Another Epic Night at the O2 Arena
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Black Country, New Road combined for an unforgettable show
One of the many advantages of living in my corner of South East London, an area frequently disparaged by Londoners who live elsewhere in the great metropolis, is having one of the most popular music venues in the world, The O2 Arena at North Greenwich, just a short bus ride from my home.
When a friend of mine was lucky in the ballot for tickets to see Led Zeppelin there soon after it opened in 2007 - you can still read my Guardian review of that unique concert here - I was home and in bed, telling my wife all about it, within 35 minutes of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page et al departing the cavernous O2 stage.
As I wrote in another piece for The Guardian earlier that year, the auspices for the O2 were not brilliant, although I’m happy to admit that I couldn’t have been more wrong when I wrote:
‘Whether the O2 will succeed as a sports and entertainment venue remains to be seen. It is only moderately better served by transport links than the London Arena, just across the river, which was demolished last year after failing to establish itself as an alternative to the big London venues for 17 years. But even if it does succeed, it's difficult to see what, beyond a few hundred jobs, it will do for the local economy.’
So imagine my delight when, a few months ago, one of my favourite old bands, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, announced they would be playing the London leg of their Wild God tour at the O2, and that they’d be supported by my favourite new band, Black Country, New Road.
I’ve written about Black Country, New Road here before. They really are a remarkable group of young musicians. I last saw them in September in a room above the Lexington pub on Pentonville Road, with proceeds from the gig going to the excellent War Child charity.
Their debut album, For the First Time, received universally positive reviews on release in February 2021. Even before it came out, John Doran of The Quietus called them the best band in the world on the strength of only their second single, Sunglasses.
Their second album, Ants from Up There, was released in February 2022 to similar acclaim, but four days before it came out their lead singer, Isaac Wood, quit. The rest of the of the band subsequently decided not to perform any material from the first two albums again. But in February 2023 they released the brilliant, but very different, album Live at Bush Hall to further plaudits, with lead vocals now shared among three of the remaining six.
When I saw them in September, they were trying out another batch of new material, some of which had been given an outing at festivals during the summer. While they weren’t all in a finished state, they provided further evidence of a fascinating musical evolution. And it was great to see Georgia Ellery (also enjoying phenomenal success as one half of the techno-pop duo, Jockstrap) taking on lead vocal duties on a couple of numbers: her voice is sublime.
Having claimed my spot near the stage, I was delighted to see them stick with the new material as thousands of Nick Cave fans made their way into the arena. The highlight for me was The Mare of Cambridge, five of them playing tenor recorders, under the direction of keyboard player May Kershaw, herself wearing an accordian. It’s kind of bonkers to watch, but a beautiful song. I’m hoping this new material might make it on to a third studio album early in the new year, as there seems to be a February pattern here.
Young bands supporting established acts in huge venues are essentially on a hiding to nothing, but Black Country, New Road played a fabulous set and were courteously received. No doubt they will have picked up new fans along the way. As one of the most original and interesting bands working today, and as a group of friends who so clearly enjoy what they are doing together, I’m sure they have a considerable career ahead of them.
Whether they attain the lofty heights of Nick Cave remains to be seen. The contrast between the support: six of them sat in an arc, with minimal kit, in front of a curtain concealing the immense stage already set for the main act was, perhaps, a reminder of how far they have to go.
Once that curtain was removed and the Bad Seeds, led by the irrepressible Warren Ellis, preceded Cave onto the stage, the arena erupted. And within seconds I was reminded why a Nick Cave gig is quite like any other.
The exceptional musicianship and the sublime backing vocals one takes almost for granted. Cave’s lyrics, articulated without a single word being lost, make for an evening of dark, often deeply emotional storytelling. His rich baritone is the match of any voice working in the rock world today. But the thing that sets Cave apart is his immense charisma. Here is someone who’s been plying his unique trade for four decades, never allowing commercial trends to determine his development as an artist, but all the while building a huge, and hugely loyal, following. I know I was near the front, but it felt like he had made a personal connection with all 20,000 souls present before the first song was over.
They played nine of the ten tracks on the new album Wild God - perhaps it wasn’t quite close enough to Christmas for the sublime gospel number As the Waters Cover the Sea - and these were interspersed with great songs from his back catalogue.
Highlights for me included Red Right Hand; O Children - introduced with words about how he wrote it while watching his infant twins playing, and contemplating how increasingly we fail to protect our children - you could have heard a pin drop; the heartbreaking Cinnamon Horses from the new album; the beautiful Into my Arms, which he played solo at the very end, and, also from Wild God, O Wow O Wow, How Wonderful She Is, dedicated to Anita Lane, Cave’s ex-lover, and an early member of the Bad Seeds, who died in 2021. Not only does the track include a delightful recording of Lane talking of their time together in London in the late eighties, but during the performance some grainy home video of Lane as a young woman was projected onto the enormous screen behind the stage. It was a beautiful tribute.
The journey home on the 108 bus, packed exclusively with happy punters, took a little longer than it did after Led Zeppelin back in 2007, but I was still in bed within an hour of Cave leaving the stage.
And along with memories of another epic night at the O2, I have the satisfaction of knowing that my sixty-year-old back can still cope with almost five hours standing in confined space, though I will admit to a little stiffness on the walk to the bus stop.