Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have made a thunderous return to Australian stages, delivering a performance of raw power and fragile beauty in Perth. The band's 'Wild God' tour marks their first Australian concerts since 2017, captivating a crowd of nearly 10,000 at Fremantle Park with a generous, two-and-a-half-hour set drawn from across their four-decade career.
A Preacher's Fury and a Fragile Joy
From the opening moments, the 68-year-old Cave commanded the stage with the fervour of a revivalist preacher. Dragging his hand across the piano keys before leaping into the air, he charged towards the audience, arms wide, demanding they "Bring your spirit down!". The set opened with the brooding 'Frogs' and the explosive title track from their 2024 album, 'Wild God', a crescendo of high-pitched strings and pounding percussion that immediately seized the crowd.
Cave's stage presence was both sardonic and generous. When a fan shouted "You look fantastic!", he glanced at his slick black suit and tie and dryly replied, "Actually, I look like a Mormon." This moment of self-awareness hints at the complex spiritual journey that underpins his recent work, a path shaped profoundly by the deaths of his sons, Arthur and Jethro.
Four Decades of Music, Forged in Suffering and Hope
The tour supports the band's 18th studio album, 'Wild God', an album steeped in biblical language and philosophical inquiry. It follows an introspective period where Cave collaborated closely with multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis on the albums 'Skeleton Tree' and 'Ghosteen'. For the Perth show, Cave was joined by a formidable ensemble including Ellis, Jim Sclavunos, George Vjestica, Larry Mullins, Colin Greenwood, Carly Paradis, and a four-person gospel choir.
The setlist was a masterful journey through time. Introducing 2004's 'O Children' as an ancient song "coming to you with a fucking Zimmer frame", Cave transformed the gospel-tinged plea into a swelling epic. The 1985 fan favourite 'Tupelo' ignited the park, with Cave leading a call-and-response and miming rocking a baby in a fevered tribute to Elvis Presley, as green lights flashed and the band drove the song forward.
From Devastation to a Provisional Faith
The emotional core of the night lay in songs directly addressing personal loss. Before 'Bright Horses' from the 'Ghosteen' sessions—widely understood as a response to his son Arthur's death—Cave noted, "This one just poured out of me." Performed live, its imagery of tyrants, love, and exhausted vision was devastating. This stark sorrow was deliberately contrasted by the new track 'Joy', its central refrain declaring "we've all had too much sorrow, now is the time for joy."
The five-song encore featured a quietly candid rendition of 'Skeleton Tree', which Cave explained he had packed away after writing it in the immediate aftermath of tragedy, only to later rediscover its beauty. The night concluded with Cave alone at the piano for 'Into My Arms' (1997), its plainspoken doubts about angels feeling prescient. It framed his approach to faith not as certainty, but as something provisional—an act of devotion shaped by love, loss, and fragile hope.
The 'Wild God' tour continues through January and February with performances scheduled in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, offering Australian audiences a long-awaited and electrifying encounter with one of music's most compelling forces.
