Opening act the Dave Graney Show don't really come across in a giant venue like this. I'm told it's music influenced by film-noir and James Ellroy but it's also music that is battling against 3000 people talking, trying to get served at the bar, and wondering who on earth that man in the hat is on the stage.
Obviously, Nick Cave and his large band of Bad Seeds have no trouble communicating in a venue as large as this, even though a fair percentage of the set is mostly culled from their recently released album 'No More Shall We Part'. In fact they open with 'As I Sat Sadly by Her Side', and Cave leaves the piano duties to Conway Savage so he stalk around the stage and make his presence felt. After six minutes of Bryan Ferry style crooning you think that it's going to be like this from here on in, but the power of the Bad Seeds shouldn't be forgotten. They may have started in a very understated way, but halfway through 'Oh My Lord' they go off on one, Warren Ellis's violin propelling them along. On the album it's the mellower tunes like the title track and 'Love Letter' that stand out, and they are equally appreciated in the show, though it's the BIG tunes like 'Oh My Lord' and 'Hallelujah' (without the McGarrigle sisters but still wonderful) that really lift the roof.
However, it's not all new material and their fab back catalogue is revisited many times. There's only one tune from 'The Boatman's Call' (the reflective 'Lime Tree Arbor') and a couple of Murder Ballads. 'Do You Love Me', 'Red Right Hand', 'Papa Won't Leave You Henry', 'The Weeping Song' (a duet with Blixa as the father) are all magnificent, and there's still room for 'The Mercy Seat' and a real trip into the past for 'Saint Huck', which dates back to the days just after the Birthday Party called it a day.
Personally, this wasn't as big a revelation for me as the first time I had seen them (Dublin 1992, still one of my fave all-time shows) but it was still two hours in the company of one of the finest live bands on earth.