In the early 90s, whilst at Exeter University, I saw some amazing gigs, but I missed a few for various reasons. Some were for financial reasons understandably, some were women-related (no surprise), some were more complicated. The two big regrets from those years were missing Suede and Manic Street Preachers, each touring their debut albums. I won’t go over the reasons why here, but they are detailed in Ten Bad Gig Decisions, should you be interested in such things. Regrets, I have a few etc etc…
Missing some key gigs has driven my terrible issues with FOMO (fear of missing out) – don’t get me started on missing The Smiths’ last ever gig when I was 16. It’s cost me a fortune over the subsequent decades and it’s no surprise that when I saw a fabulous double bill like this, it wasn’t so much “do I go?” but “how many times do I go?”…
I settle on twice, once in Leeds, where my company has an office, and once in London, my hometown, despite the ridiculous schlep from Blackheath to the Victorian “People’s Palace” that is Ally Pally. This is nothing compared to the hardcore fans. I follow both groups’ Facebook pages; there are people seeing every show, fans representing each tribe. Respect (though they must be a tad bonkers to spend all that money! But fair play, if nothing else but for the logistical planning needed).
Leeds has the added benefit that Mrs JO’B can catch up with an old friend, Rachel whilst we are there and later, she and her lovely husband Nick join us at the gig. They gift us a beautiful glass Tardis that Nick has made, which is just fabulous, so our weekend gets off to a cracking start. It’s my first time meeting both and they are excellent company.
I am very curious to see who wins this battle of the bands, having seen each many times over the preceding years. I saw the Manics at OnBlackheath a view years ago, second on a bill which was topped by Elbow. Much as I love Elbow, the Manics roared onto the stage then with Motorcycle Emptiness and the momentum never dropped. 14 singles and four cracking album tracks later, Elbow really couldn’t top them. Equally, back at V99, my friends wanted to leave after Stereophonics, who preceded Suede headlining. I begged them to stay and they agreed to give Suede a quick look. Needless to say, we stayed until the very end, my mates blown away by how good they were.
Who headlines each show on this tour has been determined by where they play, though I guess whilst the Welsh gigs were clearly the Manics finish and Suede play first, others must have required a toss of the coin. Both gigs we see have the Manics opening, whilst Suede close (rather than headline, as this is a genuine co-headlining tour).
The Manics are on good form for both shows, though it’s tough being the first act on, especially in daylight as the evenings remain bright. That said, the Leeds weather defies the forecasts and it pisses down at various points. Both setlists are essentially the same, though in London they swap out Theme From M*A*S*H (Suicide Is Painless) with This Is Yesterday from The Holy Bible album, at fans’ behest, though James Dean Bradfield jokingly warns them not to become entitled. Quite right.
Of the 17 songs played (plus a teasing snippet of Rain Drops Keep Fallin’ in Leeds), 14 are singles and it’s a powerful set. James’ voice is on fine fettle and Nicky Wire swirls and wields his bass like a punk John Cleese – awkward but in an endearing way. James spins, hops on one leg, punches the air and has the crowd clapping and singing joyously.
Unlike Leeds, London is ridiculously hot and I have no suntan lotion on (how after 54 years of having a pale white Irish complexion have I not learnt the need for this???). To be fair, my great friend Vincent had sorted the tickets and I hadn’t realised the gig was outside, but the next day I am redder than Keir Starmer’s tie. The bright sun makes it harder for the Manics to connect I think, whereas rainy Leeds they do better – it felt like quite a few people left Leeds after their set, skipping Suede – possibly because of the rain? Mad, but I get it.
The Manics’ set is varied, with obvious crowd pleasers – the opening You Love Us is a statement of intent, and through the set they cover nine of their 14 albums. Nothing from Postcards From A Young Man, which is a real shame, but they play a cracking Walk Me To The Bridge, dedicated to Simple Minds’ Mick MacNeil, who’s keyboard skills clearly influenced them – it’s the highlight for me at both shows. A Design For Life and If You Tolerate This, Then Your Children Will Be Next are the crowd’s favourites. The other two highlights are the songs they are joined for by The Anchoress (Little Baby Nothing and Your Love Alone Is Not Enough) – both are big hits with each crowd, The Anchoress adding a bit of pop star posing and super cool style. Sean’s drumming is pounding and punchy throughout, though his grey beard makes him look much older than he is, like he should be backing some dreadful failed prog rock band still singing about wizards and topographical oceans. Bring back the clean shaven, handsome chap we know him to be...
The Manics are fab, a force, though I hope they make a more radical record next time – The Ultra Vivid Lament should have been called The Ultra Tepid Lament…
Suede quickly follow and at both gigs are on fire, playing 17 songs at each show, including 12 singles. Suede mix it up a bit more, swapping out songs 5, 6 and 7 for each show. Having opened with a track from Autofiction, their cracking last album, and three classic singles (Trash, Animal Nitrate and The Drowners), they mix it up, with Leeds getting It Starts And Ends With You, early B-side He’s Dead and Sabotage, whilst London gets We Are The Pigs, Autofiction track The Only Way I Can Love You and a beautiful Still Life). We saw Suede play a secret gig to launch Autofiction at the MOTH Club, billed as Crushed Kid – they just played the whole of the new, at that stage unheard, album and blew us away (see I Heard A Rumour....Suede aka Crushed Kid live at The MOTH Club - 5th September 2022). The Manics need to find the energy and vibrancy that Suede have rediscovered 30+ years into their career.
Brett prowls the stage, at times crawling like he has been possessed by a hound of the Baskervilles. There isn’t an anti-perspirant in the world that could stop the sweat pouring from him as he whirls like a dervish, and swings his mic lead like he’s auditioning for Indiana Jones. He frequently jumps down to the crowd to hug the front row (seemingly almost exclusively women). His voice is never less than perfectly on point and he whips the crowd up into a frenzy. She Still Leads Me On is a highlight, Brett's storming belter about his late mother, which pulls off the neat trick of being poignant yet also a "banger".
The band are tight throughout – having rewatched Suede’s The Insatiable Ones documentary recently, it’s hard to believe that the teenage boy on the screen is the superb guitar player we see today. Finding Richard Oakes and Neil Codling to replace Bernard Butler was inspired – without them, Suede would have not become the powerful act we see before us. Matt Osman and Simon Gilbert are a formidable rhythm section, holding down the show as Brett leaps around, doing his now trademark restrained Ian Curtis-esque dance.
Suede even risk a new song from their forthcoming album – the song, Antidepressants seems to follow the style of Autofiction, featuring gritty post-punk guitars and even rapped lyrics. I have recently gone back onto Citalopram myself, something I had hoped to leave behind, but the meds are good for me, and necessary right now. I look forward to hearing Brett’s take when this is released, though his historic chemical experimentation is somewhat more extensive than mine, which is strictly over the counter...
The rest of the set is the same at both shows – Saturday Night and The Wild Ones have the crowd singing all the words and the set closes with another killer singles run of So Young, Metal Mickey and Beautiful Ones. The latter has the crowd la-la-laing with gusto at both gigs.
Although I care not a jot about football, to use Euros parlance seems appropriate. So I expected a draw but Suede won both legs by a country mile, the young Oakes playing a blinder on the leftfield, with Anderson scoring early goals and proving a great finisher (if this makes no sense, that will teach me to attempt soccer-related humour). Live, their songs were stronger and Brett is an absolute joy to watch on stage. But the Manics go home with nothing to be ashamed of, just needing a few new, more back to their roots, tunes.
I hope there are more double bills like this; in the US, Ride and The Charlatans have done two joint tours, and New Order and the Pet Shop Boys have followed suit. A Suede and Pulp joint tour would be spectacular. And a Blur and Suede tour? Fisticuffs, I fear!
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