NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS + THE FLAMING LIPS + ENGLISH TEACHER + CATE LE BON + WARMDUSCHER – PRESTON PARK, BRIGHTON 31.7.26
The sold-out Preston Park event (figures differ from 46,000 to 50,000) actually kicked off at 11am at a ‘secret’ gig from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds atop of Resident Records in central Brighton.
The street was rammed with fans, who had travelled from across the world as well as locals, who had heard, despite the press embargo, in advance. It’s remarkable how many of the band were able to fit on the balcony and the short set didn’t disappoint.
I love in-stores at Resident but this, literarily, took it to another level. “What a thing to be doing,” Cave says, before thanking “the best f**king record shop in the world”.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Resident Records Roof setlist:
‘Train Long-Suffering’
‘Cosmic Dancer’ (T. Rex cover)
‘Henry Lee’
‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’
Arriving at Preston Park, a couple of hours later, the event organised by JOY. Concerts was filling up rapidly, meaning that there was a decent crowd for Warmduscher as they opened proceedings. What a set to start the day with a full “at ‘em” rendition of ‘Standing On The Corner’ which rocked the auditorium.
They relished the most difficult slot for a band to play on a line-up to a walk in the park (excuse the pun) with their filthy guitar and basslines. It was an utter delight as was their leader Clams Baker Jr. who encouraged and engaged his audience within minutes.
Loud, anarchic, post punk, warped disco with controlled chaos with an underlying disco vibe. A winner for me!
Warmduscher setlist:
‘Standing On The Corner’
‘Top Shelf’
‘Whale City’
‘Midnight Dipper’
‘Wild Flowers’
‘Cleopatras’
‘Disco Peanuts’
‘Eight Minute Machines’
‘Hot Shot’
‘Twitchin’ In The Kitchen’
‘Tainted Lunch’
‘Grape Face’
‘I Got Friends’
www.instagram.com/warmduscherr
Next up was Cate Le Bon who looked the part, cool in all black and aloof. It’s the first time I’ve seen this heartfelt, melancholic artist with her blend of art-pop, psych-folk, and post-punk.
She delivered her dark, melancholic songs with elegance with a deep emotional resonance plus a hint of Nico vocally. I loved the set but wished that she had engaged with her audience as, although she clearly was pleased with the crowd’s appreciation of her songs, she barely spoke at all.
Cate Le Bon setlist:
‘Jerome’
‘Daylight Matters’
‘Moderation’
‘Mothers of Riches’
‘About Time’
‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’
‘Home To You’
‘Harbour’
‘I Know What’s Nice’
Then we were treated to English Teacher, the indie rock band from Yorkshire. They were tight, slick and vocalist Lily Fontaine was outstanding with her Patti Smith sounding delivery.
I particularly liked ‘This Could Be Texas’ from their Mercury Prize winning album of the same name. They owned this huge stage with aplomb despite Fontaine announcing that this was the largest crowd they’d ever played to.
English Teacher setlist:
(Intro tape) ‘Cosmic Dancer’ (T. Rex cover)
‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’
‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’
‘Broken Biscuits’
‘Albatross’
‘Billboards’
‘Toothpick’
‘You Blister My Paint’
‘This Could Be Texas’
‘Dog Called Ohm’
‘Man’
‘R&B’
‘Nearly Daffodils’
The Flaming Lips followed, after a quick appearance of Wayne Coyne on stage with what I presumed was his two adorable kids with matching green hats. From where I was watching I couldn’t catch the interaction, but it ended with “I love you” which stirred all our hearts.
Coyne, the only constant band member since they formed in 1983, only looks and sounds better with age. Renowned for their art influenced performances The Flaming Lips were on top form starting with a beautiful, lyrical rendition of ‘It Overtakes Me’.
With their great projections, numerous bonkers inflatable figures, confetti and huge balloons they filled the stage with a triumphant, mega-sound which was entrancing.
Their fans are spread across the world, some of whom were there on the night. They included the woman dressed as a unicorn, who Coyne picked out in the crowd to announce that this was her 93rd Flaming Lips gig. The crowd delightfully cheered her.
One song that floored me emotionally was ‘Every Teardrop Cried’; a stunning consideration of bereavement. Utterly beautiful.
Towards the end an inflatable ‘sign’ appeared saying “F**k Yeah Brighton” which finally was unleashed into the audience to the strains of ‘Do You Realize??’.
Great set, great band and flawless exciting performance. I can’t wait to catch them live again in the future.
The Flaming Lips setlist:
‘It Overtakes Me’
‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 1’
‘Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Pt. 2’
‘Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung’
‘The Spark That Bled’
‘The Golden Path’ (The Chemical Brothers cover)
‘The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)’
‘She Don’t Use Jelly’
‘Every Teardrop Cried’
‘War Pigs’ (Black Sabbath cover)
‘Do You Realize??’
It wasn’t long until the main man Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds hit the stage with the audience erupting with total delight and pleasure. It’s been many years since this outfit played Brighton so the excitement was electric.
We were all ready when they went big, into ‘Get Ready For Love’. Following this a slightly choked-up Cave expressed that he was feeling really overwhelmed by being here. There is a difference to him nowadays, more empathic and philosophical. His view on life following the tragic death of two of his sons, has shifted to being less about his art to being about the family where he finds most joy. He announced that ‘Wild Lovely Eyes’ was about his wife Susie and described the inspiration for the song.
He owned the stage of course with his remarkable presence. He walked on the shoulders of the crowd, stopping once to ask “are you okay down there?”, which seems to have become a regular feature of the shows.
Getting himself back to the stage was a bit of a mission, asking the crowd to just drop him to the floor to enable him to climb back up. He no longer, understandably to me as we’re the same age, does the knee drops as he said to Lauren Laverne “I could do (them), I can get down. It’s getting up. It’s a little bit harder.”
Every member of the band were on point although constant collaborator Warren Ellis “the musical one” as Cave called him, has to be singled out for his always remarkable performance. The cover of ‘Carnage’ was a great salute to their musical and personal bond.
Song after song was met with exuberant cheers heightened with ‘Red Right Hand’ which was a huge production. Cave’s dark reflection and lullaby to first fatherhood ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ was a standout amongst the songs on the setlist. It’s chilling and beautiful at the same time.
However, a truly stand out moment was when he said he had a guest to join him at which everyone was immediately excited turning to amazement and a completely explosive reaction as he said “Kylie Minogue”. They sang ‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ for the first time since 2018. It was strikingly brilliant with her saying “I am so happy to be here, always,” She left the stage declaring her “undying, unwavering love” Cave. “I love you so much.”
As we get to the last song of the encores, Cave sits alone at the piano for ‘Into My Arms’. “If you could all sing along, that would be a beautiful thing,” he says. For me it has personal connotations and, as the whole crowd did as we were requested, tears came into my eyes. It was a momentous, fitting end to the only UK and homecoming gig. It was magical and carried us through the nightmare queue to get out of the park into the night.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Preston Park setlist:
‘Get Ready For Love’
‘From Her To Eternity’
‘Train Long-Suffering’
‘Wild God’
‘O Children’
‘Tupelo’
‘Carnage’ (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis cover)
‘Joy’
‘Rings Of Saturn’
‘Where The Wild Roses Grow’ (with Kylie Minogue)
‘The Mercy Seat’
‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’
‘Red Right Hand’
‘The Weeping Song’
‘Jubilee Street’
‘Hollywood’
(encore)
‘City Of Refuge’
‘Wide Lovely Eyes’
‘Into My Arms’ (solo)
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