Manic Street Preachers- SECC 12.1.05

The new year is upon us and i was lucky enough to have one thing to look forward to in an otherwise depressing January- a Manics gig!


The crowd are strange tonight. And not in the way you would normally think- the feather boas and tiaras have been replaced by Embrace t-shirts and footy tops. These guys probably would have appreciated The Departure, tonight's support who, with their suits and pseudo-indie stylings, were smart in apperance at least. Their sound, clearly influnced by Franz Ferdinand, The Smiths and a number of shite bands aka Razorlight (who were meant to support) who are polluting the music scene as of present, is slick and some of their songs do rise above the norm, but it is really saying something when their most notable moments include the 'banter' with the crowd. 'Glasgow's much more fun than those guys down south' is met with a lukewarm 'get on with it' when the band probably expected the next Jacobite uprising and 'some of you might know this one' should really be left for a top 10 hit, as opposed to another song the crowd doesn't know which sounds exactly the same as every other song they've played. However, this is probably harsh and if wanks like the Libertines and all the other 'the' bands can make it, then there's no reason why The Departure won't be lapped up by the record buying public in due course.

But onto business, and for a minute, that appears all that the Manics are actually here for. Starting with 'If you tolerate this....' is not the way to start any gig, and this applies even to a Manics one. However, following it with 'Faster' shows up the previous song for what it is and is treated like a proper opener i.e crowd going apeshit and Rosco battering his vocal chords like no other. '1985', the opener to new album 'Lifeblood', is played next and is the first of 6 songs off this album to be played. They go down very well in most quarters, with the aforementioned song, 'Empty Souls' and 'I Live to Fall Asleep' being the most well-received. 'Solitude Sometimes Is' perhaps should have been jettisoned in favour of a track like 'Glasnost' or an older song, but the new songs work far better in a live environment that one could have imagined.

It also seems like the Manics have learnt from past mistakes and decided to play their best set as opposed to a greatest hits selection. A fine example of this is the decision to play 'No Surface, All Feeling' and ignore 'Australia', which is really what should have happened when it came to choosing singles several years ago, and it was a pleasure to see a great song played instead of one fit for a TV advert at best.

Another change evident tonight is how the Manics have made peace with thier legendary 'Holy Bible' opus, with 4 and a bit tracks being played. The re-release of the album for its 10th anniversary may be the obvious reason for this, but the band almost seem at most ease when playing 'Faster', 'Yes', a snippet of 'Archives of Pain' (done acoustically by Bradfield), 'This Is Yesterday' and 'Die in the Summertime'. The latter, having not been played live until 2002, now appears to be a live favourite.

It's not all good though. With all these tracks being played, perhaps attention to be drawn to the lack of material from the band's first 2 albums, with only 'You Love Us', 'Motorcycle Emptiness', and 'La Tritesse Durera' getting a look in. However, it's their decision to play their best tracks, as opposed to the ones they think they should play, which has made this gig one for the fans to really enjoy. The addition of a second guitarist has certainly beefed up the sound and allows Bradfield to concentrate more on his vocals, which sound better than ever live. Nicky Wire looks great in a skirt as always and the extra guitarist was needed when the bass was ignored in favour of shouting the words at the crowd.

From the songs not mentioned, a mass pogo for 'Kevin Carter' was observed, 'Motown Junk' destroyed as always, and 'Masses Against The Classes' showed the Manics at their anthemic best. As 'Design For Life' ended against a wall of feedback, the message was loud and clear. We're not finished yet.