Dig Yourself!: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Live

Main Act: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Opening Act: Earth
Venue: Showbox Sodo

On a tired and cold Tuesday night, my friend Murren and I made our way to the Showbox Sodo to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Nick Cave is, of course, the greatest poet of our modern age and veteran Australian rock legend. He and his motley crew have been touring in support of their latest album “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” Their show, though not without flaws, rocked my socks off and delighted a hoard of tipsy Seattleites.

I really hate waiting and the hours before a band hits the stage for me have always been an excruciating exercise in patience and anticipation. This time around, those feelings were exacerbated by being cold, tired and subjected to Earth. No, not the planet, the band. Earth was added to the bill fairly late in the game and was not the best choice to open for The Bad Seeds. This is why: Earth is the original drone rock band. They play slow, repetitive songs that go on for ever and ever, into tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. They were, in fact, so slow that I avoided looking at my watch out of fear that I would see it counting backwards. They played for a good forty-five minutes, during which I left to use the bathroom, something I never do when a band is playing. But here’s the catch: They’re not a bad band; actually, under different circumstances, I could have enjoyed them a lot. But tonight, they were getting in the way of me and The Bad Seeds.

After Earth finished playing, the Bad Seeds waltzed out on stage and launched into “Night of the Lotus Eater.” Nick Cave himself entered and uttered the first words I’d ever heard him say in person: “Get Ready to Shield Yourself” and I braced myself against the waves. The Bad Seeds is a large band at seven members and they know how to rock out.

I was prepared for the two drummers; I was not prepared for how crazy Warren Ellis is. Ellis is the band’s Violin player but mainly played an electric mandolin. It made a noise like a car being shredded and blew me out of my shoes. He was so crazy he almost stole the show from Nick, and in fact did during “We Call upon the Author” when I looked over and saw him on the floor, ripping away at his instrument like an amphetamine-fueled wolverine. Cave’s singing and antics were at the heart of the show, of course. The man is incredibly energetic for being 50–something, and I hope I look that good when I’m his age. He danced and gyrated and threw himself all around the stage, frequently involving the audience in his music, even going so far as to change the lyrics of his songs to reference them. And let us not forget the lyrics; “Well, most of all nothing much ever really happens, And God rides high up in the ordinary sky, Until we find ourselves at out most distracted, And the miracle that was promised creeps quietly by.” Like I said, the man is genius with words.

They played the best of their catalog and most of their new album. “The Mercy Seat” is a song I never once thought I would hear live in my life, but there was the band playing away, and Nick Cave singing about how he’s not afraid to die. At one point Nick cried “Are you ready to get ready?” and the band blasted into “Get Ready for Love,” a favorite from Abattoir Blues. There were so many high points from this evening, I can’t just pick one, there was Warren Ellis and “The Mercy Seat” but there was also “Moonland and “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry.”

There were problems, like smelly drunk people and overenthusiastic super fans but they certainly didn’t ruin the show for me. Considering how quickly the show sold out, I count myself lucky to have acquired tickets at all. The two days of sore exhaustion that followed were well worth it.