We saw him in his early days moving between Exarchia and the Decadence bar in Rodon, when he was still playing to small crowds after his post-punk explosions, then we celebrated his birthday in September and his turn at Lycabettus, where he often returns to the wider public, we mourned together and recovered from that unforgettable night at Tae Kwon Do, where he remained in the arms of his loyal fans who circled him in the center of the arena like El Cid. When we saw him at Release years ago, we had a good old wild joy – just to name a few of his performances and passes. Nick Cave from our country.
But for the first time, we got to enjoy some one-on-one fun on his main stage Home of the Onassis Foundation and in a concert that, as he announced on stage, “intended to highlight the songs of the last forty years in their purity”, knowing that he was already talking to initiates.
So he knew exactly who he was addressing when he greeted the Athenian audience with a warm kiss and a raised hand, even if some of them weren’t familiar with his piano solo version – but he did well accompanied by Colin Greenwood (a.k.a. Cave), who is in final form, and who took him to Radiohead’s ‘ stole’). Before long, he began his solo performance with the utterly mystical and atmospheric “Girl in Amber” from Skeleton Tree, turning the Roof into a mystical place with us unrepentant devotees, and in the first of three performances on Saturday 1st, this one and only guru. June.
For the first time, we had the feeling that Cave was playing just for us, sometimes with a softer voice, more sensitive, sometimes more violent with a familiar baritone, knowing exactly what we wanted to hear next, making more similar jokes. inside jokes you share with people you know from the past. He was our “Jesus of the planets and the stars,” as dictated by one of the first selections of the night, “Jesus of the Moon,” who entered the capital city of Athens from the non-earthly moon. His nostalgic-melodic state continued with his favorite “Waiting For You”, surprising us with a change to “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry”, faster and more dynamic than his best moments with Warren Ellis. He thought of a lullaby for his son after he needed something violent to keep him awake. “Except my son is now threatening me for not being smart enough to make his grandson sleep with him,” she said with a laugh – further evidence that Cave was in high spirits today.
That’s why he was happy when he played an interactive game of “Man with the Balcony” with us, asked those sitting in the stands to sing along with him, forbade us to join the “privileged” of the square, because according to the title, the song was strictly addressed to them. However, the Cave was not complete without “Ship Song”, where the participation was again massive – perhaps the most beautiful love song ever written, “I’ve written 150 songs, but this remains my greatest hit”. But his “this special We all shuddered when we heard his “O children” dedicated to the children of the world, who are suffering because of the situation, and we all knew that, although he did not mention it, the words were “wiping the butcher shop floor with your broken hearts” referring to the children in Gaza. Jubilee Street” and the more existential “Galleon Ship”, which I think are some of the most brooding and otherworldly moments from the unclassified and inimitable Ghosteen with the Bad Seeds. No concert, of course, is the now-classic anthem in music history, “The Screaming Song ” and without the magical “Push the Sky”—one of his finest, most recent recordings—can’t be closed. “Now you know the game we play together, I’ll go out for thirty seconds, you’ll jam, and I’ll come back to play more songs,” he joked to us. . after being on stage for a full two hours, farewell for a while with a retrospective on the best moments of his career.
Of course, when he’s asked to perform his classic hit “Do You Love Me” after a long round of applause and a standing ovation, he tells the asking fan, “I can hear you in your house, I can picture you,” confirming our initial suspicion that he’s here. if he doesn’t perform his works in their ‘purity’, his collaborations are otherworldly transitions at their most existential to remind us of who he is. compositions, most forgotten B-sides like his beautiful “Ethanasia”. With the lingering “just breathe” reverberating through the room like a holy mantra, “I need you” chills, making us feel as if we’re out of breath.
However, Cave made sure to pay homage to his old collaborations, such as the Grinderman project (we saw them in an unforgettable concert in Athens in 2011), as a sign of nostalgic tenderness, something unusual for him. With all the power of “Palaces of Montezuma” and his first steps with Boys Next Door, he told his favorite guitarist, Birthday Party pioneer, the unforgettable Rowland Howard, that he wrote “Sivers” in 1979 at the age of 16. ! Appropriate tributes went to the unforgettable Mark Bolan (of the late T.REX) who gave a unique interpretation of “Cosmic Dancer” which reminded us of the dance we’ve built in his honor over the years. no matter how much we see it, no matter how much we remember that nothing in our lives would be the same without the shamanic, healing power of the Cave, be crazy.