Where were you the evening of February 7th, 1989? If you were a Nick Cave fan living anywhere near Philadelphia, chances are you were at 38th and Ludlow watching the Australian showman play songs from his 1988 LP Tender Prey. The now-shuttered Chestnut Cabaret played host to a few of Cave’s rare Philly appearances in the 80s, and this one happens to be archived on Youtube thanks to a full audio taping.
Running just over an hour, the set pulled songs from throughout Cave’s catalog at the time, sampling heavily from the just-released LP with “The Mercy Seat,” “Deanna,” and “City of Refuge,” but also revisiting his debut From Her to Eternity, 1985’s The Firstborn Is Dead and 1986’s album pair Kicking Against the Pricks and Your Funeral… My Trial. Despite his sporadic appearances in town the band showed its appreciation for the City of Brotherly Love, opening the show with an instrumental take on the MFSB / Gamble & Huff classic “The Sound of Philadelphia.”
Cave brings the Bad Seeds back to Philadelphia for a June 5th show at the Electric Factory in support of last year’s Skeleton Tree; tickets and information can be found here. Stream the audio from February 7th, 1989 below.
Setlist
Intro (The Sound of Philadelphia)
From Her to Eternity
I’m Gonna Kill That Woman
Your Funeral… My Trial
Deanna
Long Time Man
Jacks Shadow
Mercy
The Mercy Seat
Knockin’ On Joe
City of Refuge
The Singer
By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Sugar, Sugar, Sugar
New Morning