Manic Street Preachers - Glasgow Barrowlands 08/12/14

[ceebs]

It seemed an odd idea for a group like The Manics, who seem to prefer not to look back very often, to want to revisit one of their more intense albums and play it in its entirety. However, because for some inexplicable reason i had failed to go and see them tour this album when it first came out, i was not about to miss this opportunity to hear it live.

Probably given the heavy nature of the music, there was no support at the show so off we went as early as possible through the bitterly cold Weegie night air, excited by the prospect of the setlist awaiting. The Barras is one of these venues where over the years if you get the right band, the right tunes and a responsive audience (which to be fair Glasgow crowds usually are!) truly magical, stunning evenings can occur. Iggy Pop in 88 or The Damned in 89 were good examples of this, the kinds of gigs where you stumble out of the venue, t shirt hanging with sweat and a big silly grin on your face because you know you`ve witnessed something special.

Tonight was one of these evenings.

The lights went down and the stage, covered in camouflage netting, was bathed in a red light while the PA blasted out a tribal sounding remix of one of the Manics earlier songs....then three figures entered the arena to incredible applause. The night was split into 2 sets, the first one being The Holy Bible played in its entirety, in sequence, complete with the between song samples which were on the album. During one of these, the mere mention of the name "Margaret Thatcher" elicited boos from most of the crowd.
The fact that there was no between songs chat (apart form just before the end where they dedicated the set to a certain Richard James Edwards) just added to the intense nature of the songs and the set, and as far as i could see the audience were intent on adding to this, with lots of crowdsurfing going on and the majority of the lyrics being sung/screamed along with. Utterly mesmerising.
After the Holy Bible, we had a 15 minute break, before we had set 2, which without giving any spoilers for those going to later dates was a mix of hits, slightly more obscure tracks and some off of their more recent albums. It made for an equally enjoyable but a lighter set than the first one.

If you get the chance to catch them on this tour, do so, i doubt you`ll regret it. Amen.

[theraven1979]

Nice one Ceebs - I also missed out on THB tour first time round. I decided not to attempt to get tickets for this as I thought it would be a bit forced and tragic in some respects - judging by your review that's not the case.

Jim

[ThruBeingCool]

Good review.

[pigeon]

Good review. I'm going to see them next wednesday at the Roundhouse. Been looking forward to this gig since the beggining of the year when i knew they would announce a Holy Bible tour this year!. I also missed it in 94. This is going to be the Manics gig to end all Manics gigs.

[ThruBeingCool]

this is going to be the Manics gig to end all Manics gigs.

Hmm...may not be a bad thing