Fittingly perhaps, bats floated lazily over the sun drenched Domain with the stark outline of Sydney's high-rises as a back drop. The crowds gathered on the gently rolling greens for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds's first gigs in Sydney for quite a while and it was magnificent. Support came from New Zealand's luminescent and enchanting Aldous Harding who set the tone early with a performance that was stripped-back, focused and quietly arresting. Her voice cut cleanly through the open-air setting, holding the crowd without needing volume or theatrics. The set felt deliberately restrained — controlled pacing, minimal movement, and an emphasis on mood rather than momentum — which worked well as a counterpoint to the scale of what followed.