Manic Street Preachers and Suede delivered an electrifying double bill at Cardiff's Utilita Arena on a cold Tuesday in November, with both bands performing with an energy that put bands half their age to shame.
The Blackwood band and their fellow 90s legends, friends for more than 30 years, have found a groove with these split headline gigs, each playing around 80 minutes. Far from diminishing the show, the format has given both sets of musicians a sense of vigour, treating audiences to a double dose of some of the greatest music to come out of this country.
Suede's Brett Anderson Still Shines
Suede opened the show with Brett Anderson as energetic as ever, shirt unbuttoned, lithely bombing around the stage and up on the speakers like it was still 1993. Despite worries for his knees, his strutting and posturing was matched by a vocal performance as brilliant as ever, highlighted by a sublime rendition of Saturday Night that drew pin-drop silence before his shiver-inducing vocals.
Having caught Suede only once before, a decade ago at the 6Music Festival in Bristol, the reviewer found them relentlessly entertaining and brilliant again, with a back catalogue that still sounds superfresh today.
Manics Bring Fire and Emotion
The Manics were equally brilliant, with James Dean Bradfield's infectious energy driving songs like Slash 'n' Burn, You Love Us and Everything Must Go. The performance felt like there was a fire under it, with tracks like No Surface But All Feeling and The Everlasting proving enrapturing.
Nicky Wire took centre stage for lead vocals on Hiding in Plain Sight, a bittersweet and lovely moment that showed the band's range alongside their screamy-hard punk side.
Showstoppers and Celebration
The set was bookended by big showstoppers: Motorcycle Emptiness opened, while If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next closed the show. Design For Life evoked huge emotions, and the band offered thanks to their Welsh fans for sticking with them.
There seemed something extra celebratory and reflective this time, a recognition of being part of people's lives for 35 years plus. Their music has never wavered, and neither has their message, leaving fans feeling like the Manics are in their corner.
