cave was clad in his trademark cheap suit, selling the song like an out-of-control television evangelist, his vocals a perfect blend of solo John Cale and recent Leonard Cohen.

Next was Do You Love Me? and From Her to Eternity with Cave throwing himself around the stage, threatening harm to both his physical self and the equipment. Technical problems did slow things down when the keyboards disappeared from the mix. This threw Cave a curve as he announced that most of his songs were keyboard-based and he didn't know what to do next. Finally he introduced a song he claimed to be the "best song I have ever written and never recorded." It was something called Into My Arms, with a slightly country & western feel. Not bad, but it didn't live up to the declaration.

The keyboard problem was sorted out and they proceeded with another slow number. The crowd was starting to lose interest. It had been rumored that Kylie Minogue would be on hand to add her vocals to Where The Wild Roses Grow, the single released a couple of months ago that cause quite a stir in Australia and England. But Kylie couldn't make it. Cave commented on recording an album's worth of murder ballads as "a dumb idea, but it will sell millions." Things picked up with The Weeping Song. They closed their part of the show out with The Mercy Seat. Followers of Cave & the Seeds were left calling for more...

...but over on the next stage Perry Farrell and Porno For Pyros were due to start any minute....[continues]

Copyright 1996 Addicted To Noise,
the on-line rock & roll magazine, http://www.addict.com/

ATN's article on Nick is located at http://www.addict.com/MNOTW/96-01-21.html#Big_Day