Less than two months after the death of his son, Nick Cave appears wrapped in overwhelming anger

Like then, in that round that in a short time has already managed to become mythological, even in the current column Nick Kyiv is full of charged energy.

So she mostly conveyed sadness.

In this show she feels more nervous.

Then and now - it sweeps and sometimes even melts the entire audience

Assaf Lebanon, Berlin

03/07/2022

Sunday, 03 July 2022, 00:06

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Frenetic and restless.

Nick Kyiv performing in Berlin (Photo: Megan Cullen)

The flutist from Hamlin stands on a stage in Berlin.

He raises his hand - and about 20,000 people in the audience are in a hurry to raise their hand as well.

He makes a gesture - and a lot responds to her immediately.

He comes down from the stage, clings to the irons and sings to the people standing in the front rows.

They merge with him.

They are his.

In just a few weeks, less than two months, a great disaster happened to him.

again.

For the second time in a number one of his sons passed away prematurely.

Seven years after his son Arthur fell to his death from a cliff, his son Jethro also returned his soul to the Creator.

Nick Cave does not believe in the Creator.

He even states this in one of his poems.

But he also does not believe in atheism.

This is part of the duality of his character, personality and even the performance he gave that evening in Berlin.

There were those who thought that in light of the tragedy Kyiv would cancel this tour.

Who can sing on stage a month or so after standing, again, at his son's funeral?

But whoever was present at the previous big round guessed, felt, almost knew - he will not cancel this round.

The more they torture him - the more he will and will break out.

Because these performances are his therapy.

Instead of sitting and talking to a psychologist for 45 minutes - he stands, sings and plays in front of a large audience for two hours.

The therapeutic effect is probably no less significant.

The catharsis, his and the audience's, is enormous.

The performance takes place on parallel and sometimes contradictory levels.

Sadness-anger-rage alongside humor.

Text and next to it, it seems, quite a bit of sub-text.

Much of what is happening on stage screams for interpretation.

When Kiev sings in four different songs the line "Breathe, please breathe" is he just singing lyrics or is he shouting at his dead children?

And what about when he sings "Cry, Cry, Cry" or "I Need You"?

When he lies on his back - is he performing choreography or is he "Play Dead"?

When an outburst of anger, rage and rage in the performance of "Jubilee Street" comes out of it, does he think of the same girl named Bee, the subject of the song, or the two boys he lost?

Although the song was released before the two tragedies, the line "Look at me now I'm flying" sounds in these circumstances as a nod to their transition to the next world.

Therapeutic effect.

Nick Kyiv performing in Berlin (Photo: Megan Cullen)

What is certain - the audience is definitely looking at Kyiv.

In fact, the audience can not take their eyes off him all evening.

It has been written - here too - about Kyiv's ability to enchant an audience, to function as a charismatic Prince of Opal that delivers a fascinating show with unparalleled stage conduct.

Thousands of Israelis left his two performances in Tel Aviv breathlessly in November 2017. Most of them asked for more.

He intended to give it to them, but Corona had other plans and the planned column was canceled.

Kyiv then embarked on two more smaller columns, which did not reach Israel: one included evenings in which he answered questions from the audience and performed some of his best songs alone, on piano.

The second was a show with his friend and co-creator Warren Ellis, on the occasion of the release of their joint album "Carnage".

And now he's in a column like back then, with his Bad Seeds.

This is the column with which he will also come to us soon.

Earlier he stopped at a number of destinations in Europe, so far mostly music festivals.

In Berlin he performs in Caesarea of ​​the German capital - the Waldbühne.

A large amphitheater that also at 7:15 p.m.

But this light does not prevent Kiev from giving its dark show.

As then, in that round that in a short time has already managed to become mythological, here too Kyiv is full of charged energy.

So she mostly conveyed sadness.

In this show she feels more angry and nervous.

Then and now - she's sweeping.

It's an energy that seems ageless, a vampire really.

The fresh and chic look of Kyiv, which does not quite match its 64 years, only contributes to this.

He gives in the head and gives Brock.

Frenetic and restless.

Treasures energy and then releases it with a skilled hand, in a burst and in a swing.

Functions as a true drama artist, but does not let forget for a moment that he is also a rare and one-time musician, one who each time re-gives the maximum to his audience.

And the audience, for its part, is completely devoted to it and responds enthusiastically to every gesture it demonstrates.

Merges with the audience and they with him.

Nick Kyiv performing in Berlin (Photo: Megan Cullen)

In terms of song selection Kyiv chooses to give a varied set.

14 different albums are represented in the rather long performance (22 songs compared to 19 he has given in most of the tour so far - probably because this is a regular performance and not a festival performance, which is traditionally shorter).

The maximum number of songs from one album is three.

In honor of this is the double album "Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus" as well as "Push the Sky" Away and the newer "Ghosteen", which was a kind of sequel to the mourning "Skeleton Tree" (represented here by only one song: I Need You).

So this is not a definite hit show.

One of his greatest songs - "The Whipping Song" - which was the climax of the 2017 tour - is not present at all.

However, Kyiv does not give up "Into My Arms" in the encore and distributes candies in the form of "From Her to Eternity", "Tupelo", "Red Right Hand", "The Mercy Seat" and "The Ship Song" (the last four even arrive In sequence towards the end of the first part of the show).

So there are definitely favorites here who help fuel those in the audience who are less knowledgeable.

The natural gloom of his materials balances Kiev with a sense of humor that he sometimes uses to lighten the atmosphere. For example, he dedicates the song "Carnage" to Berlin, which is "A City That Looks Beautifuly Fucked Up". He presents Carly Paradise, the pianist who has joined the band, in detail while emphasizing how much she does not like exposure. Warren Ellis, on the other hand, is presented as "not new in any way."

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To the full article

The highlights of the evening.

The Gospel Band at a Nick Cave Concert in Berlin (Photo: Megan Cullen)

At an advanced stage of the show, he surprises when he brings to the stage a kind of gospel choir - three black women and a man, who accompany him in a number of songs and only increase the religious-ecclesiastical effect that his performances have.

Performing "Henry Lee" with one of these singers is one of the highlights of the evening.

Another highlight is the performance of "The Mercy Seat", which starts out minimalist, with only an acoustic guitar, and moves to kasachistic.

Another record takes place in the performance (excellent) for "Higgs Boson Blues".

Kyiv returns to his familiar stick and while he sings he takes the hands of a young woman from the crowd and looks into her eyes.

She melts and sends him embracing hands.

The crowd melts along with her and Kiev once again proves to be the wizard of touching the crowd - literally.

Yes, the flutist from Hamlin still plays his flute well and still sweeps his audience after him.

But unlike the same character - he does not lead his fans to doom but shares with them his own loss.

It leads them to a rare sense of disintegration and purification, such that few artists are able to provide for their audience.

But it is symbolic that like that folk tale, this shaky performance also takes place in Germany.

Nick Cave is expected to perform at Live Park Rishon Lezion on August 23.

The writer was a guest of the show's production in Israel.

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