Live Review: Nick Cave at Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

They say that the devil looks after his own and this hoary old wives' tale could certainly be applied to that other beast from down under Nick Cave. Looking as lean as ever and more youthful than the last time we saw him (he must have a proverbial painting in the attic too...), the former Birthday Party frontman's popularity in Ireland is arguably at an all time high right now and when tickets when on-sale for his date at Kilmainham, it didn't surprise us when they almost instantly became as difficult to find as Josh Homme's morals.

Literally and figuratively the hottest show in town thanks to the blazing sun and the shrewd addition of fellow punk/poet misfit Patti Smith on the bill, there's a palpable feeling of midsummer magic in the air tonight. The New Jersey icon plays her part by putting on a (mostly) spell-binding performance, running through a rousing cover of Midnight's Oil's '80s classic 'Beds Are Burning' and getting the crowd to sing happy birthday to bassist/keyboardist Tony Shanahan. 'Land/Gloria' remains an undisputed classic and while this casual listener wasn't fully converted, I won't argue that Smith deserves her place in the rock pantheon.

Next up, is the beguiling devil that is Old Nick. “It's daylight....How terrifying,” how dryly remarks after solemn opener 'Jesus Alone.' “If you guys look terrifying, God knows what I look like...!” he adds in an almost pantomime fashion, as a sold out crowd consisting of metallers, goths and middle aged mainstreamers dutifully laugh in response. Playing a festival pleasing set, the Aussie has the audience in the palms of his hands from the get-go, wasting no time bashing out a diabolically good version of 'Do You Love Me?' while stalking his precariously placed ego ramp.

A snarling and sinister 'From Her To Eternity' sees Nick play his customary role of possessed preacher man with aplomb, stabbing into the night air with his fingers and flailing his arms around like a lunatic. The pummelling, pleasingly ugly number seems to leave a sizeable chunk of the crowd a little uneasy (where Hot Press is hovering, anyway....) but personally I adored it. On the subject of adoration, 'Loverman' makes a welcome return to his current setlist after a lengthy absence and the Let Love In standout is as monstrous as the residents of Jurassic World. Part perverted lullaby, part noise rock anthem, the explosive and electrifying song is the highlight of the evening.

Giving it a run for its money is the crowd-pleasing 'Red Right Hand,' with Nick getting up close and personal with his fans and cheekily changing some lyrics- “I see your small screen/I'm begging you to turn it off” he croons at a phone-toting acolyte in the front row, while wiping his face with another audience member's, “shitty” Bad Seeds t-shirt. As expected, 'Into My Arms,' doesn't leave a dry eye in the house and while the slightly mawkish, 'Distant Sky' does nothing for this writer, the hypnotic 'Jubilee Street' is simply stunning and calls to mind the unfortunately forgotten Boston band Victory At Sea.

As the Bad Seeds near the finish line, Murder Ballads gem ‘Stagger Lee’ is as brooding and entertaining as we had hoped-despite the singer losing his place in the song thanks to being distracted by the hundred or so fans who were invited up onstage with him. Sonic wizard Warren Ellis is once again the M.V.P. throughout the whole evening.

Though the skeletal 'Push The Sky Away' feels like an odd song to finish the show, there's no denying that this evening's set was something special and we fully expect the Cult of Cave to grow even larger in the future.

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