BIFFY CLYRO
‘T ERE ARE
S GS I'M
N SURE WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PLAY LIVE. NOT YET ANYWAY'
one of our favourite hands full stop. These guys couldn‘t have a sunnier, more enthusiastic attitude towards this life and of course there‘s the guns-cocked majesty of their songs to boot.‘ This is not the first time The List has encountered Biffy Clyro. Back in 2002 we travelled to Kilmamoek to meet the boys at their rehearsal space: an almost derelict YMCA. The room was so small that equipment had to be lifted out of the room so anyone other than the band could fit in. The List was treated to a brief flash of the band running through their set; bass, drums. guitar and three harmonious vocals fused together like nothing we’d ever heard before. We were blown away. seated among the overflowing ashtrays. admiring FHM posters on the walls. Five years on. standing at the side of the stage at the Vega. the beautifully dog—eared. Barrowland- esque venue for tonight‘s show. watching Biffy surge through their 40 minutes of kinetic. frenetic. majestic rock shapes. it becomes apparent that time. money and hard earned experience has made them bigger. better and more organised. but the beating heart of the band. the chemistry. remains. They rock. they pop. they thrash. they swell. they swoop. Even some of the fanatical Bloc Party faithful seem moved. Post—show. standing in the band’s scarlet dressing room — which in truth is more a dressing cupboard — we hear Kele Okereke from Bloc Party doing his operatic vocal warm up exercises. Simon Neil. meanwhile. has lost his voice after his ferocious performance tonight and is sworn to silence by his tour manager for 30 minutes. He stands just inside the door of his cupboard. a sheet of A4 in his hand with an explanation for his being mute. dripping sweat quietly onto the red painted floor. Elsewhere. the post-gig comedown ritual for the brothers Johnston involves regaling us with tales of meeting Watford punks and true Biffy fans Gallows (‘they want to tattoo us when we go on tour togetherl‘). watching footage of Rage Against the Machine live at Coachella Festival on YouTube (‘they‘ve still got it!’) and taking tums riding around on
24 May—‘7 Jun 2007 THE LIST 1'!