“Why would I want to see that miserable c#*t?” was Mrs Mac’s reply when asked if she fancied going to tonight’s Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show in Hammersmith. It’s a common enough opinion and completely wrong. Cave’s last two albums had more laugh out loud moments than the last decade of ITV’s comedy output. The wanking baboon on the Grinderman cover is a comic gem and No Pussy Blues must be the funniest song ever written. The miserabilist reputation is well out of date.

The show was sold out for Cave is at the height of his creative powers at the moment with a run of three recent very strong albums under his belt. If the band had just run through the current Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! it would have been a top rate show but there were frequent dips into his huge back catalogue starting with an intense blistering version of the splendidly gothic Tupelo coming in early. Highlight of tonight’s performance was the rib tickling We call upon the author to explain the only song I’ve ever heard which uses the word “prolix” – as in “prolix, prolix – nothing a pair of scissors won’t fix”. This is witty, literate writing of a high order set to harsh guitars and tambourines and is thrilling to witness.

The pace never slackens. Cave is an incredibly physical performer who dances all through the set and often emphasises a phrase with a twist of his hips without looking stupid and for a man who projects such a forbidding persona his rapport with his audience is affectionate and reciprocated. A first class night’s work from a man and his band.