NICK CAVE made his first and only European appearance this year at the launch of his record label MUTE’s BERLIN office.
A capacity crowd packed Berlin’s Volksbuhne shortly before midnight on Friday (November 24) to watch the Australian’s 45-minute performance. Cave was joined on stage by Bad Seed Blixa Bargeld. Fans queued outside the East German theatre for over two hours, desperate to snap up the last remaining tickets for the show. Many of those who made it in believed Cave’s appearance to be only a rumour up until the last minute. When he finally took the stage ahead of schedule, many were left stranded outside the auditorium. After the low-key set, consisting mainly of songs from his recent albums, he was rewarded with a standing ovation from the
mostly-seated audience.
Cave’s last live performances were in Australia at the
start of the year.
A new Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds studio album is due for release in March.
The Mute show included a film screening by the Slovenian band Laibach, controversial in Germany for their use of National Socialist imagery. Among those also playing on the night were labelmates Goldfrapp and Add N to (X).