The
amount of times I here ‘Mon The Biffy’ tonight,
if stretched in font 10
end to end would circum navigate the world 6.5 times. Fact.
Is their a limit to the amount of times a band is medically
able to tour? If
there is pray for Biffy Clyro as they play way too many
shows for their own
good. This tour, tentatively in promotion of new single
‘Only One Word
Springs To Mind’, is another biggy from one of the
most credible UK bands
doing the rounds at the moment. It seems as if they don’t
really need an
excuse to tour anymore anyway, in house conversations
must go something like
- “oh look it’s the 10th Sunday after Pentecost?
Right here we go again
lads.“ Now that’s grafting.
Truth is Biffy really do deserve all the recent plaudits
from media and fans
alike, after so many years in the wilderness it turns
out diversifying their
sound and upping the weirdness factor actually progressed
their careers, go
figure. Ah yes it’s the age old tale of the hare
and the tortoise re-written
for the modern day UK rock chronicles. While Hundred Reasons
and Hell Is For
Heroes rushed out of the blocks and had big selling debut
albums but were
then unceremoniously dropped earlier this year, Biffy
Clyro have kept
plugging away, playing the toilets of the British Isles,
building up a vast
fan base and releasing ever advancing, more challenging
albums and finally
they’re approaching the finishing line. To add extra
irony to the saga it’s
the very same Hell Is For Heroes that are supporting tonight.
It’s a
touching tale of how hard work, determination and sacrifice
can pay off.
Stay in school kids.
So then, Leeds Met. it is, definite proof Biffy have
stepped it up a notch
after playing the Cockpit in September? or a one off?
They’ve sold this
place out easily so it looks unlikely they’ll be
disappearing any time soon,
unluckily for anyone that hasn’t witnessed them
in full flow in a more
intimate setting but tonight Biffy Clyro prove they can
rock with the best
of them no matter what the setting,
Formed from the ashes of hardcore mob Will Haven , er,
hardcore mob
Ghostride have the relatively tame task of warming an
already pumped crowd
up. But seriously, hardcore thrashing on a Biffy bill?
It’s not the best of
choices. They aren't that bad in reality. Very grimy in
a ‘we haven't
cleaned behind the toilet in 25 years’ kinda way
and equally as unpleasant
to look at (sorry, I didn’t have a chance to smell
them but I assume
similar), They chug away incessantly with the vocals just
this side of
screamed and there is enough melody there to be bearable
but after 3 songs
it’s fair to say I've had enough and retreat to
the bar.
Do people still care about Hell Is For Heroes? You bet
your left testicle
they do. A very dishevelled looking Justin Schlossberg
has to be in with a
shot of winning most intense and self harming frontman
around at the moment
(as well as vocalist with hardest to spell surname which
he’s won 3 years
running and has a meticulously polished trophy on his
mantelpiece to that
effect). Kicking off with comeback song ‘Kamichi’
its a set of superb
numbers which go to prove how vital HIFH are. I almost
wish this was a
co-headlining show as Hell Is For Heroes are just superb
in whatever format
you find them. ‘Retreat’ is the only sorely
missed absentee but
‘Nightvision’ and ‘I Can Climb Mountains’
are as immense as ever and the
crowd lap it up in a big way. The new songs in some respects
pale in
comparison (case in point ’Models For The Programme’)
but hopefully that’s
just down to the fact their growers. HIFH deserve to be
back on top of the
pile in 2005, check them out headlining in April.
It’s time for the purveyors of the anti-overnight
success Biffy Clyro then.
Do you like pretentious band introductions? Then you’ll
love Biffy, 5 odd
minutes of rumbling and lighting effects that even Space
Mountain couldn’t
top are the preview to a stonking ‘Glitter and Trauma’
where not pogo-ing
would result in premature death. It’s just not an
option for a long while.
It’s amazing just how many amazing hits Biffy Clyro
have in their arsenal,
at least 3 huge classics from each of their 3 albums plus
a supporting cast
of many more extremely strong tunes. Tonight's setlist
turns out to be a tad
toooo long though (as a sprint to the train station ensured
following
completion), it could have been condensed slightly more
but maybe Simon Neil
and the Johnston Brothers are saying a big thanks to all
the diehard (of
which their are many) fans here in Leeds tonight by playing
such a
substantial amount of material. On top of that it appears
lead vocalist
Simon is enjoying it more tonight than he has previous,
my last Biffy
experience in September for example I believed was a much
more lacklustre
display than tonight's excellent display. Highlights are
impossible to
trace but the usual suspects of ‘Justboy’
and ‘Ideal Height’ are never going
to be less than exquisite. Everything a show should be,
great music, great
atmosphere, great band.
A notch has indeed been risen but will this be the last
stop of Biffys road
to domination or have they got more in the bag? If you’re
a Biffy Clyro fan,
I don’t think you need me to answer that.
9/10
Luke_Ramsden_
