Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Montreux: the Gospel of rock

Four years after his last concert at the Stravinsky Auditorium, the slender profile and three-piece suit are identical. On this Saturday, July 2, 2022, I am once again witness to an epiphany. Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds perform their liturgy for over two hours. I recognize the demons, but above all the Australian's journey into remission. An organic and spiritual experience. Story.

For a long time, I hesitated to write this article. Yes, when I discovered Nick Cave on that very same stage in 2018, I was completely blown away. Yes, in the months that followed, I plunged into a quest for the absolute. Navigating an untapped gold mine, I probed the origin of that head-on shock, that collision that had left me dazed in the middle of a summer night. So, revisiting that experience carried a double risk: the disappointment of a second encounter? The risk of falling short at this new rock mass?

A spellbinding scene

At exactly 10:15 p.m., Get Ready for Love The show gets off to a flying start. A humid, stifling atmosphere fills the hall. I realize that the lack of air conditioning and the ban on any refreshments inside the Strav’ will help transport me far away from Montreux, to a place where time no longer exists. As with all of the crooner’s concerts, a platform running parallel to the audience is set up along the length of the stage at the level of the front row. The leader of the Bad Seeds will deliver his sermons from there. He paces back and forth across his stage, his gaze inquisitive. Nonchalantly, after each song, he spits out his phlegm.

There’s no shortage of must-see attractions. The arrival of the «King of Rock »n’ Roll” amid the storm of Tupelo, the delightful reincarnation of Jubilee Street and Robert Johnson's devil's pact, on the outskirts of Geneva in Higgs Boson Blues. The songs go on and on, and the Bad Seeds fall in step with the master of ceremonies’ pauses and interjections. Across from me, right behind Georges Vjestica, a prominent vein runs down drummer Jim Sclavunos’s neck. Warren Ellis, on violin, leans forward in his chair.

Seeing Beyond the Red Hand

The Album Carnage, the result of a collaboration between the singer and Warren Ellis—who co-wrote nearly all of the band’s new songs—is introduced with two tracks, including White Elephant, building to a crescendo and making the most of the chorus. The whole thing makes it seem almost trivial Red Right Hand, made popular by the series Peaky Blinders. The thing is, Nick Cave is no longer that magnificent fictional demon.

At the piano, he is overcome with emotion as he performs I Need You, the only track on Skeleton Tree played. The words «just breath» will be repeated like a leitmotiv throughout the concert. In the middle of the night, the poem by Ghosteen Speaks marks the culmination of this magical interlude. The audience sways, as if in a final communion dedicated to the invisible and to the fragility of existence.

Now I’m reassured: the spell was indeed cast. The great discovery has given way to wonder. To meet Cave’s gaze, through the harsh light of the spotlights, is to feel the certainty that I’ve witnessed an eternal event.

Write to the author: fanny.agostino@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Lionel Flusin

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