Biffy Clyro, The Bronx - Bristol Academy - 15/1/07
4/5
By: Jacob Dunkley
Lets face it, when faced with the prospect of either seeing I Am Ghost or staying in the lovely bar we'd found ourselves in this evening, only one option seemed open to us. Having listened to the opening band a few days previously, I decided that watching a poor man's Aiden (who in turn are a poor man's A.F.I.) was even more likely to give me a headache than the mixture of ale and black Sambuca I was consuming.
Unfortunately, arriving as The Audition went on proved more expensive than anticipated as the drinks in the Bristol Academy were far pricier than expected. The few songs we caught echoed any of the bands on Fuelled by Ramen (P!ATD, Fall Out Boy etc.) and alas did nothing for me. Like so many others, The Audition are fine at what they do, yet work such as theirs has been heard over and over again, and other, similar bands write better songs.
The Bronx however thankfully sound nothing like the previous bands. They've no intention of sounding anything like the opening acts and, despite the singer's damaged knee, pounded through a half-hour set that was nothing short of spectacular. Bands, please take note - just don't play more than half an hour if you're a support band aiming to really blow away those watching you. Perhaps being a fan since the early days leads to some bias, but right now The Bronx can do no wrong. Live they demonstrate just how more adventurous their second album was than their first, with newer songs like 'Shitty Future' getting an excellent response alongside classics like 'False Alarm' and 'They Will Kill Us All'.
"Mon the Biffy!" - Now, what on earth does that mean? Please, can someone tell me?
If any band truly deserves its cult following it is this band. Biffy Clyro have worked relentlessly touring and releasing album after album, finally ending up on a major label after all these years. So what has changed about them? Nothing - and that's the best thing. Their new songs still have the same complexity and oddities that made us all love them all those years ago. Of the new ones, 'Semi-Mental' stands out as the best of the bunch played in a set that, although slightly odd, seemed to keep most people happy, picking on most of the singles from the three previous albums and even pulling in the close to 7 minute epic of 'All The Way Down', which I think was the only real weak link.
To utilise a bad Biffy related pun, they were far more glitter than trauma tonight. Bring on that new album.
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