Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds share concert film to celebrate 'Push the Sky Away' 10th anniversary

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds‘ Push the Sky Away turns 10 this week, and to celebrate they’ve shared a concert film shot at Los Angeles’ Fonda Theatre just a few days after the album was released. It has the band playing Push the Sky Away in full, and then a second set of songs from the rest of their catalogue. Former Bad Seed Barry Adamson and soon-to-be Bad Seed George Vjestica joined the band for a few songs as well.

“Push The Sky Away was the start of a new, wild adventure for the Bad Seeds,” says Nick. “The record opened up a whole different approach to the way we created our music. It was the beginning of a way of writing – a kind of controlled improvisation. Because of this shift, the record was to some extent divisive – but it was the necessary reinvention that the Bad Seeds desperately needed. For that reason Push The Sky Away continues to stand as one of my most loved of all the Bad Seeds’ albums.”

You can watch the Push the Sky Away film for a limited time here, and check out “Mermaids” from it, and the full setlist, below.

The concert film is just one part of the newly launched Push the Sky Away 10th anniversary website featuring “video, audio, imagery, lyrics, and merch.”

In other news, Nick has posted a new installment of his Red Hand Files website where he answers questions from fans. Two different people wrote in to ask about what he thought about choirs performing at international rugby matches at Cardiff, Wales’ Principality Stadium have been banned from singing the Tom Jones classic, “Delilah,” which is a murder ballad. Nick, who made a whole album of Murder Ballads, starts his response on a light note: “I just went online and found a Welsh male choir singing their rendition of ‘Delilah’ and I’m sorry to report that listening to this version of the song did make me feel like murdering someone, primarily the Welsh male choir.” He then went on to say he’s not much of a fan of the song:

So, I don’t know, Tom, I can’t get too animated by the fact that ‘Delilah’ has been banned. I understand there is a principle here, but on some level I like the fact that some songs are controversial enough to be outlawed. It fills me with a kind of professional pride to be a part of the sometimes contentious business of songwriting. It’s cool. I like it. I just wish it was a more worthy song to be awarded that greatest of honours, indeed that supreme privilege, of being banned.

Read Nick’s full answer here.

Pick up Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds vinyl in the BV shop.

Push the Sky Away set list at Fonda Theatre
1. “We No Who U R”
2. “Wide Lovely Eyes”
3. “Water’s Edge”
4. “Jubilee Street”
5. “Mermaids”
6. “We Real Cool”
7. “Finishing Jubilee Street”
8. “Higgs Boson Blues”
9. “Push the Sky Away”

Second Set
10. “From Her to Eternity”
11. “O Children”
12. “The Ship Song”
13. “Jack the Ripper”
14. “Red Right Hand”
15. “Deanna”
16. “Love Letter”
17. “The Mercy Seat”

Encore
18. “Stagger Lee”