« Biffy Clyro at Belsonic, Custom House Square, Belfast, August 17, 2014 »

One of the highlights of a recent visit to Scotland was the chance to jump over to Belfast to catch Biffy Clyro at Belsonic. The Scottish rock trio is largely unknown in North America, and I was excited about the Northern Ireland gig because the Ayrshire lads are major festival and concert headliners in the UK. I was looking forward to the energy of a larger crowd in the same way I sometimes prefer the intimacy of a small club venue. My first live experience with this band came over a year ago, when they opened for Muse at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto: the setlist was too short, but the intensity of their performance and a recommendation from two people whose musical tastes I respect made me seek out their catalogue. Four album purchases later, they are in heavy rotation on my iPod. There is something orchestral and innovative in their song arrangements, a hybrid “prog rock meets metal and grunge” sound, and I can’t get enough of listening to them. You might say even obsessively so. I started to watch live footage on Youtube and marvelled at their command of large crowds, hoping one day I’d be in the middle of one. The 2014 Belsonic festival gave me the chance to see them in ideal outdoor numbers, along with 5000 other fans.

Loch Ryan before heading out to the open waters of the Irish Sea.

The weather had been ugly as we left Cairnryan that morning; I am not too proud to admit that the swell of big waves during the Irish Sea crossing made me physically ill and that I arrived in Belfast in poor form. Nevertheless, we headed to Custom House Square for the outdoor event, bundled in long pants, hoodies, and waterproof gear to endure the elements. It is no exaggeration that my next trip to this region will include gloves,a scarf, and a hat. We settled about one hundred feet from the stage and off to the right-hand side, giving us a good view with a lot of personal space. Having spent the last 35 years going to general admission shows, I’m not one to relish being crushed up front, especially given that fans seem to have gotten taller and become obsessed with waving cell phones above their heads instead of actually watching the bands.

The Belsonic venue at Custom House Square in Belfast.

Little Matador opened the show with a short but reasonably good set. I’d not heard their music before, and found the songs enjoyable though not particularly memorable. They were followed by Twin Atlantic, whose music I’d been exposed to on local radio during our drives in Scotland the previous week. They were energetic and likeable. The crowd began to grow, the weather started to turn again for the worst, and as the sky darkened, the temperature plunged to 12C. Not exactly ideal for an outdoor summer concert, but I was determined not to let conditions dampen my enthusiasm for the impending arrival of Biffy Clyro.

With my new friend Lisa Marie on the left. Yes, named after that one.

They opened their set with a rousing rendition of “Different People”, the first track on their most recent album Opposites and a perfect example of the type of crescendo song they do so well. From there, they bounced us through “The Golden Rule” and “The Captain” from Only Revolutions, and the rest of the show largely came from these two most recent albums. Out of the 20 songs in the setlist, only 5 were from older releases: “57”, “All the Way Down: Prologue Chapter 1”, “Glitter and Trauma”, the intense “Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies”, and one of my personal favourites, “Who’s Got a Match?” I was disappointed that there wasn’t more material chosen from the exquisite Puzzle LP, especially “Folding Stars” and “Machines”, two beautiful numbers written by frontman Simon Neil about the loss of his mother; the poignant lyrics of these songs have touched me deeply for personal reasons, and to hear him perform them live would have been truly special. Perhaps at another point in time, I will get the opportunity.

Singing “Many of Horror” with 5000 people.

One the things that I love the most about this band is also what frustrated me because I live too far away to see them live repeatedly: they change their set lists from show to show, keeping their performances from getting stale and repetitive. I admire this greatly, but along with many omissions from Puzzle that I adore (maybe hoping to hear “Get Fucked Stud” was ambitious, but I would have happily settled for “Love Has a Diameter”), some of my favourite new tunes from Opposites were also excluded on this particular night: “Spanish Radio” (bagpipes and a mariachi band!), “The Thaw”, “The Fog”, “Skylight”, and the very beautiful “Opposite”, to name a few obvious ones. I was also crossing my fingers that “Know Your Quarry” would sneak in there, but alas, no. That said, so many great songs did make the final cut, including “The Rain”, the classic hits “Many of Horror” and “Biblical”, as well as the playful “Bubbles” and “Whorses”.

With each new number, the band played with greater energy, turning every moment into a singalong opportunity that was immediately accepted by eager fans. The only other time I’ve witnessed such word-for-word vocal devotion was at a Frank Turner gig that became my favourite show of 2013. In the middle of the same kind of enthusiastic, supportive crowd, it was easy to understand the magic of this trio: they give their all in every song, and work hard to engage every member of the audience. On top of that, their years of touring have made them competent musicians and have given them a tightness as an ensemble that can only come from hours and hours of practice together.

Simon Neil doing what he does best.

If I could be granted one wish, it would be for North American rock fans to discover this band in large enough numbers to send them touring here on a major scale: given their penchant for varied setlists, the only way I could have my fill of favourite tunes in megadoses would be to follow them from show to show at nearby venues. In the interim, the solution is to turn to Youtube for my live fix.