There's NOTHING like live music. As we resume this shared experience, our team reflects on the newly precious joy of hearing musicians we love irl.
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis at the Paramount - by Giles Cassels
So, I went to see Nick Cave and Warren Ellis at the Paramount in Oakland last night. I've seen Nick nine times now I think—by himself, with The Bad Seeds, with Grinderman, and now as "Nick and Warren." I've never seen Nick be anything less than great. Last night was stunning and transcendent. Mostly songs from Carnage, Ghosteen, and The Skeleton Tree, with a smattering of earlier cuts towards the end ("Henry Lee," "God Is In The House").
The music from the recent work is so minimal in its construction but so maximal in its execution; it hits hard and envelops. Nick has spent some serious time in the bardo these past years, and the mist from that journey trails behind him, informs every step forward. He prowled the stage in his familiar black suit, white shirt, and slicked-back, jet-black hair, sometimes tender, sometimes terrifying, a super-sexy demon with a red right hand. And Warren? Nick's mad Rasputin cackling through it all. "Hand of God" turned me to salt. "White Elephant" started Stagger Lee-like ("I'll shoot you in the f***ing face if you come around here") before soaring into a chilling end-times choir.
A time is coming
A time is nigh
For the kingdom
In the sky
Don't ask who
Don't ask why
There's a kingdom in the sky
We're all coming home
Nick is everything. He's a ghost, he's a god, he's a man, he's a guru.
Nick is more than "Live Music Again" for me. I had an accident just as the pandemic lockdown began that required multiple surgeries and a solid year of recovery (I'm 100% now). I played his music incessantly. It soundtracked my recovery in the midst of all that isolation. That made this show even more meaningful.
Giles Cassels, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Feed Media Group
Giles is a marketer through and through and is especially happy when he's championing products that champion customers. He uses his love for music, art, literature, and philosophy to animate his professional life and his personal life.
Feed Media Group is built by a team of music lovers. We want everyone to experience the power of music, and we're passionate about our work.
