Suede – Live in the O2 Academy, Glasgow

Words; The Ginger Quiff All Photos: Stuart Westwood (www.stuartwestwoodphotography.co,uk)

Could there be a better way of spending a dreich Tuesday night in Glasgow than watching one of the best live bands in the country (world?) entertain a fervent and captivated sold out Glasgow crowd? I think not, and I’m sure another satiated 2499 gig goers would voice their agreement having just witnessed a superlative performance, so transcendent it will be nigh on impossible to surpass this year. Any year …

I first saw Suede live in King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in October 1992, a performance that left me gobsmacked, in no small way impacted by the antics of their engaging frontman, not just an extraordinary vocalist but a performer in the truest sense of the word. Some front people change over the years, the effervescence of youth left behind and a more reserved version of themselves gracing the stage as the years pass by. Not so Brett Anderson. It is hard to tear your eyes away from the exuberant display of sheer visceral energy and passion on display from the lithe and ever youthful singer. Just watching his performance exhausted me, at the same time filling me with a sense of boundless ebullience.

Many of the things that bring joy and pleasure seem to get better with age. Whisky, wine, your favourite denims, friendships, cheese, trees and your best kicked in leather boots to name a few. Add to that list – live gigs from Suede. Since that first gig in ‘92, I’ve seen the band live many times over the years, in many different venues. I believe they get better each time I see them. This gig was no exception. A gig that will live long in the memory. What is most surprising is that I was a bit reticent at the start of the evening as the gig was in the, proclaimed by many including myself, worst venue in Glasgow. However, any sound problems I was worried about did not transpire with the band sounding epic as their music filled the high ceilinged room, a resounding and triumphant sound, as raucous and raw as it was refined and note perfect, Brett’s vocal crisp and clear, brim-full of unbridled fervour and emotion.

From the off and to the strains of the call to arms that is Shut Off Your Brain and Yell from the triumphant album Autofiction, Anderson stalked the Academy stage like a man possessed . He has a suave elegance that has never left him since the early 90s, and a youthful exuberance that surely indicates a portrait in the attic.. the only break from prowling the stage, bouncing and spinning like a whirling dervish came during quieter moments like the epic Flytipping and the stripped down performance of Wild Ones, just Brett and an acoustic guitar and a few jokes about his chord progressions.

The set was culled from across the bands illustrious career, heavily drawn from the latest long player Autofiction and their classic debut. Every song was played by the band as of their lives depended on it. Richard providing the guitar hero poses as he set the place alight with fiery riffs and licks, Neil, coolness personified as usual on guitar and keys, Mat the bass hero providing a studied unfaltering demonstration of precision while Simon brought the thunder as the unwavering powerhouse on drums.

As the strains of the second of their opening brace from Autofiction, Personality Disorder, faded, it was apparent that this was going to be a special performance. The new songs sounding like old favourites already, such was the reaction of the packed Academy crowd. Talking of old favourites, it wasn’t long before the band burst into debut single The Drowners with Brett making his now expected foray into the crowd, stage left, where the Insatiable Ones gather. The scene was set for a night that was in the main, a high octane pedal to the metal thrill ride. The opening bars of each song bringing a surge of joyful emotion and an increased heart rate. Aside from the dizzying joy, personally it was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster too. Having been reminded constantly in the last week, with all the Mothers Day advertising, that my I lost my own Mum late last year, it became quickly apparent that the rawness of my feelings were still close to the surface as Brett sang She Still Leads Me On, his tribute to his own mother, the emotion of the delivery brought a lump to my throat while filling my tear ducts.

Raw emotion aside, this gig was a celebration of all that is good in the world of music. Fan (and personal) favourite Animal Nitrate came early on in the set, while favourite new songs like 15 Again and That Boy in the Stage stood shoulder to shoulder with the hits like Trash and Metal Mickey, the glam stomp of Can’t Get Enough and more recent classics such as It Starts and Ends With You, every release this band makes stuns the listener with the sheer quality of songs and musicianship, that feeling is multiplied tenfold in the live arena. The throng of rapt Suede fans were in good voice thoughout too, chanting along to the rabble rousing lyrics in the likes of the aforementioned Trash, a song of unity for the disaffected.

I’m sure like me, every person of a certain age (over 50…just saying) felt a renewed surge of youth as the band launched into So Young, before the crashing euphoria of Metal Mickey filled the room then finally ending their set with the somehow apt New Generation, as I sat there with my daughter, the first gig we’d attended together (The Vamps, Ariana Grande and their ilk when she was a wean don’t count…).

Of course this wasn’t the end. The end of the evening couldn’t have been anything other than The Beautiful Ones, the anthem that united everyone in the room as we sang in unison, euphoria hitting fever pitch, high on emotion rather than diesel and gasoline, psycho for Brett, Neil, Matt, Richard and Simon, every one of us shaking our bits to the hits. Here we came, and here we go … tonight we were ALL the beautiful ones … and as we dispersed into the cold miserable Glasgow gloom, there was a warm glow in all our hearts and a wide grin on all our faces, all of us 15 Again.