- Film And TV
- 13 Jul 20
'Idiot Prayer' will see the Bad Seeds frontman deliver a unique performance of tracks from his entire catalogue.
Nick Cave has shared the first trailer for his 'Idiot Prayer' live-streamed show, where the frontman is seen writing in a notebook ahead of the special performance before walking through the iconic venue.
The main hall of the legendary Alexandra Palace will be the setting for the musician's live gig.
Accompanying the new clip from the show, Cave also wrote an extended note to fans about the origins of 'Idiot Prayer', which includes performances of early rarities and songs from Grinderman as well as his latest album Ghosteen.
“‘Idiot Prayer’ evolved from my ‘Conversations With…’ events, performed over the last year or so.
“I loved playing deconstructed versions of my songs at these shows, distilling them to their essential forms – with an emphasis on the delivery of the words. I felt I was rediscovering the songs all over again, and started to think about going into a studio and recording these reimagined versions at some stage – whenever I could find the time," he added.
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“Then, of course, the world went into lockdown. The Bad Seeds’ global 2020 tour was postponed. Studios shut down. Venues shut down. And the world fell into an eerie, self-reflective silence.
“It was within this silence that I began to think about the idea of not only recording the songs, but also filming them – and so we started to assemble a small team, including the great cinematographer, Robbie Ryan, sound man, Dom Monks, and editor, Nick Emerson, with the intention to film as soon as it became feasible to get back to business in some way.”
Award-winning cinematographer Robbie Ryan filmed the show in the West Hall of the London venue, with the online broadcast taking place on July 23.
“Meanwhile, I sat at home working out how to play more songs in the ‘Conversations’ format – new songs and songs from the Ghosteen album, Grinderman songs and early Bad Seeds stuff, and everything in between,” Cave continued.
'Idiot Prayer' will not be available to stream following the online broadcast.
Cave said he was surrounded by “Covid officers with tape measures and thermometers, masked-up gaffers and camera operators, nervous looking technicians and buckets of hand gel.”
The upcoming film is the finale of his trilogy, which includes the 2014 documentary 20,000 Days on Earth and 2016’s One More Time With Feeling.
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The UK and Europe timing of the July 23 show is 8pm BST (UK) and 9pm (Europe).
For more information and ticket details, click here.