(possibly) last gig of the year was Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at Oslo Spektrum on Monday. I am tempted to go see Laibach on November 11th, although I must admit I am slightly worried about how bad the side effects will be after 5 rounds of chemo and probably won’t buy a ticket until the same day. If there are any available!

Back to Nick & the Seeds. They’ve been on my play lists for close to 30 years now, since Kicking against the Pricks (I think it was the cover of All Tomorrow’s Parties that got me started). Most artists who have been around for decades can be sorted into two: they still make the same kick-ass music they made 30 years ago, and even if you haven’t heard the last two-three-five albums, you know what you’ll get. Joan Jett, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Raga Rockers are bands I’ll happily go see cos I know what I’ll be getting.

There is a slight grey zone that included Bowie and Lou Reed, where the style varied but was always great!

Now, Nick Cave (and Einsturzende Neubauten/Blixa Bargeld, cos natural succession, and Haus der Luege is still one of my fave albums ever) belong to the second group. Artists who change their style dramatically over the years, and not necessarily to (what I consider) the good.

One reviewer even called him a “ballademaker” which in Norwegian translates to ballad writer. In Danish it would have meant troublemaker. The Nick Cave I grew up with did not write ballads. He wrote noize. Not as much as Blixa, but it was loud and heavy, post-punk (after The Birthday Party) goth rock.

Still brilliant up until 1997 – The Boatman’s Call marked (for me) the beginning of the end of the Cave I knew.

First time I saw Preacher Man was at the Quart festival in 1996. The most excellent day of gigs (first time I saw Ministry, too), the sun was shining and wow that gig was awesome. I’ve since seen him at the Grieg hall in Bergen (1998?), him and a grand piano and that too was wow – mind blown!

To be fair, the guy is a true master of words and his lyrics have always been dirty, black, dealing with death and religion and war and horrible things with perfection. I love his books. It’s just the music that has become so – ballady. Too sweet. My expectations were, needless to say, not exactly sky high.

And although there were too many ballads, there was also true perfection for old, cranky, die-hard fans such as myself. I love From Her to Eternity. I hate studio-Tupelo but live it is so black and slow and amazing that it is an absolute fave.

But top of the list – The Mercy Seat. The song that caught me in the first place, hook, line and sinker. Got me addicted, got me wanting ever more, in the most amazing ballady version. That is, my kinda ballad – soooooo slow to start off with, slowly gaining momentum, never letting go, never loosening that fiddle that drags it along as I imagine those on Death Row drag their feet on the way to the Chair…

And fitting that it was the day before my 4th round of chemo. Though my “mercy seat” includes great service, all the coffee I could want, food, good company and meds that are making me better.

Cos positive side effect #2 showed itself Monday. Concerts have, for me, been a right pain since my body stopped working. Standing on concrete floors – even if I’ve been moving – has frozen my lumbar region so if there have been bands I want to see, I have to really, really, REALLY want to see them cos after half an hour, I have been in pain, and the concert better be hard enough too be able to knock through that pain.

Not Monday. Monday went great. Back worked perfectly, didn’t crumble, didn’t stiffen, I didn’t have to bend myself gently into a chair after it was over. Yay! Hoping for four more rounds of chemo… this can only get better, right?

Oh, and all the pics are from the Quart festival in 1996 cos seriously, Preacher Man hasn’t aged at all. Probably wearing the same clothes, too…