I went to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds play at Malahide Castle and it was a great gig. The highlight for me was the performance of “Jubilee Street”. It starts slow and builds to an absolute frenzy.
“I am alone now, I am beyond recriminations
Curtains are shut, the furniture is gone
I’m transforming, I’m vibrating, I’m glowing
I’m flying, look at me now
I’m flying, look at me now”
I’ve seen the band twice now and both times I felt like I was part of a religious experience during this song. It is apparently about a sex worker called Bea, and the narrator’s “ten ton catastrophe” of guilt – which is a little downbeat, it’s impossible not to get caught up in the swirling, spiralling, soaring crescendo. Transforming.
Nick Cave’s Red Hand Files is still one of the few websites I visit regularly. The questions that fans send to Nick are answered by him in such a thoughtful and moving way, and sometimes they are just really funny. Occasionally he gives a quick yes or no answer, but more often he replies in depth with beautiful, comforting words of wisdom. It’s a real antidote to the fast-moving, meaningless pile of shite that makes up 99% of the internet.
In response to a question about when did Red Hand Files become some sort of grief support therapy website? Here is a small part of his response.
“People die, and the letters come, and people are sad. “Life is beautiful”, I respond, because it is true and good to say so.”
Here are a few of my Nick Cave illustrations.
