GRINDERMAN - LIVE AT THE CORONET

The dingy, urine scented South London 'Coronet' provided the perfect atmosphere for the sleazy, primitive facial haired but charmingly suited Grinderman quartet to deliver their performance in.

Cave, Casey, Ellis & Sclavunos delivered a blistering set consisting of songs from their two albums. The crowd enjoyed every track, every sexual reference, every lyric and hang on to the stunningly energetic performance that Cave is still able to deliver as he "kicked those white mice out..." all over the stage. The sweat, ominous lighting, loud and clear sound all aided in making this gig an experience. Grinderman's music allows for dancing, moshing, raving and singing, and all were present and delivered accordingly to their mix of psychedelic, rock maniacal sound, which is superbly fresh in an age where artists and listeners are striving to find new un-laboured musical territory. Ellis' screeching tenor guitar is an energetic, raw, visceral tool that fills the old cinema with a sound that others will envy as his fingers draw emotion from one's musical intoxication, by playing tracks such as 'Evil' & 'Get it On', that simply rumble the walls of the Coronet. The band seem to enjoy performing and the the rawkus crowd responded, which begged the question; What took them an 1 1/2 hrs to get on stage?

Besides the wait, the concert was superb, GRINDERMAN are not The Bad Seeds, something which a couple of crowd 'Mercy Seat' requesters should have learned before and let's hope after the gig...

1. Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man
2. Worm Tamer
3. Get It On
4. Heathen Child
5. Palaces Of Montezuma
6. Evil
7. When My Baby Comes
8. What I Know
9. Honey Bee (Let's Fly to Mars)
10. Kitchenette
11. No Pussy Blues
12. Bellringer Blues
13. Encore:
13. When My Love Comes Down
14. Man in the Moon
15. Grinderman

GRINDERMAN 2

Grinderman 2 has been released and like it's primate fronting brother this second 'wolf' record offers the same majestic, destructive, noise creating team of four, that delivered that first raw album. Except that in this sophomore offering the band have managed to maintain that sonic ear lashing bashing, whilst also dwelling into territory that explores a broadening of the bands' sound without relinquishing the initial vitality found on Grinderman I. Tracks such as ''Worm Tamer'' deliver garage, psychedelia, whilst the sensational ''Palaces of Montezuma'' simply stands out on its own; certainly the most talked about track on the album so far. A personal highlight however is the prog-like "When my baby comes", click here to give it a listen.

The album is hopefully a sign of things to come, promising that Grinderman is not just another project for Cave but instead it will exist for many years to come, as next to the Bad Seeds' softer appraoch, Grinderman is the perfect antidote with which to rock out to, laugh and admire Ellis', Casey's, Sclavunos' & Cave's unrefined sonic creativity. (Click for: GRINDERMAN - "Star Charmer", a non LP track)

For tickets and tour dates click here

GRINDERMAN - "Palaces of Montezuma" - Jools Holland

"The spinal cord of JFK...."

FEBRUARY LIST: '72, '79, '87, '90, '94, '97

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with certainly one of the best songs of the 90's. 'Into My Arms' from 97's 'The Boatman's Call'



The Smiths, 'Shoplifters of the World Unite'. Brilliant musicianship from Marr and the boys, with a tantalising harmony lick.



Alice In Chains, 'Love, Hate, Love'...simply terrfic.



RAMMSTEIN, 'Herzeleid', title track from the unique 6...awesome.



David Bowie, 'Lady Stardust'. A beautfil 3mins 23secs of pure piano-bowie greatness.



'Stay Clean', Killer Motörhead track, still heavy, still Lemmy & still a classic.

Greatest songwriters you might have never heard of...Part 1 : Nick Cave

"through the windswept coastal trees, where the dead come rising from the sea",

Front man to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, former front man of The Birthday Party, Nick Cave is indisputably one of the most talented singer/songwriters of all time. His poetic lyrics and jazz, rock, blues, early goth influenced fusion stands as some of the most important music of the last 25 years. Albums such as 'Tender Prey', 'The Boatman's Call' or 2004's double album, 'Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus' cement this musician's place within modern music. His strong partnership with Warren Ellis (a member of the Bad Seeds), has led to writing and recording of several soundtracks to popular films such as; 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert' Ford' & 'The Proposition'. Also an author, Cave has presented his quirky, dark comedy in; And The Ass Saw The Angel & the recent The Death of Bunny Munro. His talents and accomplishments have been recognised by critics and awarded by magazines such as MOJO, and of course the fans that continue to support his position upon the plinth of great songwriters. May he continue to intrigue, inspire and enlighten us.

Recommended listening:
- Into My Arms
- Easy Money
- Mercy Seat
- Midnight Man
- Ship Song

Official web: HERE
Review of 'Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus': HERE

Nick Cave playing'Into My Arms':