In January, Nick Cave explained why he wasn’t impressed with the then-relatively new AI technology ChatGPT. Cave became aware of it after “many people” sent him songs created by ChatGPT “in the style of Nick Cave.”
“What ChatGPT is, in this instance, is replication as travesty,” Cave wrote to a fan named Mark. “ChatGPT may be able to write a speech or an essay or a sermon or an obituary but it cannot create a genuine song.”
ChatGPT also can’t stage two North America tours simultaneously, as Cave is — one for music, and one in support of the paperback edition of his 2022 book, Faith, Hope, And Carnage.
His musical North American solo tour began on Tuesday, September 19, in Asheville, North Carolina and will continue until October 28, including back-to-back shows in Brooklyn, New York on October 6 and 7 as well as back-to-back Los Angeles shows on October 27 and 28. All of Cave’s dates can be found here.
Below is Cave’s setlist from opening night (as chronicled by attendees on setlist.fm).
1. “The Sorrowful Wife” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
2. “Sad Waters” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
3. “Girl In Amber” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
4. “Galleon Ship” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
5. “(Are You) The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
6. “Higgs Boson Blues” (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds)
7. “Euthanasia”
8. “I Need You” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — Cave’s first solo performance)
9. “O Children” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
10. “Waiting For You” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
11. “Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
12. “Nobody’s Baby Now” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
13. “Carnage” (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis cover — Cave’s first solo performance)
14. “The Mercy Seat” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
15. “Into My Arms” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
16. “The Weeping Song” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
17. “Jubilee Street” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
18. “Push The Sky Away” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
Encore
19. “Balcony Man” (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis cover — Cave’s first solo performance)
20. “The Ship Song” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
21. “Palaces Of Montezuma” (Grinderman)
22. “God Is In The House (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
23. “Give Us A Kiss (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — Cave’s first solo performance)
24. “Cosmic Dancer” (T. Rex cover)
25. “Stagger Lee” (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
26. “Man In The Moon” (Grinderman)