Poniedziałek 25 Paź 2010, 15:47

Manic Street Preachers - O2 Academy Bournemouth, UK - 22nd October 2010

I was so pleased the O2 decided to switch from being a club venue, to having Live Bands…
Even more pleased that I got to see my fave band - Manic Street Preachers - barely 10 minutes walk from where I live! Result!!

I had seen them before, but that was a long time ago, way back in 1997 at The Reading Festival…

So to tonight…
Let's start with the support…
Brighton band British Sea Power got the evening rolling, & did a fairly good job. I say "fairly good" as having heard the first 3 of their 4 albums I wasn't really expecting too much of them, as I thought what I'd heard of theirs was all a little too "samey", with no real variety or progression!
Their live set however proved to be much more entertaining than what I'd heard from the studio, proving once more what I'd been saying for years - that you can't beat live music!
That said, despite a good reception from the crowd, I doubt I'll ever progress to being a "fan"! No offence, they were good live, & they did what was expected of a support band - warmed the crowd up - but that was about as far as our relationship is ever likely to go…

So onto the main event…
Manic Street Preachers…
As the anticipation grew, & those opening notes drew nearer, I found myself stood next to one of those obligatory fans who turns to his mate & asks "Which song do you think they'll open with?". "You Love Us" his mate replied, & wasn't disappointed, as the Manics entered the fray, & duly opened with said track!
And so, we were off & running…
Or, jumping about & sweating, as is usually the case when you're right down the front…
What followed, saw a further 20+ tracks mixing many of the old & the favourites, in with a handful of the new…
I was a little surprised to hear Motorcycle Emptiness within the first 3 tracks, but with so many fan favourites to choose from, I guess they all had to be slotted in somewhere!
That said, I was even more surprised to hear James Dean Bradfield's little remark about the album Gold Against The Soul, - following his praise of The Holy Bible & how much it had done for them, by saying of Gold Against The Soul - "This is one of the better tracks off that album", as they entered into Roses In The Hospital!
I suppose I was always gonna be a little disappointed to hear that remark, as Gold Against The Soul has always been my favourite Manics album! I've just always found it a little more "complete" than all of their others!!

But back to the show…
What followed Gold Against The Soul's "better track" Roses In The Hospital, saw a balanced mixture that included 2 tracks from the new album Postcards From A Young Man [the title track Postcards From A Young Man & Some Kind Of Nothingness], mixed amongst favourites such as Everything Must Go, The Masses Against The Classes, If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, & one of my personal favourites This Is Yesterday, before the band left the stage for 10 minutes, leaving James Dean Bradfield to entertain us with 2 acoustic renditions of Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky & You Stole The Sun From My Heart to rapturous applause. Quality!

Then it was back to rocking out, as the rest of the band returned to the stage for the final third of an awesome evenings' entertainment, that saw the Manics knock out a few of my personal favourites, including No Surface All Feeling & Suicide Is Painless amongst others…

Of course, there were other personal favourites, such as Judge Yr'self, The Girl Who Wanted To Be God & She Is Suffering, that I would loved to have heard, but with so many tracks to choose from, & so many fans to please, I guess we all have to miss out on a few now & again! Next time, eh…?

Nonetheless, it was never gonna ruin my enjoyment of a fantastic evenings' entertainment, that also saw a couple of other moments that will no doubt have left others like myself, from Bournemouth, leave with not only a huge smile on the face, but a sense of gratification, following a couple of comments made from the stage…
As we were nearing the end of a great set, we were treated to the comment "I reckon this could be the second best crowd, behind Glasgow", that by the end of the show, had become "the greatest of the tour so far"!
Can't argue with that!! Lol.

So…
After a long 13 years, that had felt like a lifetime, I'd finally gotten round to seeing the Manics again! And I wasn't disappointed!! It was worth the wait!!!

Manic Street Preachers - 10/10.
British Sea Power - 6/10.

Set-List:

You Love Us
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Motorcycle Emptiness
Just The End Of Love
Peeled Apples
Roses In The Hospital
Postcards From A Young Man
This Is Yesterday
La Tristesse Durera
Some Kind Of Nothingness
Ocean Spray
The Masses Against The Classes
Everything Must Go
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Small Black Flowers That Grow In The Sky
You Stole the Sun From My Heart
Faster
No Surface All Feeling
Golden Platitudes
Suicide Is Painless
Motown Junk
Tsunami
A Design For Life

Oh…
One final little story/anecdote of amusement…
At least it was to me…
Just before the Manic Street Preachers took to the stage, there were 2 young looking girls that were trying to push their way to the front, sporting those ridiculously silly neon, glow in the dark, bangles & necklaces, etc, that looked like they'd've been better suited at a Spice Girls gig…
"That ain't f***ing Rock 'n' Roll" I heard one guy claim…
And as the Manics opened up those first few chords, & the sea of fans surged forward, the 2 kiddie-pop-a-likes suddenly & unexpectedly disappeared into the distance back towards the back!
Sorry, but I thought it was hilarious!!

Peace & respect folks. Daz.