Biffy Clyro – Academy 1, 19/12/08

“Jesus, it’s like Hillsborough in here!” A little close to the bone perhaps but this fan is right. Manchester Academy is packed. Biffy Clyro’s following are as plentiful as they are passionate, and tonight they are in for a treat. The support bands try their hardest but no one could possibly steal the show here. The moments before the main act are electrifying.

Behind a giant white curtain, bright lights flash to the opening stabs of ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies.’ The curtain drops. The crowd reaches orgasm.

Biffy Clyro have managed to do what so many of their contemporaries cannot – making their genre sound new; reinventing the possibilities of what a three piece rock band can do. Their sound is immense, their ideas rich and creative. Everyone in the crowd knows the words to every song – a backing choir of several thousand.

The band oozes stage presence: a clear sign they mean every note plucked from their bleeding fingers and every word screamed over the monitors. They use the stage like it’s theirs to take home. Things are strategically placed so that Simon can stand on a plinth in the faces of the front row, or raised high at the back for the acoustic ‘Machines.’ A beautiful string quartet adds an angelic quality to proceedings.

You can taste the punk rock energy. Simon solidly headbutts the mic in a crazed act of passion during ‘Love Has A Diameter’ – a kiss for the audience that only a Glaswegian can convincingly deliver.

If comparisons have to be drawn, Biffy come across as a ballsy, Scottish Foo Fighters – darker in tone, with the discordant rhythmic complexity of Deftones. The air of ‘Scottishness’ is so hard to identify but it’s the defining characteristic of their sound. You can hear the vibrant Glasgow music scene dripping from the microphones.

These songs have the rare ability to grab an audience by the shoulders and force them to feel something raw and beautiful. This is not to say their music is aggressive, the overall impression is a truly positive one. It’s more the sound of honest passion, expressed in its purest form.

To close this near-perfect set, Simon throws his guitar to the floor, raises his arms to the sky, and runs, flying into the audience. It is several minutes before security can drag him from their clutches.

In a world of fake rock and soulless indie, Biffy Clyro are a shining beacon of hope. An asset to music and all that it stands for. An unmissable performance.

Words by Alexander Walsh

Photos by Mat Johns