Highwire Magazine

It is not easy to sell out the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, let alone sell it for three nights on a weekend when the city is overflowing with Halloween and Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Nick Cave effortlessly accomplished this remarkable feat. 

Cave filled this beautiful historic theater with an eclectic ensemble of fans of all types ages, dressed everywhere from high society garb to comfortable leisure wear to Halloween and Dia de los Muertos attire, including shirtless leather-clad bikers and the nightmare time-traveling bunny from Donny Darko. 

There was no opening act. There was a piano and a bass, played by the incomparable Colin Greenwood of Radiohead and Nick Cave, which was enough. Cave’s presence on stage was commanding, knowing he is a master of his craft. He was also saturated with humility as he seemed genuinely grateful and astounded that so many people came to see him. 

Cave’s 24-song set encompassed his awe-inspiring multi-decade career. Cave played much of his newer material with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, including the opening songs “Girl in Amber” from their 2016 album, Skeleton Tree and “Higgs Boson Blues” from their 2013, Push The Sky Away. He also included “Jesus Of The Moon,” “Galleon Ship,” Euthanasia,” “O Children,” “Waiting For You,” “Balcony Man,” and “Carnage.”

As the night went on, Cave started adding songs from earlier in his career, “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry,” “Black Hair,” and “(Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?” 

There is always one song that Cave has performed live at every show since 1988. This song has appeared on four Nick Cave & The Bad Seed albums: Tender Prey, The Good Son bonus 7” Acoustic Versions from Tender Prey, Stripped, and B-Sides & Rarities. This song has appeared on multiple movie soundtracks, and Johnny Cash recorded a cover for his own album in 2000, American III: Solitary Man. This song was, of course, Cave’s death anthem, “The Mercy Seat.” 

Cave continued with his set, which included “The Weeping Song,” “Into My Arms,” and ended the set with “Push The Sky Away.” The night, of course, did not end there. Cave started his six-song encore with a cover of Grinderman’s “Palaces of Montezuma” and thrilled the audience with “Brompton Oratory,” The Boys Next Door’s (later to become The Birthday Party) “Shivers,” “The Ship Song,” the 1986 classic, “Stranger Than Kindness,” and lastly “God Is In The House.” 

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