Biffy Clyro + Frightened Rabbit + People In Planes @ Birmingham Academy – 18th December 2008

Tonight’s line-up could quite easily be renamed the “Scotsfest” tour, what with the headliners and both support acts coming from north of the border for a winter jaunt around the UK. 2008 has been quite a year for the headliners, partly because their most recent album — the excellent ‘Puzzle’ — has had time to properly sink in and make an impact, but also a lot of their success is down to their massive single “Mountains”. Anyway, the result is a sold-out Academy just before Christmas and what should be a great show.

While I only managed to catch the last couple of numbers from openers People in Planes, there was more than enough on display to highlight what a special act they may well develop into. Their music had a brooding, atmospheric air to it that rumbled around the room sounding in parts like Khoma and elsewhere like when Nirvana had their dark, slower moments. Add onto that a very good singer and you’re left with a band sitting on something very special. Going by the great response from the already huge crowd, this is a band to watch out for.

Next up, Frightened Rabbit, who were wholly disappointing after tonight’s positive start. This is what happens when a headliner is loved equally by two different magazines like Kerrang and NME — as is the case with Biffy Clyro — the support acts won’t please everyone. Frightened Rabbit are far more indie/folk orientated, very much an acquired taste and one that I’m not fond of. Their music didn’t have the capability to make your hair stand on end like People in Planes’ did, but they did have a strong stage presence and another talented frontman who certainly gave his performance all he could muster. Ask a reviewer who likes indie and I’m sure they would have heaped much more praise on Frightened Rabbit, but for me they really didn’t cut it.

And so onto the headliners, who took the stage joined by a string quartet and a monumental cheer before jumping into the stuttered intro to “Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies”, an intro that, armed with the extra power of the strings, punched you square in the face. With barely enough of a break to breathe between numbers, songs were fired out at an impressive rate, with “Saturday Superhouse”, “A Whole Child Ago” and “Get Fucked Stud” coming and going in a flash a power of melody. What was both refreshing and impressive was the crowd response to the songs, and the sheer passion for Biffy’s music — singing along to every word of the hits from ‘Puzzle’ was not a surprise, but songs from their debut record like “Joy.Discovery.Invention”, “27”, “Convex, Concave” and “Justboy” certainly was. It would have been easy for the band to just play new material, but with three other fantastic albums behind them who would begrudge them the chance to demonstrate their full repertoire.

The only real break came when singer/guitarist Simon Neil performed acoustic versions of “Folding Stars” and “Machines” aided only by a cello — two numbers that highlighted not only the band’s softer side but also Neil’s tremendous live voice. The volume was turned back up to full with the dance-inspired “Glitter and Trauma”, while the upbeat bounce of “Who’s Got a Match?” was a personal highlight. The main set was, inevitably, brought to a close with the aforementioned “Mountains”, which got the wildest response but did sound somewhat flat compared to the rest of the set. However, the final few numbers were played with appropriate gusto and power, before the wonderful finale of “Now Action is On Fire!”, a song that built up gently but deliciously, before launching into a stupendously heavy ending of pounding drums, choppy strings, and Neil leaving the stage by mounting the PA and into the balcony. Yes they could have had more interaction with the crowd, but that was only a minor whinge from an absolutely exhilarating live experience.

Biffy Clyro have found out how to blend prog, indie and sheer rock power into something wonderfully digestible and enjoyable, and they could soon be the biggest and best power trio to break through in this country since Muse. If the next tour is still in venues this size I will be very surprised.

Setlist:

Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies
Saturday Superhouse
A Whole Child Ago
Get Fucked Stud
Joy.Discovery.Invention
The Ideal Height
9/15ths
27
Semi-Mental
Convex, Concave
Folding Stars
Machines
Glitter and Trauma
Justboy
Love Has a Diameter
Who’s Got a Match?
Only One Word Comes to Mind
Mountains
————–
Now I’m Everyone
As Dust Dances
57
Now the Action is on Fire!

Review — Dave Musson
Photography — Montreal Music Photographer Steve Gerrard (Biffy Clyro) + Dave Musson (Frightened Rabbit)

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