Lit From Below

And so to 'Converations with Nick Cave' at the Concert Hall. Somewhere between a solo gig, a freeform Q&A and a mammoth group-therapy session. Certainly it's an interesting format and a fascinating "experiment in connectivity". You do have to sit through one too many professions of adoration and a few dodgy job interview questions but then you do get to share in a moment where someone discusses their feelings about losing their child and implores the performer to help them find a way to transcendence - which certainly adds a new layer of meaning when Cave then sings 'Skeleton Tree' or 'Children.' And at three full hours (no interval, he started promptly at 7.30 and had to be told to wrap it up as we approached half ten) you certainly can't complain of a lack of songs: a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Avalanche', 'Cosmic Dancer', 'The Mercy Seat', 'The Ship Song', 'Into My Arms', they kept on coming...