Watch Nick Cave’s Trailer For His Solo-Piano Concert Film Idiot Prayer

Watch Nick Cave’s Trailer For His Solo-Piano Concert Film Idiot Prayer

Most quarantine-era livestream concerts have been relatively shambolic affairs, with musicians playing acoustic guitars in their living rooms. Nick Cave is doing things differently. In June, cave recorded Idiot Prayer, a video of himself playing solo-piano pieces, at Alexandra Palace, a London venue that opened in 1875. Next week, Cave will broadcast Idiot Prayer as a livestream event.

Cave says that the idea for Idiot Prayer evolved from his recent Q&A tours: “I loved playing deconstructed versions of my songs at these shows, distilling them to their essential forms — with an emphasis on the delivery of the words. I felt I was rediscovering the songs all over again, and started to think about going into a studio and recording these reimagined versions at some stage — whenever I could find the time.” With the Bad Seeds’ touring plans cancelled during the pandemic, Cave instead figured out a way that he could showcase his own past songs in that solo-piano format, working with Alexandra Palace to make it a safe short-term filming location.

Cave says that he sees Idiot Prayer as the third film in a concert-film trilogy that also includes 20,000 Days On Earth and One More Time With Feeling. Today, he’s shared the trailer, where he slowly walks through Alexandra Palace to a huge, ornate empty room with a grand piano at its center. On the soundtrack, Cave recites a poem about Elvis. Watch it below.

The Idiot Prayer livestream goes down 7/23. You can get your ticket here.

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