Support tonight is provided by Californian pop-punkers The Matches and Manchester's own Nine Black Alps. The Matches, it would seem, worked their way onto the bill by being nice to the Biff during a recent US tour. Their generic music, combined with a seriously muddy sound setup, endears them to very few in the audience, least of all the bearded middle-aged man next to me at the bar. "I can't believe Biffy actually approved this" he mutters, looking a lot like Santa in a Saxon t-shirt. Nine Black Alps, on the other hand, seem to have the whole support-band thing down to a fine art. The Mancunians spend little time interacting with the crowd, opting instead to provide one top quality grunge tune after another, perfect for appreciative head bobbing.
After what seems like an age, Ayshire's finest take to the stage. Wasting no time, they plow straight into "Saturday Superhouse", causing a near riot in the audience. After a few songs, the crowd apears to collectively agree that pushing and shoving at this extreme level, as fun as it may be, will not allow for the undivided attention deserved by Biffy, and things begin to simmer down.
A good mix of Biffy's material is played tonight, with fairly even distribution between the band's 4 albums (slightly more songs from Puzzle are played, but then it is the Puzzle tour). Every song provokes a manic reaction and devoted singalong the crowd. The only point Simon & Co come close to slipping is during 9/15ths, mainly because the song simply doesn't work without the choral backing it enjoys on Puzzle. The highlight of the night is, without a doubt, the closing song, 57. Many of the band's oldest and most dedicated fans were most likely in attendance, and the roof is truly raised in appreciation a classic Biffy tune.
Playing the Barras is usually as close as Biffy get to a hometown show these days, and despite the fact that tonight was their 3rd visit to the venue in less than a year, the hall is packed and the fans are as ecstatic and devoted as always.
The Matches: 6/10
Nine Black Alps: 8/10
Biffy Clyro: 9/10
