They're apples and oranges musically, of course, but watching the Grinderman concert Tuesday at First Ave reminded me of listening to Kanye West's similarly adventurous, snide and cocky new album when it came out Monday. My general reaction throughout the whole thing was, "What the... ?"
As you can read in the full concert review (and specifically see in the smiling photo with it), Cave showed kid-like zeal and appeared to be having a blast at the gig despite -- or because of? -- the blunt, brutal sound of the band. That's no small thing for a guy who could make "You Are My Sunshine" sound gloomy. The whole show had a sly smirk about it, from the T-shirts at the merch stand featuring a woman with a flaming crotch to the hopelessly dark and lustful lyrics coming out of Cave's mouth. Was it as fulfilling as one of Cave's concerts with the Bad Seeds? No, but that also proved to be a mostly apples/oranges comparison in the end. Here's the set list:
Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man / Worm Tamer / Get It On / Heathen Child / Evil! / When My Baby Comes / Palaces of Montezuma / Kitchenette / Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars) / No Pussy Blues / Bellringer Blues ENCORE: Man in the Moon / When My Love Comes Down / Love Bomb / Grinderman
