It's the end of a very good musical year where I got to know new bands, new music and saw a lot of amazing shows. For what it's worth, here is my top 10 album list for this year. End this decade in style, all the best for 2020 and stay safe.
A while ago Nick Cave started a website The Red Hand Files, where he answers questions from fans. It was inspired by the messages he received from fans after the death of his son in 2015, and it turned out they were comforting him and his wife. He started connecting with his fans in a different way, more direct and personal way, also at concerts and noticed how this helped him get back on his feet. Now he's taking the next step on a solo tour where he will answer questions and of course play a few songs.
No one really knows what to expect tonight, including maybe Nick Cave. He says it is a work in progress and has no idea what will come up out of it. In the end he thinks a dialogue with his audience will deepen the connection he feels. It is quite terrifying to let people come this close, but at the same time that is the beauty of it. At one point he tells us, some people were advising agains these nights, since it may hurt his fragile recovery from the big trauma that hit him and his family.
Scattered around the beautiful concert hall are people walking around in vests with a the letter "Q" on the back and a small red hand on the front. They are holding big glowing sticks and a microphone. When you have a question you simply raise your hand and with a bit of luck you get the mic to talk to Nick personally. Most people will start with a "Hi Nick", as if they have met before. It is illustrative of this intimate evening, where the distance between him and the audience disappears. Nick Cave is letting people come as close as he can, by answering all questions, anything goes. In a calm way he walks around stage, looking into the direction of the person asking the question. In the same way, with his deep dark voice, he answers them from the heart and sincere.
The questions are diverse as to be expected, and many people want to know about his music and music in general obviously. He tells a musician, he's not one of them. He doesn't want to change the world, but he simply takes a look at the world and tells stories in a visual way. He addresses his disciplined way of working, considering it a full time job like any job, always full of doubt about his work. But he needs to show it to the world, no matter how much doubt he has. It's our job he tells a girl who is making art as well. On the obvious question about his inspirations, he hands out a list passed to the person asking about it, since there are simply too many.
There are many questions about religion and his relation to God and Jesus. People want to know about his view on the world, how he's doing. There's a teenage girl asking about his music and he answers in the most perfect way. A lady tells him that her son got on stage at a show and then seven months later at a festival show, he recognized the boy and asked him on stage again. She wonders how he recognized her, but Cave doesn't really know, he simply does. It turns out the boy is here tonight as well, who asks for a hug. Of course Cave invites him on stage and gives the young man a big bear hug. It all goes down in a relaxed atmosphere where Cave seems to be comfortable and there's plenty of room to laugh.
This is who he is now, a man reaching out to people, connecting, searching for comfort. It is healing him and it is beautiful and moving to see how he is doing that. Of course he plays a lot music as well. Beautiful versions of 'The Mercy Seat', 'Jubilee Street', 'The Ship Song', the always gorgeous 'Into My Arms'. They all sound terrific in this concert hall with just a piano and his dark voice is even more impressive with the acoustics in here. He chose his setlist well and turns down some requests for songs since he either doesn't remember the chords or lyrics, or they wouldn't sound good on just a piano.
This was a very special night and I think we got to know the person Nick Cave a bit better as he gave us a peek into his soul. And it's a gentle soul, one that is trying pick up the pieces after this big tragedy, trying to cope with life, struggling like all of us. In the end he feels the healing power of a human touch and that is deeply moving. There was room for reflection, laughter and lots of music. He tells us that he always tries to stay authentic. I think he's doing a great job at it and I hope he will find what he is looking for.
Like with good whisky, Nick Cave only gets better while aging. In a career that stretches over fourty years, he never has disappointed. Even better, whenever he releases new music it exceeds expectations and never fails to impress. In that long career he slowly built a growing fan base and where I saw him in the Heineken Music Hall (now called AFAS live) a few years ago, he is now playing a sold out Ziggo Dome that is triple the size.
What can you expect in such a big venue when the last album Skeleton Tree is so personal and intense because of the tragic passing of his son during the recording sessions? We don't have to wait long for the answer as the show starts with 'Anthrocene' which immediately sets the mood for the rest of the night. Cave grabs us by the throat and won't let go any more, his face close to ours while his eyes are full of fire. No fancy production with stunning visuals, but a simple light plan and a huge cloth as a backdrop, that's all he needs.
He keeps walking up and down the huge stage and of course gets in touch with the people in the front rows a lot. Sometimes he will wave them to come closer, but it is as if he's asking us all to come closer. He has something to share with us. He whispers it in our ears, his dark stories. Or he will spit it in our faces, his piercing eyes looking right into our soul. He is wrestling demons, chases them away, kicks them out, laughs at their faces, while his dark music is embracing us.
Sometimes he will look more fragile digging deep into his music. The beauty of 'Into My Arms' for instance, while his The Bad Seeds are playing in the background, but who are so important in creating this atmosphere. The focus is mostly on his last two albums playing gems like 'Higgs Boson Blues', 'Girl In Amber' and the absolute gorgeous 'Distant Sky' with Else Torp joining in, projected on the backdrop while her beautiful voice offers consolation. All we can do is watch and listen in awe as everyone in the big venue is absolutely quiet, sending shivers down my spine.
A few of his biggest hits are mixed in, a fierce 'From Here To Eternity', a haunting 'The Mercy Seat'. During 'Red Right Hand' Cave starts singing too early, one of the rare mistakes tonight. He faces his band, seems to snigger a bit with Warren Ellis and then continuous. Ellis, his right hand and partner in crime, has a more discrete role this time, but Cave always knows he's there, giving him a big hug to the end of the show. During 'The Weeping Song' he jumps into the crowd and finishes the song at one of the cameras set up in the hall. When he comes back he is bringing lots of people with him, who dance to 'Stagger Lee'. He is obviously enjoying himself and tells them to sit down to end the show with 'Push The Sky Away'. Cave managed to resize this venue to a living room, as if he's playing only for you and a few friends. He makes you forget about everything around you, sucks you right in with his charisma and intense songs. Like a good whisky I want a sip of him every time I get a chance.
Setlist
01. Anthrocene
02. Jesus Alone
03. Magneto
04. Higgs Boson Blues
05. From Here to Eternity
06. Tupelo
07. Jubilee Street
08. The Ship Song
09. Into My Arms
10. Girl in Amber
11. I Need You
12. Red Right Hand
13. The Mercy Seat
14. Distant Sky
15. Skeleton Tree Encore
16. The Weeping Song
17. Stagger Lee
18. Push the Sky Away
As the end of the year is upon as the obligatory end of the year lists appear as well. So here's the one I sent in to FestivalInfo in the end. I was thinking of just publishing it here in alphabetical order since they're all great albums and the order isn't really important. And of course there are lots of other great albums that came out this year and I only heard a small part of them. So don't attach too much importance to this list of any of the lists. They are only there for a bit of fun. Let's remember all the wonderful musicians that left us this year and hope 2017 will be a better year. Have a good one and see you on the other side.
Losing people that are close to you is inevitable and part of life, but at the same time there are not many things that leave bigger scars on people. Unfortunately I experienced this first hand when I lost people, some of them way too young. Losing one of your children, something I am glad I never had to go through, is probably one of the worst things that can happen to a parent. Singer Nick Cave lost his son while recording his latest record. Needless to say that left its marks on his music.
Cave always had a fascination with death and dark subjects in general and was able to capture that in his music that never fails to intrigue. After such a tragedy it was to be expected that it would somehow end up in the songs he was recording and that this record would not be a light one. The album was released together with the movie 'One More Time With Feeling' that shows him in his moments of grief and mourning, a man trying to pick things up after a devastating loss.
Exactly that is what you can hear back in Skeleton Tree, although part of it was already recorded before the deadly tragedy. It's hard to believe the opening track 'Jesus Alone' was one of the tracks that were already done. The first lines of the LP couldn't be more ominous in this light: "You fell from the sky/Crash landed in a field /Near the river Adur". It's a heavy and gloomy track, that sets the mood for the rest of the album.
The songs are following the same path as the ones on Push The Sky Away but gain even more depth, maybe because of their extra load. The almost spoken-word singing of Nick Cave in 'Rings Of Saturn' is followed by the soul crushing 'Girl In Amber' where he sounds like a broken man backed up by weeping vocals. 'Anthrocene' leads off the second half of a record that seems to go deeper and deeper. You can hear the pain and grief in 'I Need You' which is followed by 'Distant Sky', a song that makes you stop doing whatever you're doing and makes the world stop spinning for a short moment.
It's exactly the feeling you get when you are mourning the loss of a loved one. The big lump in your throat that doesn't seem to go away, that sickening feeling in your stomach, the feeling of being lost in a world that seems detached. A feeling of hopelessness, as if everything just seems to fall out of your hands. Nick Cave obviously is a man who was crushed and tries to pick up himself from the pieces, tries to carry on with that huge wound on his soul. He translated these feelings perfectly into music, arranged beautifully by Warren Ellis and recorded with his Bad Seeds. The album cover, black with some simple text, also expresses this. It's an intense record that cuts deep into your soul and where it's almost impossible to keep your eyes dry. Yet I want to spin it again and again, despite the lump in my throat.
What a great music year 2013 turned out to be. This year we saw wonderful albums coming out and the level was very high. Still the top of my list was crystal clear and I didn't have to go through a lot of trouble to be coming up with the top half.
3. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
There was no way around Arcade Fire this year, so much is clear. With a thought-through pr-campaign they drew everyone's attention. And then that record. Pretentious? For sure. Bombastic? Absolutely. But also very good and surprising.
Play in Spotify
5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II UMO made an impression with their second record, simply titled II. It is a nice combination of psychedelics and nice guitar playing.
Play in Spotify
7. Jacco Gardner - Cabinet of Curiosities
There were also many nice Dutch productions again this year. Our own Jacco Gardner even drew attention across the border. His psychedelic baroque pop record Cabinet of Curiosities is an atmospheric album filled with beautiful songs and sounds.
Play in Spotify
The bottom half of this list was a lot more difficult. That's why I also want to mention De Staat's I_CON, Floating Coffin by Thee Oh Sees and Parquet Courts' Light Up Gold. They missed this list only by an inch. Looking forward to a new year of releases. Happy New Year!
For the second time in two weeks Australian musician Nick Cave is visiting the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall with his The Bad Seeds. This is the original first show, but since it sold out so quickly the show on November 4 was added later. This year he released one of the best records of this year and is playing sold out shows that receive the highest praise, something he also proved at Lowlands earlier in August. Could he live up to these high expectations?
Cave himself is answering that question in the first song right away. 'We No Who U R' from his last album Push The Sky Away sets the tone for the night. The slow song has exactly the right amount of tension. 'Jubilee Street' follows which makes clear that the fans have embraced the new songs. Although it is a relatively quiet start, there's no way Cave will let us sit back and get too comfortable. 'Tupelo' is showing Cave in his best way: his piercing eyes scouting the crowd, spitting out his words with great determination. Once again the man is in great shape. Every night the set list differs only for a small bit, so any one who has seen a show or has looked at an earlier set list knows what songs can be expected.
But that doesn't mean the music is predictable. Far from it. Cave moves across the stage restlessly, seeking contact with the audience like we saw before: his hand supported by a fan's hand. At the same time he's singing his poetic lyrics with so much fire, as if he wants to convince us all personally. At points he's crying it out. During the quiet songs, the more than 5000 fans don't make a sound. The big hall is completely silent. It gives a song like 'God Is In The House' even more impact while every single one of us is holding their breath. Cave turns 'Higgs Boson Blues', one of those gems of the new record, into a an intense experience. Eventually whispering the words "Can you feel my heartbeat?" while supported by his fans who are holding him firmly. He breaks the almost tangible tension himself by whispering "You can let go now".
Cave is in total control and The Bad Seeds will always have his back. The fine musicians know exactly what the songs need. Their use of dynamics in the songs is invaluable and is the finishing touch. Laid back and patiently the band is playing the slow songs while Cave is massaging our souls, only throwing tiny accents around. Brutal and aggressive eruptions sound right when Cave is spitting fire. Warren Ellis dances around like a mad scientist with his heavy beard and violin play, tossing his bow around stage when he's done. I don't know how many bows he is breaking during this tour. He is an attraction himself and is giving, like all the others, the perfect backup for Cave.
The gloomy sounding 'Push The Sky Away' ends the regular set before the encore starts with 'Abattoir Blues', a song you won't hear often in a live set. Cave already warns they will probably screw it up and he admits "that was fucked up on every level" at the end of it. Was it really? The gorgeous 'Into My Arms' ends this more than brilliant show in a perfect way. The past thirty years seem to have been just a warm up for Nick Cave. I don't think he ever wrote a bad song, but it feels as if the best is yet to come. Imagine what he will come up with in the years to come. Once again Cave proves to be an extraordinary and gifted artist who will never disappoint. All these words simply aren't enough to describe him. Superb, magnificent, grand! They simply don't do him right.
After a sunny day we wake up to grey clouds and rain. But by the time we make it to the festival site the sun is breaking through. Within no time I'm eating an omelet in the sun. Ready to take on this last day.
Jacco Gardner
More and more people are hearing about the boy wonder from the town Hoorn in The Netherlands, who got his inspiration from the psychedelic bands of the sixties. His album Cabinet Of Curiosities is full of beautiful songs in the same style. Live this may seem to lead to a static performance, but fortunately this is not the case. Gardner is chatting to the crowd from time to time in a relaxed way. His presence is kind of innocent and disarmingly. His music is doing the rest and it is creating a magical atmosphere. His band is his reliable support with his friends from Lola Kite and Mr Cool himself, Jos van Tol on drums. Surprisingly the India tent is only half full, but I'm sure next time he will draw bigger crowds.
Haim
Another hype are the Haim sisters. Just like Jacco Gardner they knew to create something of a buzz, without even releasing an album. Already they are getting bookings for festivals and club performances. According to the MC who's announcing her, they partied hard the day before. The girls do look a bit hung over and their set isn't always really tight. They sound a lot more rough on stage than they do on record. Guitarist Danielle knows how to handle her guitar, but her vocals don't always sound powerful enough. They help out drummer Dash Hutton on percussion a lot as well. Bass player Este Haim sounds pretty groovy despite her funny faces. All put together it is an interesting performance. Although not legendary it does sound promising. I'm looking forward to their album that is coming out in a few weeks. By playing many shows they should be able to grow more tight and sound better. I'm sure they'll be a different band within year.
Noah and the Whale
We decide to check out Noah and The Whale. The band from London make harmless indie rock songs. The band's performance is like their music: nice, happy and a bit too correct. It does make for an enjoyable performance though. And of course you don't expect to find a "wall of death" at their show. Despite some nice songs you could wish for a bit more bite though.
Alabama Shakes
Of course Alabama Shakes should already have been programmed last year. This year they are already considered big enough to perform on the big Alpha stage. The band does have Brittany Howard who can fill any stage and I mean that in the most respectful way. Her voice is so strong and her presence is overwhelming. It's a delight to watch her sing. The rest of the band have gotten tighter because of all the shows they played. They sound very laid back and have made peace that they are performing in Howard's shadow. It doesn't take long for the crowd to surrender to the intense soul and blues songs. Although the faster songs are less impressive they are a welcome variation and make for a merry intermezzo.
Foals
We rush ourselves to the other side of the festival site to catch the second half of the Foals show. I'm really glad to have made that effort. Their last album won many people over including myself. Their show is a lot more rocking than I expected. It sounds bombastic from time to time but always tasteful. The band is focused and knows what a festival crowd wants: dancing. The tent is more empty at the end of the show than at the point we came in, but that's probably because many people were already making their way to the Alpha tent for Franz Ferdinand. Foals deserved a bigger crowd for their hard work and convincing performance.
Franz Ferdinand
Indeed many people show up for the glorious return of the Scottish band. They have been away for a while but apparently not forgotten. I haven't seen the Alpha more packed this weekend. We cannot even get in for a good spot and decide to party outside. Since it's a huge party the band is throwing. They have so many songs that get a crowd to go wild. People are dancing and jumping everywhere, even on the slopes at both sides of the tent. New song 'Love Illuminiation' fits in seamlessly and already sounds like it's always been in their set. 'Can't Stop Feeling' is probably a homage to the late Donna Summer containing a similar hook. The band even mix Summer's hit 'I Feel Love' into the song. I don't think anyone expected this big welcome back for the band. But they showed to be totally worth the wait. I can't wait for their new album.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
So after this high, Nick Cave was going to close the festival. How was he going to top the party loaded set of Franz Ferdinand? By doing what he does best: play a dark and intense performance as if the devil himself is on his tail. Cave is all over the place in his usual fashion. Sometimes hanging backwards, his arms raised in front of him, like he's enchanting the crowd. Other times he's hanging over the front row, pouring out his sharp words on the first few rows. Or balancing skilfully on top of the fence, supporting himself by holding the hand of one of the fans. The terrific Bad Seeds know exactly how to back him up. Gently playing along in the slow and intimate songs, but wild and rough in the louder parts, sparing no one to enforce Cave's words.
This doesn't miss its impact. The performance is spot on. A vicious and evil 'Stagger Lee' follows the dramatic 'The Mercy Seat' and brilliant 'Higgs Boson Blues'. Songs of the new album sound just as strong as his best songs. 'Push The Sky Away' is dark, spooky and fills the big tent with silence. I've never heard a big crowd go so quiet. Many people were questioning if Nick Cave was a good headliner to close this last day. With this magnificent performance there's no doubt any more. He closes the set with the always gorgeous 'Into My Arms' which make this performance a perfect one.
Still stunned from the performance we get ourselves some of the last bitterballen and some beers. So what about finally going to the Titty Twister? Another huge line!? Crap! Grolsch Beugelbar it is then.
Another good edition of Lowlands has come to an end. I really noticed an increasing number of people come here to party and music comes in second. The Lowlands organization seems to targeting that group more and more, which is a real shame. Hopefully music will never come in second for them. Or should I start looking at a different festival?
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