Tales From The Crypt - Sunday 5th September 2021

Saturday spilled over into Sunday as I didn't get home from the party until 2 a.m. I think it would be fair to say that I was under the influence when I returned home.  I'd had a great evening/night, with amazingly good food, wonderful company and with lots of dancing (you can never have too much dancing) some of which is indelibly etched in my brain.  I am a very lucky man to have such wonderful and generous friends.

One unfortunate thing that emerged from a relatively sober conversation early in the afternoon was that I may have a challenge with regards to flying lessons, or at least at the point when I am about to go solo.  In order to fly solo you have to have a medical to confirm that you are fit and safe to fly.  Unfortunately if you are on antidepressants, or at least the ones I am on (and many others), you an ineligible to fly.  Apparently they also investigate your complete medical history, physical and mental and thus there will be the period in 2018 when I was signed off work for six months (and there's a lot more to it than that which I'm not in the mood to go into here) which will also need addressing.  I guess it's understandable that the CAA don't want people flying aircraft who might take unfortunate actions. Hmmm.

In practice I didn't actually start going to sleep until around 4 a.m. as I'd lain on my bed listening to music for a couple of hours, drifting in and out of somewhere or other.

I got up to greet the first carers of the morning, one of whom had also been at the party, and who seemed to be in very good form - apparently better than I was feeling. A few gallons of water later and after they'd left I returned to bed for a couple of hours before getting up and showering to try and kick start myself back to life (...back to reality!)

Unfortunately there was washing to be done so I used that, combined with a massive fluid intake, to get me ready to go out again.

At around 5 p.m. son #1 and I prepared to drive to Aylesbury to see Nick Cave & Warren Ellis at the Waterside Theatre, preceded by a meal. It took just over an hour to get there, so we arrived a bit early for our meal, but that was just as well, as the restaurant was busy and the service slow.

Around 7:30 we joined the queue outside the venue, Covid passports and tickets at the ready. It was slower progress than usual because of all the checks, but after queuing for drinks and merch we were sat in our seats, awaiting the band.

It felt both surreal but exhilarating to be at a venue waiting to hear live music.  A little after 8 the band began to take the stage, with Warren and the others setting up the intro to 'The Spinning Song' before Nick came on to rapturous applause, and so began a 2 hour set, mainly focused on slower numbers taken from 'Carnage', later Bad Seeds albums, one from Grinderman and the now obligatory cover of the T. Rex song, 'Cosmic Dancer'.


Despite mostly slower numbers, 'Hand Of God', was a frenzied version which built to quite a crescendo - I guess the equivalent of 'Tupelo' or 'From Her To Eternity' in a full Bad Seeds live set - and many other songs, 'White Elephant' and 'Higgs Boson Blues' (one of my absolute favourites) spring to mind were suitably red-blooded.  (The following four shots were taken during build up to the climax of 'Hand of God')





I always have a hankering for the visceral earliest songs, back even to the days of The Birthday Party, and in a brief lull between songs, a wag in audience called out, 'Release The Bats', which made Nick laugh - no way this band with a trio of gospel-style backing singers (who were brilliant) was going to play that. One can dream.


For the 'train spotters' amongst us, this was the full setlist:

Spinning Song (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Bright Horses (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Night Raid (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Carnage
White Elephant
Ghosteen (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Lavender Fields
Waiting for You (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
I Need You (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Cosmic Dancer (T. Rex cover)
Higgs Boson Blues (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Dollar Bill Blues
Hand of God
Shattered Ground
Ghosteen Speaks 
Galleon Ship (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Leviathan (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Balcony Man

Encore:
Hollywood (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)
Palaces of Montezuma (Grinderman cover)
Darker With the Day (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds cover)

Encore 2:
Into My Arms (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover)

What a great evening. Nick Cave is such a mesmerising stage presence, I just always enjoy watching him. 

We drove home contented after the gig, but also, in the back of my mind was a desire to see an entire set with the Bad Seeds, whilst he can still do those savage songs. 

Eagles / 'Witchy Woman' / 'Eagles'



[[If someone forced me to choose an Eagles song, it would be this one. This is an echo back to the party and dancing on Saturday night and a death wish on my part 😇  I reckon witches get a pretty bad press, and I always figure the witchiness (!!) is a plus.  ('Burn Baby Burn' (Ash))]]

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