By Ben Nicol
Solo Tour – WIN Entertainment Centre 09/05/2024
May 10, 2024
Nick Cave wrapped up his New South Wales run of solo shows in style in front of a sizeable crowd at Wollongong’s Win Entertainment Centre. The usually enigmatic showman dropped the theatrics in favour of a barebones and intimate atmosphere, bolstered by his palpable charisma as he animatedly performed from behind the piano, where Cave remained for most of the show.
Accompanying him on these renditions of songs from throughout Cave’s career was Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood. While the spotlight would be ever-present on Cave throughout the show, Greenwood would alternate between sharing the stage with Cave and standing distantly in the background. The prolific bassist made his presence stronger in tracks where there was a noticeable pickup in tempo such as Jesus of the Moon.
Songs that would usually pack a punch being played with Cave’s band the Bad Seeds were given a new, more sombre identity under this stripped back setting. This helped the lyrically wicked Jubilee Street shine, with Cave emotively bashing the piano over and over as his voice grew from soulful singing to outright yelling. These retouched renditions were balanced out with setlist mainstays The Ship Song and Into My Arms, two fan favourites that, thanks to Cave’s musical mastery, maintained their heartfelt impact that the crowd were happy to singalong to.
Cave also used this solo show run as an opportunity to go through his discography and pull-out tracks that wouldn’t usually be performed with the Bad Seeds, who he mentioned would be returning with him next year to tour a soon-to-be-released album. He Wants You was one such track, previously forgotten due to being on Nocturama, an album from 2003 that Cave said “No one liked,” to laughs from the audience.
His witty and dry humour injected plenty of personality into the show, with funny quips and stories being placed in between just about every song, of which there were many. He bowed out of the evening’s festivities with a self-deprecating apology to The Seekers before covering their melancholic classic The Carnival Is Over, sending punters out to the appropriately dark and rainy night, our spirits lifted by the one-of-a-kind spectacle we had just witnessed.
See the full gallery by JohnnyD Photography HERE