Gig Review:  BIFFY CLYRO  Cambridge Junction – 24th May 2007
Support: Your Codename is:Milo and Frank Turner

Reviewer: Mark Loraine

First off an apology in that due to a delayed flight and the basic inability of my orange be-suited friends from a certain airline to decide where bags should arrive to be rejoined with their owners, I missed Frank Turner. By all accounts he was very good and I will try and catch up with him in another life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Your Codename is:Milo by Mark Loraine

What I did manage to get to the gig in time to see was the latest batch of likely lads from the North East, YCNIM (I am shortening this right from the start – great name, ball ache to write down !). Being of a North East persuasion myself I have to admit to a certain amount of bias when it comes to the region as I think we have produced many a class act in the past – I refer you to Sugarstone ( www.sugarstone.net) as one you may have missed and YCNIM are no exception.

I spent the first three songs taking pictures so didn’t have much spare attention to pay to listening much first off, but having got the piccies done with, I turned to the serious business of listening to the band and was genuinely amazed at the level of wit, verve and energy they put into their performances here tonight – it was nothing short of maniacal ! From a statuette of the late, great Freddie Mercury presiding over the scene, to a new trademark fashion statement of the year in the form of a pair of spectacles borrowed from either “Brains” from Thunderbirds or the long lived “The Toy Dolls” – (from the North East as well don’t you know) these chaps certainly put on a show that was more balls to the wall than I have seen in a long, long time.

Their musical ethos is very eclectic, typified by the material from their “print is dead” collaborations and it certainly shows in their live act. If you see only one band this year, make sure it is these guys ‘cos their music hits you right where it matters !

Biffy Clyro however were , as far as I am concerned, a different kettle of the old proverbial fish. There is absolutely no doubt they are superb musicians and their songcraft and skill in performance is beyond question, but they seem to find it a tad difficult to tie down a musical direction. From serious power tracks that reminded me of the sub-pop era of olden day Seattle to more “prog-rock” instrumentations that Genesis would be proud of (OK Genesis is pushing it a bit !) I really felt they perhaps seemed to be trying to cover more ground than they really needed to. Put mildly they should ditch the latter, develop the former and stick to that as their raison d’etre. Having said that, what do I know ? the crowd absolutely adored them from start to finish and I am sure any band that can secure a support slot with the mighty Muse doesn’t need a no-mark from the North East telling them how it should be ! Oh and on a last note, Simon Neil has to be one of the scariest men in rock with his demonical stare, magnificent tattoos and an ability to scare the bejesus out of you – not a man I would like to get on the wrong side of – seriously !

Biffy Clyro by Mark Loraine

All in all, I reckon I will give the new album a listen and see from there but for tonight, they didn’t set me on fire although they tried hard, damn hard.
 

Mark Loraine