Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have played Scotland as part of their first headline tour of the UK and Europe for seven years, in support of critically-acclaimed new album Wild God.
It’s the 18th studio album by the band, whose debut, From Her to Eternity, was released back in 1984.
The title track from that record was one of 21 played at the OVO Hydro as part of a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour set.
Polymath lead singer Nick Cave has also released four albums as part of The Birthday Party (previously known as The Boys Next Door), two Grinderman albums, a solo album, and 11 soundtrack albums. Then there’s the acting roles, alongside the numeous books and artworks.
But it’s when he’s fronting The Bad Seeds, including longtime collaborator Warren Ellis, that Cave becomes one of the world’s great live acts.
Talking about the current tour, Cave said: “I never think about how a record is going to go live, it never, ever occurs to me. The lyric writing process is way too hard to take ideas like that into consideration. But, when I listen to Wild God now, I think we can really do something epic with these songs live. We’re really excited about that - the record just feels like it was made for the stage.”
Here’s what they played in full, and a few pictures from the concert.
5. Value for money
The sprawling 21-song setlist lasted for two-and-a-half hours. | David Hepburn
6. Up close and personal
Cave spent much of the gig at the front of the stage interacting with the fans. | David Hepburn
7. One more song
The band encored with 'Papa Won't Leave You, Henry' and 'The Weeping Song', before Cave returned onstage to play 'Into Your Arms' solo on the piano. | David Hepburn
8. Welcome back
It was the first time Cave had played Glasgow since a gig with fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis at the Theatre Royal in 2021. | David Hepburn