A few weeks ago, I got asked to take photos and review the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds concert at the Queen Elizabeth theatre. Free tickets to a sold out show at the Queen Elizabeth is a no brainer, so of course I said yes! Now, my only prior expertise about Nick Cave going into this show was from reading the book he did with Sean O’ Hagan titled “Faith, Hope & Carnage.” What I thought was gonna be a pretty classic rock n’ roll tell-all with the odd sleazy hi-jinx (think Motley Crues ‘The Dirt’), turned out to be a read that was nothing short of soul crushing. It truly left me inspired and ever-so-slightly in-shambles. That being said, that was a couple summers ago! That same summer, I finally checked out a few of his albums (No More Shall We Part, Nocturama, and Skeleton Tree), but truthfully my interest was short-lived.  All the more reason for me to check out the show! Could Nick Cave re-pique my interest? The short answer is yes, but I’ll explain why.

I got to the venue shortly after the doors had opened and met with our Editor-in-Chief, and my plus one for the night, Charles Brownstein. Charles quickly schooled me about Nick Cave’s live shows. The term’s spiritual, religious and out-of-body were quickly thrown about… I was intrigued! After talking to the show manager of the Queen Elizabeth theatre, who quickly explained to me that my photo pass was obsolete since there was no barricade separating the crowd from the stage and folks were free to come out of their seats towards the stage (per Mr. Cave’s request), I took my place front and centre! I felt highly outnumbered by the amount of hardcore Nick Cave heads that were around me. I found my ear latching onto the conversations around me. Ranting… raving… Pure, unadulterated excitement surrounded me and it was contagious! “More than a rock show,” someone explained to me. I couldn’t help but grin ear-to-ear. Finally the lights come down and the show is starting.

The audience erupted as the Bad Seeds took their respective spots on stage. Shortly after, Nick Cave walks out. There are certain characters in life who naturally demand attention, Nick Cave is one of them. From the moment he set foot on stage, I had a hard time looking anywhere else! His charisma, look, and presence is truly undeniable. The band started strong with ‘Frogs,’ ‘Wild God,’ and ‘Children of the Lake’ off his 2024 album Wild God. Perhaps I misunderstood the energy when listening to his recorded music in the past but I wasn’t anticipating this amount of energy in a live set. Unrelentlessly Cave paraded across the stage. Taking every chance to grab an audience member’s hand, throw over his mic stand and even propping himself atop of a lucky few concert goer’s.

“This is a song about different forms of disappointment. A conversation between two different voices – cinnamon horse,” Cave explains to a captivated audience. Every chance he could, Cave shared context for the songs he was performing. Anecdotes that even got the crowd involved, like explaining the storm that happened on the day of Elvis’ birth before “Tupelo,” or the significance of the Young Charlatans cover “Shivers” he did during the encore (a song written by Cave’s ex-The Birthday Party bandmate Rowland S. Howard).

Musically, the Bad Seeds were masterful all night. They followed Cave’s energy with finesse and ease while still sounding full of life. I especially loved the electric Violin work (and stage presence) of long time Cave collaborator Warren Ellis. After a convincing 2 and a half hours of Cave’s rock-gospel-epic, I was completely won over and understanding of the hype surrounding Nick Cave’s live show. Sometimes you have to live something to fully understand it.

Words by Ethan Rebalkin

Order tickets for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds HERE

Nick Cave at the queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, BC live review May 11 2025, photo by Ethan Rebalken