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Nick Cave may not like to get too cozy with journalists or photographers, but his fans are another matter. In front of a capacity crowd at Strathmore Music Center last night, Cave directed audience members to move as close as possible to the stage. He let one lucky person feel his heart beat. He also crotch-thrusted in front of more than one woman. It seemed as though Cave wanted to be certain the audience was fully hypnotized, if not by the songs, then at least by his piercing gaze as he paced the lip of the stage all night.
Donning a deadly black satin suit, Cave sang requests like “God is in the House,” the lovely “Into My Arms” (with help from opening act Sharon Van Etten), and “Wide Lovely Eyes” (“a song about my wife,” he said), with the same ferocity that he did “Red Right Hand,” “The Weeping Song,” and a mind-blowing “Stagger Lee.” Cave’s discography is full of songs about the fine line between good and evil—-and the ways we can fall on either side. Last night, he and his Bad Seeds were the multiheaded hydra, performing so captivatingly, most could only stand in awe.
See photos from the show in the gallery.