Friday 08/02/08 Biffy Clyro @ Carling Academy, Liverpool

Walking out on stage to a packed out Liverpool Carling Academy with a quick nod, fresh from their signing that saw punters queuing right up the street, Biffy Clyro triumphantly kick started their now-to-be-infamous gig with the off kilter notes of ‘Saturday Superhouse’ and laid waste the entire building. It was beautifully violent and almost breathtaking to see such an amazing band return to our stages – the punters in united appreciation by turning the entire floor into one huge mosh pit yet keeping enough breath to sing along to every word… it was clear from the first few seconds that this was going to be a gig that all involved would remember.
 
With their newest offering in the form of ‘Puzzle’ spurring their notoriety as a hard act to follow and a recording powerhouse, the band’s setlist was catering to the fans and newcomers alike easily as it played out like a live “Greatest Hits”. With three singles from Puzzle making an obligatory appearance, the band had four albums worth of material to trawl through and a hell of a lot of loyal fans to help them do it.

There was not one low moment nor any room for niceties except for an occasional “Thank You” or “Hello Liverpool” just great tunes in the way of the killer ‘Justboy’, ‘Christopher’s River’ and the immense ‘Toys.Toys.Toys’ to name a few. The onslaught was unrelenting and blissfully powerful, as the room bulged with punters singing along to every word coming out of Simon Neil’s mouth and going crazy to the likes of ‘Get ****ed Stud’ and the new single ‘Who’s Got A Match?’, to which the band seemed to be feeding off of the appreciative crowd thus eventually tallying up 19 songs with feverish enthusiasm despite the immense heat in the venue.
 
With a beautiful solo encore rendition of ‘Machines’, Neil had the crowd in the palm of his hand, entranced and eager to help him sing out every word in an almost Dashboard Confessional cooperative way, echoing the chorus and the back up vocals as if it had been rehearsed by the numbers here tonight.
 
The grand finale culminating in a three track assault with ‘Glitter and Trauma’, ‘As Dust Dances’ and ‘57’, Biffy left us all in awe and reaffirming just how a live band should perform, as a band with such an avid fan base and strong back catalogue such as theirs had no way of ever disappointing us, ever hinting at the fact they’re not far off of world domination. Brilliant, just brilliant.