It was splendid. Nick Cave, Warren Ellis and someone else in the Royal Carré Theatre in Amsterdam. Many well-known songs they played, including "Weeping Song", "Mercy Seat", "People Just Ain't No Good", "Into My Arms".
He answered questions from the audience, the strangest ones as well ("Sir, you are one bizar man"), so the lights went up after every song. They seemed like a bunch of three young men just having fun. Enjoying themselves with words, music and a willing audience.
I made bets with various people beforehand whether Nick Cave would be his usual "electric self", kicking his legs as if 380V went through them. He didn't. But crazy drummer and flute-player Warren Ellis took this role. Same guy which whom he made various soundtracks.
"Mercy Seat" gave me goosebumps. Even though the snare drum resonated with every single note. (Someone from the audience yelled something about it afterwards and it was immediatly corrected.)
That marvellous voice of his. He just has to say "reap" and you hear the Pale Rider sharpen his iron.
He read three parts from"Bunny Monroe" and again, marvellous. I so want to read it now. I learned about writing simply by listening to his words. And again, it's not just hearing a writer read his own works, it's his voice that so suits the dark, sinister sentences that he weaves.
And thank you so much, Nick Cave, for being the only man who said "cum-encrusted sock" out loud in Carré. Thank you, from the darkest depths of my mind and body.
Afterwards, he simply sat down and signed copies of everything. Posed for pictures, answered questions, gave kisses. The crowd was large, he didn't seem to mind.
This was one of the most wonderful events I've visited for quite some time. I didn't want to leave that wonderful, creative bubble in the amphitheatre of Carré. To go outside would mean to let that bubble get burst by the frosted touch of pale gray people with their pale gray lives.
