Making Sure They Don't Steal The Limelight
Simon Neil doesn’t necessarily look like the front man of one of Britain’s most exciting bands. With his hair completely covering his face and skin tight trousers painfully clinging to his legs he resembles a bizarre hybrid of Captain Caveman and the latest wannabe emo kid. Forget style though, Biffy Clyro is all about substance and as the three piece screech into ‘Saturday Superhouse’ with enough forces to shred the skin from your bones Neil is able to instantly grab your attention, threateningly shrieking his lyrics out before the band relentlessly embark on the dark jovial stomp of ‘Who’s Got A Match?’ that heralds a surge of toe tapping approval mixed with faux Scottish accents singing along with a cockney twang.
Somewhere between his mumbling, an unruly beard and a thick Ayrshire accent the little that Neil has to say to the crowd is lost, indecipherable to many. But when you have songs that speak volume, does it really matter? As shocking bursts of guitar jolt against body jarring drum beats stillness seems to sweep around the arena, everyone holding the breathes knowingly as the spine tingling epicness of ‘Livings A Problem Because Everything Dies’ gains momentum. Part rock and roll, part religious act it is the power of this song that transfixes all, forcing everyone to give their undivided attention to the Ayrshire trio as Neils’s heart wrenchingly raw vocals entwine with the dual tour de force of twins Ben and James Johnston as their soaring harmonies engulf the crowd and render them powerless to the might of Biffy. Fittingly for a set that centred heavily around tracks from ‘Puzzle’, Biffy Clyro choose to end their set on with ‘Glitter And Trauma’, with funk tinged beats showing all that the history of Biffy is strewn with highly charged, passion packed tracks that pack a punch and whilst tonight the band played very much to their support act role, never threatening to usurp their touring buddies, for those new to the world of Biffy Clyro life just got a little louder, a touch darker and a hell of a lot more exciting. Let the “Mon the Biffy” chants commence.