The O2 remains a terrible venue full of terrible people, but if there was one person who could make that hellhole feel as intimate as a church, it's Nick Cave. Somehow seeming younger and more energised that he did ten years ago, this was the Platonic ideal of an arena gig- indeed, I'd go as far as to say it was one of the best shows of that size I've ever seen. Some highlights:
- Absolutely ferocious renditions of "Higgs Boson Blues" and "Jubilee Street"
- That huge "Into My Arms" sing-along
- The soul-crushing triumvirate of "Girl In Amber"/"I Need You"/"Distant Sky"
- A mid-paced "Red Right Hand" suddenly going full My Bloody Valentine during the noisy bits. Also, the adjusted lyrics concerning "angry little tweets"- wonder who that could refer to?
- "The Mercy Seat" sounding like the Apocalypse
- Nick noticing Bobby Gillespie in the audience, and dragging him on-stage to sing the end of "Push The Sky Away"
- "Stagger Lee", which was, well, staggering. The stage invasion! Nick prowling around the audience! Ten thousand people shouting "WELL, THOSE WERE THE LAST WORDS THAT THE DEVIL SAID, BECAUSE STAG PUT FOUR HOLES IN HIS MOTHER...FUCKING...HEAD!" You don't get that at a Joanna Newsom show...
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