Manic Street Preachers

Although gigs often kick off late, seven weeks is perhaps a little excessive. The original date was postponed due to singer James Dean Bradfield’s laryngitis but, never a band to willingly let down fans, tickets remained valid for the rescheduled date and even the support act were able to accommodate.

And as support acts go, British Sea Power did a decent enough job. Their brand of multi-instrument crescendo-heavy indie rock may not have won over many new fans, but they played a tight set with some appreciative recognition for ‘Waving Flags’ and ‘No Lucifer’ from 2008’s Mercury-nominated _Do You Like Rock Music?_ There’s always alot going on with BSP, yet it can all seem a little sterile. However, credit to the guy who can play cornet and keyboard simultaneously. Skills.

The Manic Street Preachers offer a little more in terms of visual excitement, with a set inhabited by mirrored mannequins and Nicky Wire’s obligatory feather boa mike stand. Kicking off with a rabble-rousing ‘You Love Us’, the Manics’ set covered an array of early and newer material, as well as a selection of non-album tracks. Because of a mainly middle-aged crowd, men and women who had grown up with the band, it was the older tracks that got the biggest reception, particularly ‘Faster’ from _The Holy Bible_, and four tracks from 1996’s _Everything Must Go_. But songs from this year’s _Postcards from a Young Man_, while not so raucously received, sound as good live as the old classics, even if some of their depth without the extra instruments.


Nicky Wire, the most immediately recognisable member of the band, exemplifies why they are still going strong after so many years. His enthusiasm and energy remain undiminished, as he continues to whip up the crowd and mouth along with the words as Bradfield sings. Bradfield’s voice, despite the recent illness, is still incredible, by turns passionate, poignant and still punk. He holds the stage alone at one point, the rest of the band leaving him and his guitar to run through ‘You Stole the Sun from my Heart’ and a seasonal cover of ‘Last Christmas’. It’s testament to the strength of his voice and the band’s back catalogue that even the quieter songs like ‘Ocean Spray’ are as effective live as the more energetic standards like ‘Motown Junk’.

Finishing with the crowd-pleasing ‘A Design for Life’, the Manics leave a satisfied audience overall. However, even for a band who have so many songs to choose from, it seems unusual for no songs from 2009’s _Journal for Plague Lovers_ to have been played. It may not have been single-heavy but it deserves far more than to be ignored altogether. Perhaps if the Manics want to keep going for another decade, a few more concessions to the new generation of fans could help provide another commercial coming for Wales’s finest.