‘Tis the season to be hungover as a doggy, and tonight, James Dean Bradfield is feeling particularly doglike. Frankly, who can blame the guy? The Manic Street Preachers are midway though a run of Holy Bible anniversary shows that are uniting fans and press alike in a huge puddle of drool. The band are white hot once again; I’d drink a mulled wine to that.
Perhaps as a result of JDB’s croaky brain however, tonight’s show doesn’t kick off so easily. The pre-match tension builds nicely to a techno mix of ‘Faster’, but the compressed air feels surprisingly hissing by the time ‘Yes’ has finished. Stripped back and raw with drums to the fore, the band should feel leaner.
Who knows, but we can say the bum note is a freak occurrence. Indeed, the atmosphere is set to rocket: ‘Of Walking Abortion’ feels like an Egyptian riot siren, ‘Revol’ is bathed in red light and suitably firey, while ‘Faster’ is lit up with white light and played as tightly as a duck’s beak. Different crowd members sing different strands of lyrics: everything here means something to someone.
“I’ve left my fucking make up bag at home,” moans Nicky, before adding that there was some debate during the album’s inception over whether to include the slower, more melancholy ‘This Is Yesterday’. However: “Thank god we did or I’d be having a f*cking heart attack by now!” The track is a highlight of the night, second perhaps to the hips, transcendence and Egyptian riffage of ‘Die in the Summertime’. The Holy Bible set culminates with ‘PCP’, which cracks open the room and feels as catchily raw as anything off Nevermind the Bollocks.
And that’s basically it. Nicky comes back on for the hits encore looking a little like Richard Briars in (1987 Doctor Who episode) Paradise Towers, and the hits they are played. The only mystery that remains is this: how did Sean suddenly become the best looking member of the band?!
Featured Photograph: Ross Gilmore/Redferns via Getty Images
