Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Hammersmith Apollo, London

Although Nick Cave’s set is just a drop in the ocean of a vast and all-round brilliant catalogue, tonight’s Hammersmith audience are treated to a selection of the finest Seed material. Cave guides his cohort through a set which soars between the funky ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ the furious ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ and the beautiful personal favourite ‘The Ship Song’.

Cave strides onto the stage in his usual black attire, his beanpole posture and distinguishable features cast a silhouette against the Apollo walls which points, thrashes, spits and gyrates for the next two hours. The Seed line up is six strong, with Warren Ellis’ wild input of violins and distortion pedals to Cave’s left. They launch into two tracks off of the brand new album including a raucous version of ‘Night of the Lotus Eaters’ and first single, ‘Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!’ They plough through ‘Tupelo’ and the haunting ‘Red Right Hand’ with an unstoppable energy, pausing only for the wonderful ‘I Let Love In’ or ‘The Ship Song’, but even they have a breathtaking power behind them.

The set is not without a few technical glitches, and when an ominous ‘whipping’ sound is emitted from the PA, the performance is halted, drawing sarcastic claps from the audience, to which Cave yells ‘You London c*nts!’ jovially to his fans. Aside from various teething problems, (including a roadie nearly somersaulting over the equipment in his haste), Cave charges the stage with a vigour and raw sexuality which has become synonymous with his name. The audience are blessed with a double encore to which Cave encourages a sing-a-long to the bluesy ‘Lyre of Orpheus’ and his career-defining ‘Into my Arms’.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds do not simply put on a blistering live show tonight, led by one of the most enigmatic front men of the past twenty years, but exhibit the staying power of a world class band.