Nick Cave, Auckland NZ, 2019

Conversations With Nick Cave

17th January 2019
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Feature Image courtesy of Mark Derricutt.

As Nick Cave quite openly declared to a sold-out audience at Auckland’s Town Hall last night, he knows very little about politics; but he would love to see Jacinda Ardern in one of his wife’s Susie Bick dress designs – “put that in the fucking news”.

Fashion, religion, thoughts on the linear constructs of time; Cave addressed it all and more last night in one of a series of shows he has created called ‘Conversations with Nick Cave’. These speaking events interspersed with songs that Cave plays solo on his piano are a fans dream come true; the opportunity to ask the man himself a question about absolutely anything with few rules bar making sure that your question is “bold and brave and that there is a question mark at the end of what you are talking about”.

As the lights dimmed on the positively vibrating audience, the familiar baritone of Cave’s voice resonated through the sound system, reciting his spoken word piece ‘Steve McQueen’; as it drew to a close Cave himself slipped onto the stage and taking a seat at the piano moved straight into ‘The Ship Song’ whose conclusion was met with rapturous applause. What would follow was almost three hours of pure, unadulterated Nick Cave.

Cave throughout his career has often been an enigma, one of incredible talent and a fascinating lyricist but an artist who has often had a love-hate relationship with the media and in earlier days his fans. But last night as he leaned out from the stage, shirt neck open, his familiar three piece suit and slicked back hair the deepest colour of ink framing his lithe yet angled frame he appeared at ease and rather jovial despite the fact he later confessed that he was just as terrified as those who took a chance with the microphone to ask him a question. Self-deprecating and with a wit sharper than a razors edge, Cave addressed early questions about his time with Nina Simone – a woman who he describes as “terrifying” – and the transformative power of music, a theme that would often underlie his words as he spoke of the song writing process.

An interestingly worded question from a gentleman at the back in regards to his duets with both Kylie Minogue and PJ Harvey and whether you can have passion without wrongful death saw Cave humorously declare “No” before speaking fondly of his time with Minogue and how brave she was to take a chance on recording ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ with him when everyone around her was telling her not to. However, when it came to PJ Harvey, Cave declared it was a little more complicated and opted instead to play ‘Far From Me’ which he wrote about her.

Accepting a piece of artwork from a young fan by the name of Chyna, Cave was genuinely moved, his conversation with Chyna’s mother Sally soon having the entire hall in peals of laughter as she discussed his Christ-like status amongst his fans; both mother and daughter each having a song dedicated to them in the form of ‘Mercy Seat’ and Cave’s cover of the Leonard Cohen song ‘Avalanche’ respectively.

While no one directly addressed the tragic death of Cave’s son Arthur, the topic of grief inevitably made its way into the conversation, Cave stating that the album Skeleton Tree and accompanying film ‘One More Time with Feeling’ – described as a gift from director Andrew Dominik – saved his life in that it helped to heal in “some strange way”. The evening wasn’t all heavy subjects though, lightness coming in the form of questions of what Cave’s superpower would be if he could choose one – “hopping into people’s bodies, and I mean that in a spiritual way” – and how he first met his wife Susie, who Cave revealed was the first and only woman he had ever asked out to dinner.

The numerous musical interludes throughout the evening were individual gems all their own, each one framed completely differently to what you would normally hear at a Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds show. Sure, there wasn’t that wild unbridled passion that Cave is often known for when performing alongside his fellow musicians such as Warren Ellis, but it wasn’t that far beneath the surface either, at times almost visibly rippling across his skin as his hands moved across the keys, just waiting to leap forward and consume all in its path.

In these current times where often, artists shield themselves behind agents and moderators, Cave has instead laid himself bare, encouraging and engaging in open and at times brutally honest discourse in an attempt to “further deepen the connection” he feels with his audience. What wonderous new material will grow from these experiences remains to be seen, but it will undoubtedly be Nick Cave’s most interesting work yet.

Were you there at the Town Hall for this beautiful conversation and set of songs? Or have you seen Nick Cave perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. The Ship Song
2. West Country Girl
3. Papa Won’t Leave You Henry
4. Sad Waters
5. Far From Me
6. Mermaids
7. Mercy Seat
8. Avalanche (Leonard Cohen Cover)
9. Stranger Than Kindness
10. Into My Arms
11. Higgs Boson Blues
12. Breathless
13. Watching Alice
14. Love Letter

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