Get It On!

Grinderman (with the White Stripes, Porter Wagoner)
@ Madison Square Garden
New York, NY - July 24, 2007

There were boos. Lots of boos. In the bathroom, some frat jock asshole said he wanted to find Nick Cave on the street and stomp his face in. People complained that the filthy, raunchy blues-psychedelic hard jam of the band wasn't tough enough, perhaps because Nick never fulfilled the legitimacy of a million jock frat boys' dreams of assaulting someone and getting arrested. The people around this writer did not even know who Nick Cave was, let alone Grinderman.

In short, Grinderman stole the show.

Grinderman doesn't play music to have sex by. It's music to fuck by. Dirty, grimy, full of muck and smell - Cave and his cabal are not here to mess around. Hanky-panky is for the weak. Unlike their fellow acts of the night, Grinderman's music fit the acoustics of the big joint, reverberating off the walls with an unmatched ferocity. "Get It On", "No Pussy Blues", and something called "When My Loves Comes Down To You" or something like that, particularly displayed this piledriving rock n roll. "Don't Set Me Free" was another highlight. But it wouldn't be Nick Cave without some depth. There are meanings behind at least some of these songs, which is probably what threw the barbarians in the crowd for a loop. Philistines try to ruin everything.
More thumpish (yes that word) than the record, live Grinderman seems to be right at home in the thunderous arena of the Garden, but would also be right at home on a Saturday night at the Roseland. Book them now. And then go screw.