Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Stagger Lee (Brixton 2004)

[TheKickasskatie]

the guy with the violin is having a pretty awesome time :)

[papakisTeleiaKom]

κοκκαλο ο Νικ

[dksdestiny]

Got to see him at a small club in Chicago a couple years ago... amazing!

[nshvnancy]

Warren Ellis is a fantastic violinist and several other instruments, Nick Cave has no need to act black? Listen to his albums sometime..

[TheKickasskatie]

quite possibly the best thing iv ever seen/heard.

[5thdeadlyvenom]

whos the violinist in this performance??

[henryward11]

@5thdeadlyvenom Warren Ellis

[GreyPouponned]

Queen Isabella sent me.

[redrum2000]

I can't bring myself to hit the like button with 666 likes...it just seem to fit ...

[uzell100]

4 HOLE'S IN HIS MOTHERFUCKIN HEAD........WAT A FUCKIN TUNE

[lozloz99]

Wow just watched this for the first time, simply one of the best live performances ever. Jaw-droppingly badass!!

[RachaelE100]

MISTER Staggerlee!

Genius song

[panic80423]

Great Fucking version!!!

[ArekAnton]

O ja pierdolę, co za cudo.

[rippenkitten1]

And he is from Melbourne,Australia........He is one of a kind....,just like Joey Ramone,Johnny Cash,Joe Strummer, and Elvis...Saw Nick Cave in Melbourne with the Birthday Party nd Screamin'Jay Hawkins...what a gig...still have the ticket stubb...:)....

[sirpsychosexyish]

warren looks so young

[looksdirty]

I love the piano in this.

[NeilXDavis]

Just an awesome both song lyrically and musically...wish I had been there...

[october1945]

eight holes in eight mutha fuckin' heads

[aviadha]

4:57 nick's kick is so epic my brain almost exploded

[MrBobthedog1]

@aviadha like



[MrOmgImBa]

how can you disslike this song omg some people are rly weird :S

[heartattack0vine]

@MrOmgImBa Maybe it's the Devil :->

[MsScarlet05]

lost count of how many times i've watched this~ Bad Ass..hot chic,& Nick..i'm in 4 a 3some

[alvicious]

i like the backup singers dance moves

[Glowb0t]

I want a colt 45 and a stack of cards.

[trevor2594]

I thought that was terrible, what the fuck is wrong with all of you.

[stephenpkirk1987]

@trevor2594 you're an idiot

[MsScarlet05]

Nick Cave off the chain, smooth, hypnotic..takes this song to whole other level. I know it from the Grateful Dead & have seen it live several times. I always had great visuals of this tune, to like putiing it to film(something like the one here on you tube).. Nick Cave, KUDOS~

[touchandgod]

Nick's mad, his fiddler is maybe madder, his band is brilliant.

Also, I second the take-a-shot-when-Nick-says-fuc­k, plan.

[HHGilean]

1:38

Who the hell is leaving in the middle of his last song?!

[palletfrag]

@HHGilean That's the blokes toilet he's gone into but I agree with your point. I'd hold it.

[edstone1]

Allright.Every time Nick says fuck each of you has to down a shot of whiskey.And kill that bieber kid,like I say;shoot him in the face with a blunt axe.

[DontLookBack7411]

I'M MR. STAGGER LEE!!!!

[MicksZoo]

to all those below who failed to appreciate this version... nature will weed out the morons.

[plwblj]

from mighty bo young(lawdy miss clawdy) see youtube:

Bo Bye Bye Baby 1.4.11 "Speak Up Jam

[luckyphilster]

nick cave is god

[1986johnr]

Burnside didn't write the song, and any blues hack worth his salt knows that there are countless versions considered more definitive than his anyway. So it really seems to break down to some silly racist argument about how white people can't adopt blues songs. This argument can be made so long as you've never heard of Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Winter, Paul Butterfield or any other of a host of talented artists, as anyone with a reasonable knowledge of blues history should.

[flamadiddler]

@1986johnr well put. would the racist dick deny living color the right to play rock or bad brains to play punk?

[1986johnr]

Burnside didn't write the song, and any blues hack worth his salt knows that there are countless versions considered more definitive than his anyway. So it seems to break down to some silly racist argument about how white people can't play blues. This argument can be made so long as you've never heard of Charlie Musselwhite, Johnny Winter, Paul Butterfield or any other of a host of talented artists, as anyone with a reasonable knowledge of blues history should.

[ChynaRider]

Aptly put. For me, the definitive version is by Lloyd Price. Stagger Lee is an old song, no one has ever been given true sole credit for writing it. The story of Stagger Lee Shelton and Billy Lyon dates back to 1895, reputed to be a pimp fight in St Louis and most agree it was a gambling fight over a hat. Many have recorded the song. Many are good, a few, a very few, are great, and most are less so. This particular version is utter crap. Nick Cave is great but this offering is choad.

[realmatic10]

I kinda agree with FILMLYFE this is not a good version of a timeless classic although i perfer Furry's to RL's

[realmatic10]

i kinda agree with filmlyfe this is not a good version of a timeless classic altho i prefer furry's to rl's

[Spoonface370]

@FILMLYFE:

For someone lecturing other people about 'not knowing about the history of music', you seem woefully short of awareness that part of the blues tradition is nicking other people's songs, rearranging them and passing them off as your own work.

Also, RL can't shit over anything, really, given that he's dead.

[brazil70]

Those were the last things the Devil said - coz Stag put 4 holes in his motherfucking head.....AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA­AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH­HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH­H!

[FILMLYFE]

LMAO this crap is for white people def. RL Burnside shits all over this crap. RL is the true badass. This version is for crackers...lo.....Judging by the comments of here none f you fucks have any clue about the history music. This version blws chunks. This is a blues song not some smoothed out white boy rock crap.

[brazil70]

@FILMLYFE

Fuck off! You wouldn't say that to MR STAGGER LEE!!!

History of music - who gives a fuck?

Dickhead.

x

[johnm8h]

@FILMLYFE you gunna get raped boy! (oh, only faggots use words like lmao you're a honkey too huh? 'cos niggers can't spell!)

[TheLexyboy]

@FILMLYFE you racist cunt, music is for anyone who cares enough too listen. Fuck off and take your prejudice with you

[flamadiddler]

@FILMLYFE you are a racist prick, nothing more to be said!!!!!!!!!!

[biddyboosh]

it;s an evocative song .. well delivered .. and convincing ..

[mountainjaz420]

this almost is better then the grateful deads stagger lee, who is stagger lee really? must be a common name for a cold blooded mother fucker, this song fucking rules!

[proposals]

He's got such incredible stage presence. The dancing, the gesturing, the smoking. And that shot of his shadow is gorgeous. Everything about this video is SO GOOD. If I never get a chance to see him live, my life will be empty.

[SuperLeftbank]

@proposals Don't know where you are, but he's playing with his other band, Grinderman, tonight and for the next few nights on the West coast. Hope you catch him.

[mariapitkavish]

utterly awful!

[Kersey475]

Fun Fact: Comic book writer Garth Ennis said that this specific version of the song is the basis for Punisher villain, Barracuda (A black, cunning, tough, optimistic, ex-Green Beret, mercenary/assassin who has a habit of betraying everyone around him)

[edstone1]

@Kersey475 I can see that.Punisher Max is the king!

[rmsturges247]

Warren Ellis looks like Beethoven in this video

[brazil70]

The blackest man in music! Nick Cave makes James Brown look like Celine Dion!

Fuckin' tune!

x

[MrTheMuck]

Leaving out ridiculous racist comments, this isn't a remake of the blues staple so much as it is a re-imagining for the album Murder Ballads. Most Mississippi John Hurt (my favorite old timey version) fans aren't going to like Nick Cave's "Stagger Lee" because they are completely different songs. Same title, same theme, different songs. And if anyone wants to get mad about white people co-opting black music lets all get mad at Elvis, he's dead he won't mind.

[LordRockfish]

@brazil70 What the fuck?! Your ass is from motherfucking ENGLAND, you asshole! Don't ever let me hear you even speak the name of James Brown!! Fucking Celine Dion my ass!! Nick Cave is badass but owes all to the bluesmen of the USA and the FUNK of JAMES MOTHERFUCKING BROWN you limey asshole!!!!!!

[brazil70]

@LordRockfish

simmer down.

[coltsever]

@brazil70

Dude, James Brown=Celine Dion? Seriously? No.

[nonirockify]

@brazil70

he's as white as white. which takes nothing away from his songwriting. but he's only paying homage, as he can as a white man. like the stones in early 70s. he may WANT to be black but he aint

[brazil70]

@nonirockify That's not exactly what I mean - I'm talking about the funk & soul in his music, not the colour of his skin. There was a degree of irony in my comment...

[Clonocide]

@brazil70 

[TheLexyboy]

hah, id forgotten what Warren looked like under the beard!!!

[MovingThroughKashmir]

5 people met Stagger Lee in a dark alley.

[karenchristine9]

oh fuck yeah. awesome!

[karenchristine9]

they are still amazing. the band does look a little worse for wear don't they, a little too many libations backstage maybe?

[alkapattin]

the best song in the world

[Moshpitscum]

awesome new ending <3

[CatGameDaiyE]

DAmnnn I'm glad I found this shit again!!

[ukp571]

Trance music at its best.

[diogohenriquemachado]

yeah Stagger Lee was a bad motherfucker and also Gay lol

[EdibleGinger]

lmao.... gotta have that cigarette, I don't give a shit if I'm performing :)

[dragonash1993]

I like watching Warren ahah

[daniushko]

Uauaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Great!

[edstone1]

anyone know when the next nc-album comes out?Me is addicted...

[dragonash1993]

@edstone1 There is a Grinderman album in September, other than that I don't know

[Mietekisgay]

That's possibly the best thing I've seen/heard ever. Nick Cave is instantly elevated to coolest man on the planet for me. 

[uprussia]

powerful performance, superb

[kmcgavin]

hjmhj

[kmcgavin]

The Man is amazing!! Can't wait until September, when the new Grinderman Album is out!

[UNCLEMOMMY]

awesome. he is musical and fun at the same time poetic and beautiful

[jeanhaliburtonwills]

man oh man...scary that he can put so much emotion in a song like that!

[joydivision24]

that was awesome.I've never heard that last part about the devil.funny to think he's an ordained preacher.

[pieroroi]

well, maybe X-factor one day.... very far in the future...

[DanBlabbers]

He's mad!

[seniorclapshishands]

I was there! Fucking incredible

[casuar1na]

essential nick

[AndraBobo]

did he do a mistake at 4 50?...

[MrsHolysinny]

@AndraBobo

well, guess he had a little jam... actually he often forgets lyrics :). he is improvising a lot. so...

[PinothyJ]

@AndraBobo It's rare for Nick Cave to do a show without stuffing up his lyrics (he does so quite a few times in this song alone) - I think he simply get so excited and worked up he cannot help himself but stumble here and there :)…

[edstone1]

@PinothyJ Eh?

[Bigleg75]

Great stuff man!

[ledererbrian]

he always ends his concerts with this song. it's got the violence of a rap song but it;'s got the smoothness of Nick cave and his band. he takes it from a legend of a black man who did similar things and was taken to jail

[MrMonkeyboyFloyd]

I am not sure I have seen tension used so well. A full band, backup singers used with such restraint and tension as to magnify the mood to eleven.

[Merilka]

I love how he manages to smoke a cigarette with a stone-cold face while singing with his whole soul

[Django5198]

The devil raped god and these guys were the offspring. Is there seriously anyone cooler than Nick Cave? No! The man is unique!

[millicentbistander]

Count the holes bitch! The violinist looks like he quite possibly drinks blood just for fun when he's runnin' that bow man! Insane! There isn't one sane thing about this entire performance! It's great! I love it!

[Northshore45]

@millicentbistander Warren Ellis!

[millicentbistander]

Fuck you mic stand... 4:56. Best mic stand kick of all time. Mr. Cave really brings old Stagger alive. Bad ass.

[Matty73]

so.fucking.badass

[hobbitninja]

I dig that Violin player curled up in the fetal position

[vinc666]

Nick Cave is heavy

[Jnth007]

@vinc666 like a rock!

[chunukbair]

not quite as nuts as the music vid, but really good for a live version, and a hugely powerful song :)

[averilleX]

O that was a good nite. Very.

But now i love Joe McElderry.

C'est la vie.

[CuteChildishTRex]

Kick ass back up singer @ 7:02

[zakbag]

kirk hammett on violen eh hahahaha

[MusicthirstyGirl90]

ovo je ludilo! svi su tako uzivljeni...a kako ne bi bili kad je pjesma tako mocna!

a najbolji je violinist.

[GuitarYourFace]

I love the use of queens of the stone age.

Very badass

[gundabalf]

fuck

[skibdadubda]

An unbelievable performance from a real artist. Love that scream at 6:57.

[TheLexyboy]

i think this is the best version of this ive heard...... classy

[sweetnott]

Thats the way to play a fiddle! Thanks

[snowgod37]

shut up and watch.

[carpenter111111]

fuckin' god

[TheWazik]

Cave`s my master. Amazing performance, amazing song. Greet from Poland.

[Moonsidewalker]

holy shit.

[iamchris1000]

ive watched this every day for the past week... never gets boring

[GuzziHeroV50]

Shoulda chosen this to challenge for xmas No1 instead of RATM :D

[JuiCeBoX19]

RATM ... they could have chosen a worse song...

but stagger lee... he would be the one who give's the four holes

[jimbophil]

Had similar thoughts myself. Lovely festive ditty. 'No Christmas for John Quays' (i.e. junkies) by The Fall would also make a particularly unsuitable or suitable choice depending on which side of the fence you fall.

[chrisnouvelle41]

Any man that intimidates a woman when she is alone in her home with obscene propositions should be arrested!.. Let's say this touches me personally....

[edstone1]

Hope you are ok. Men like that should be castrated.

[GuzziHeroV50]

Nice story, sis.

Now go and get on with your life instead of scouring Youtube for videos to troll on.

[theamcover]

After seeing this, if they intoduced a tax that 10% went to Cave i would be ok with that. Fucking amazing!

[MrAce15]

Reminds me of Joy Division slightly :) I think Interpol are influenced by him, it certainly sounds like it.

[FragileLittleAngel]

I miss the scream Blixa does in the end in the album version...

Nick Cave is just fucking great!!!

(pst..that guitarist they don't show the face...is that mick?)

[funeralgarden]

@FragileLittleAngel Agreed.

[sabbath1pwns1u1all]

proves you don't don't need to be thrashing out heavy riffs to give that bad ass evil feel. Love Nick

[andy75753]

@sabbath1pwns1u1all cool

[CatGameDaiyE]

@sabbath1pwns1u1all It's a bit heavy, even if it's slow :-D

[baulio]

barracuda you machine

[MrsHolysinny]

Mr. Stagger Lee !  2:02 - 2:12

cool

[DocOfAreaology]

I'd give a pound out of each tit to be that fucking cool.  Just saying...

[brosignal]

Nick Cave must be the coolest man alive.

old stag needs to blow four holes in a few rappers heads i think

[Jnth007]

@brosignal and four in mtv management!

[radebrecht]

@brosignal sorry but thats MISTER stag to you, thank you very much ;-)

[smedley]

@brosignal yep

[bobbelibob]

@brosignal I just love it when people make references about killing people.

[FILMLYFE]

@brosignal RL Burnside needs to blow a hole in NickCave's head..this is crap..no soul....

[wfowkes1]

That was really quite excellent.

[mikebeliveau]

Dig the middle background singer! Fist in the air...bam-bam-bam-BAM. She will be mine!

[jarldagr]

WTF, this is the first time I heard of this dude but please tell me he does not butcher the rest of his music like he Did Stack O' lee

I suprised the earth axis did not get thrown of the old man spinning in his grave

[ellavoid]

I was there...stunning gig.The best he's ever done.Gotta love him

[MrDomiknow]

Barracuda. That is all.

[1overthehillsfaraway]

yah, cool.......

[mrfuzzywuzzykins]

such a fuckin song

[shakeahand1]

Badass Music!!

[AlbertMondback]

The Devil got pwned.

[SaintRussell1914]

Fuck the Devil

[DazzaBo]

He rocks out for an old fella

[xoO0oO0ox]

This is pretty close to rap if you think about it.

[DoritoMonk]

You're right. It's called a "Toast Poem" and it's a kind of pre-rap "criminal" poem. Good ear!

[orbro]

Seen Nick Cave in NYC five times. He did this song every time. It's gotta be one of his personal faves.

[CamilaK0]

Love that autistic violinist.....when his time comes he goes f**king crazyyyy

And that extra lyrics ´bout the devil

Nick´s version of this song is amazing

[MrsHolysinny]

yes. its amazing how Warren Ellis is like in "zen"... you know something will happen...just a matter of time :) superb

[willowmansdaughter]

It's amazing how Warren Ellis just *is*, period. In my wildest imaginings, I couldn't have dreamed him up.

[StrummerLivesxxx]

Theres cooler.

[brazil70]

Coolest man on earth!

[staggersu]

the real raw deal. our nick with his heartbreaking good vibratiion who takes us with to his poetry telling emotional journey and he don't goes soft like bootsman call, i did]nt like that cd

[staggersu]

he stays same old uncle nick the man with more to tell.. and the passon en overtuiging in zijn songs maken hem echter een groot talent, huij is zichzelf en als je zijn book heb gelazen WHEN THE ANGEL...

than ya know how brtllant he is and what a great mind.

i hope he stays with his soud like he does and don't become softer. like the album the bootsman call, that was not a great succes i think-

[MegaSinic]

i had the pleasure of seeing nick live...a true artist indeed

[rocksteady78]

I would love to see them perform live!! Wonder if they play here in the states?

[DimePeril]

Would love to see these guys, my mate saw em at Glastonbury, said they were really good! Would be cool to see Grinderman, too.

[s5537]

Saw this at Glastonbury 09. My teeth are still rattling after all that bass!

Amazing version!

[meadows321]

Just saw this song close Latitude festival 2009. PURE MOTHERFUCKIN EVILLLLLL!!!!