Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds live at Music Hall Kansas City

Words & Photos by Anthony Scanga

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds brought what can only be described as a religious experience to Kansas City Monday Night. With his usual horizontal catwalk unavailable at the Music Hall, Cave took it upon himself to get the crowd out of their seats and flood the aisles and get as close to the stage as possible.

Holding the hands of just about everyone in the front row and locking eyes directly while singing, Cave made sure it became a powerful, emotion filled night for all in attendance. Songs varied from early career rockers to piano driven ballads, but flowed with a seamless ease that kept the 2 plus hour runtime feeling brisk.

This was the ‘Wild God’ tour and leaned heavily on tracks from that album, with show opener “Frogs” being a highlight of the night. The 1985 track “Tupelo” was where Cave really came alive. Leaping off the stage and making his way through the packed music hall to end up in the middle of the venue leading the entire crowd in a call and response of the song’s chorus was truly witnessing something special.

The show was a reminder that Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds are one of the most electrifying live acts in the business and not to be missed.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 2025 Tour Dates:

05/07 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
05/10 – Portland, OR @ Theater of the Clouds
05/11 – Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
05/12 – Seattle, WA @ The Paramount Theatre
05/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
05/17 – Pasadena, CA @ Cruel World Festival