Watch Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Enjoy The Cure Live at Way Out West
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds were spotted in the audience during The Cure’s headline performance at the Way Out West festival in Gothenburg on August 14.
A Shared Stage and a Shared History
The festival bill in Gothenburg saw Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds deliver a two-hour set on the Azalea stage shortly before Robert Smith and The Cure closed the night on the Flamingo stage. Following the performance, Warren Ellis shared a series of images and videos via social media, confirming the presence of the band and their crew in the crowd. Ellis, who noted he first saw The Cure perform in 1984, praised the band’s songbook and Smith. This public show of support arrives as both acts maintain high-profile touring schedules; The Bad Seeds recently performed to a crowd of nearly 50,000 at Brighton’s Preston Park, which was the largest ticketed event in Brighton’s history, while The Cure continues to promote their 2024 comeback album, Songs Of A Lost World, which earned the group their first Grammys.
The Evolution of the Rock Icon
Nick Cave, who wayoutwest.se describes as having transformed into something approaching a prophet-like presence, has frequently spoken on the realities of aging within the music industry. In a June post to his blog, The Red Hand Files, Cave recounted a humorous interaction with an elderly couple who struggled to operate their mobile phones to take a photo of him, noting that his only real difference from his fans is his habit of dyeing his hair black. This self-awareness mirrors his changing approach to his own back catalog and his relationship with the “goth” label, which he once found restrictive but now views with a sense of “weird romance” and appreciation for its capacity to endure.
Logistical Realities of the Festival Circuit
Future Trajectories for Touring Giants
Looking ahead, both bands show no signs of slowing their creative output. Nick Cave has hinted that the Bad Seeds are currently “messing around” in the studio with the potential for new material, while Robert Smith has indicated that a follow-up to Songs Of A Lost World is complete, alongside a separate, more “poppy” record currently in development. As they move from festival stages to individual headline dates—with The Cure heading to Manchester and Edinburgh, and The Bad Seeds concluding their current run in Paris—the focus remains on how these artists leverage their brand equity to reach both legacy fans and new audiences.
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