What: Manic Street Preachers
Where: King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
When: Feb 18th 2010
Reviewed by: Gareth Fraser

Much has been written over the years about both the Manic Street Preachers, and Glasgow’s King Tut’s venue. Tonight saw the two UK legends come together for the first time since 1991 to celebrate the latter’s 20th Birthday.

This was very much a hot ticket event, and though some may argue the Manics are past their peak, internet prices were commanding upwards of £400 for one of the 150 pairs of tickets for this show. Only the three remaining original members were present tonight, no additional guitarists or keyboard players were there which led to the Manics trademark grandiose sounds being stripped back, giving way to the original angry venom, raw guitars, and more screaming lyrics of a band which once threatened to release singles in sandpaper sleeves to scratch the records they were placed beside. Rather aptly, the three-piece started the set with ‘Strip It Down’.

The set list was very varied, showcasing songs from every album (excepting Lifeblood) and whilst some of the big singles were there, there was also a welcome littering of lost gems. The aforementioned ‘Strip It Down’ and b-side ‘Donkeys’ made rare appearances, as did full band versions of ‘This is Yesterday’ and ‘Little Baby Nothing’; two songs which usually only appear in James’ solo acoustic section. Slightly surprising was the rapturous welcome recent single, ‘Jackie Collins Existential Question Time” received. In reality a testament to a band which, despite continuing media disregard, is still producing songs of a standard which equals their previous best. The band seemed to love playing in such a small, sweaty venue once again, and the adrenaline from the crowd was rubbing off on the band, or perhaps it was the other way around…

Either way, as the show went on, song after song seemed to get rockier, the crowd a little wilder, the vocals a little more raw than before. This culminated in a very raw, distortion heavy version of ‘A Design for Life’ played without its trademark strings. It was almost impossible to hear the band over the crowd singing word for word, a true moment of euphoria for the 303 people in that sweaty room.

The Manics famously have only ever played an encore once - for Cuba’s Fidel Castro. 20th Birthday of the venue or not, the show was over. The band left the crowd baying for more; with ‘Faster’ being the song title shouted the most after the band’s departure. Given the heavy sound of tonight’s set it would have been phenomenal. Perhaps it will be played in the December tour promised from the stage tonight? Certainly the demand for the tour should remain, and hopefully the re-invigorated stripped down sound will be there too.

Set List
Strip It Down
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Motorcycle Emptiness
From Despair To Where
Peeled Apples
This Is Yesterday
Kevin Carter
Tsunami
Found That Soul
Little Baby Nothing
Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
Donkeys (acoustic)
The Everlasting (acoustic)
You Love Us
No Surface All Feeling
The Masses Against the Classes
All or Nothing / Motown Junk
A Design For Life

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