August 4th 1992, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at The Spectrum

Nick Cave is an artist who's inspired an intensely strong following, an appreciation built on a solid foundation of poetic lyrics and intense performance. He has a way of interacting directly with his audience in an intimate manner that creates a powerful bond between artist and fan, and as a result seeing a Nick Cave show isn't just about seeing a show, it's also about making a connection.

The first time that I ever saw Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds live was at the Spectrum in 1992 with my friends Dave B. and Jodi. It was on the tour for "Henry's Dream" and it was a pretty intimate space in comparison to some of the gigs that I'd see him do in the years to come, a club gig with only a few hundred people. From the moment that the band hit the stage they grabbed everybody's attention with a fiery version of "Papa Won't Leave You Henry", Cave at centre stage in a tight black suit moving with a long-limbed insectile grace and an intensity that I've rarely seen in a performer before or since. There was a charisma and intensity in that performance that was spellbinding, you couldn't look away because his draw was so strong, so powerful. 

Over the course of the next hour and a half Cave played a set that was made up largely of songs from "Henry's Dream" along with a handful of classics from earlier albums, and the entire audience was completely entranced for the whole length of the show. The pacing was up and down all evening long with the band alternating between spiraling heights of manic energy and quiet passages of great beauty and wonder. There was a haunting version of John Finn's Wife, and a near apocalyptic version of From Her to Eternity. They closed the set with an explosive cover of Black Betty, and in hindsight I can't imagine it could have ended any other way. As we left the venue it didn't feel like we had seen a concert so much as we had had a revelation.

Throughout the show Cave had a way of reaching out to the audience in some of the quieter passages as if to establish a greater connection with us more grounded in the physical, and while I know that dozens, hundreds, thousands of other artists have done that before and after, there was a feeling of great honesty when he did it, something genuine and real. Since that show at the Spectrum I've seen Nick Cave a number of times and he continues to stretch out his hands, and in recent years even walk out into the audience, removing the space between he and the crowd in a sincere effort to make contact both physically and emotionally. I think that honesty, that genuineness is at the heart of Cave's relationship with his fans, and I'm sure that many of them would say the same thing. Nick Cave's audience may be built on a foundation of poetry and intensity, but it's that sincere and honest contact he offers that sets him apart from other artists and inspires such devotion.