The stage is set, and the venue is Glasgow’s OVO Hydro which has drawn music loving punters from all over, given the range of accents I hear around me.
Glasgow is an ideal hub for music tourism and indeed while waiting to enter the venue I bumped into an old friend who had come up on the train from Newcastle. Yes, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds has drawn a large crowd. If my maths are correct, ‘The Wild God’ is Nick Cave’s 18th studio album and what a piece of musical gold it is. ‘The Wild God’ tour will becoming to a city near you, right across the globe, so get yourself a ticket and immerse yourself in not just a gig, but a seminal masterclass in live music performance.
Black Country, New Road opened the Hydro up and although people were still filing in, the crowd was a good size for them with all eyes on the stage as the young band played a flawless set that fitted in nicely as a calm beginning before the post Punk Maestro would perform. ‘Black Country, New Road’ is a band to keep your eyes on for 2025.
The Bad Seeds walked out to eruptious applause, waved, and picked up their instruments and waited for their cue. Just as I thought the crowd’s decibels level could not get any higher, Nick Cave walked out on stage and the crowd’s vocalisation of appreciation would have left no doubt in Cave’s mind that Glasgow has much love for him and his genre defying music.
No time was wasted as there would be circa 21 songs packed into tonight’s performance. First off the starting blocks was ‘Frogs’ with Cave crooning and commanding every ounce of attention in the auditorium. Next up ‘Wild God’ which saw him sat behind a grand piano, singing and as the song reached its crescendo, Cave jumped up and flew over the central walkway to the barrier and gave an emotive performance worthy of an Oscar, the crowd threw their hands towards him as Nick ran up and down, stopping to sing in his legendary vocal style inches from the faces of captivated fans. There was something special about tonight’s show and the audience in attendance will concur.
After the show, a fan said “ You could hear a pin drop, Nick had the whole place mesmerised”. This was a gig that won’t be forgotten due to both the quality of the musicianship and stellar performance by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, who indelible mark on Glasgow. Bravo!
Words and pictures: Stevie Oi!