Idiot Prayer was meant as a regular concert, but then the Covid pandemic hit. Instead it was filmed and streamed to ticket holders, with Nick Cave sitting alone in the huge open space of Alexandra Palace in London (don’t believe what Spotify says here: there are no Bad Seeds in this recording).
For me this record very much amplifies the sadness of that period. What is sadder than a rock musician playing alone on that big stage? Where is the audience? I’ve seen Nick Cave once at a festival, and it was seriously amazing. The man is like a priest in front of his flock: he weaves magic. Subtract the audiance, and what is left? This was what many people in the industry faced: they were alone. In his own words: It is a prayer into the void – alone at Alexandra Palace – a souvenir from a strange and precarious moment in history.