Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Warfield

After not seeing any concerts for what feels like a couple of years, we went to go see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at The Warfield the other week. I've seen Nick Cave eight or nine times now, and for a guy who's over 51, he can still rock. I would think that all of the Bad Seeds are in their forties or pushing 50, and they can still whoop ass over bands half their age. What an inspiration.

The concert was to promote their latest CD, Dig!! Lazarus, Dig!!! The concert easily made a good album a whole lot better. It's not their best collection of songs, but Nick Cave is really showing no signs of slowing down or mellowing out.

My favorite Bad Seed used to be guitarist Blixa Bargeld, who was part of the band since the beginning. All through his tenure, he split his time between the Bad Seeds and his own band, Einstürzende Neubauten. He sang backup. He played guitar. He had funny haircuts, and he looked kind of weird. He was really cool, but then he left the band in 2003.

Who would become my new favorite Bad Seed? After this concert, it's got to be multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis. First of all, he's got the most excellent beard in the world:

Secondly, he has really come into his own with the band. When he first joined in 1997, he was simply the violin player in an eight-man band. He would always have his back to the audience when he played. In between his violin parts, he would squat down and slowly rock on his heels, always facing away. I don't believe it ever was any kind of stage fright, since he already fronted his own band (The Dirty Three, which plays some of the most excellent instrument-only music ever); this just seemed to be his way to interact with the band and the music.

Now with Blixa's departure, Warren his moved to the front of the stage next to Nick Cave. In addition to the violin, he also plays guitar, keyboards, mandolin, flute, and some other instruments I can't even name. He even gets down on his hands and knees to play screeching electronic noises. All through the concert, he whips himself around the stage like a bearded crazy man. It's hard to describe, but it's really entertaining.

In a nutshell, it was a great concert with some excellent music and a fantastic beard. Thumbs up!