Manic Street Preachers / Mogwai
Stoke Trentham Gardens
As the Dyson Tour 98 draws to a close the Manic Street Preachers again find themselves doing the kind of shows that everyone wants them to do. Despite the more mature (some might say middle-aged) sound of 'This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours', the set still contains all the anthems everyone knows and loves, the cult of Richey is still evident and so are the feather boas. It seems very little has changed.
Mogwai's brand of Telecaster-led progressive art rock sadly wins them few friends. Cries of "Fuck Off" and "Mogwai are shit" can be heard above the quiet interludes with the entire tiara clad front row giving two fingered salutes. They seem oblivious to the fact that there are four Scotsmen on stage playing out of their skins and giving a sensational performance. Proof, if ever needed that Mogwai are a great live band but supporting the Manics was perhaps a bad idea.
After an unnecessary gap of forty five minutes the Manics arrive - James Dean Bradfield looking like he ate all the pies once again, Nicky Wire assuming his position wearing his endearingly cheeky grin and Sean Moore being the typical drummer, settling behind his kit without anyone noticing. 'If You Tolerate This....' is the predictable opener followed by 'Australia' and 'Faster', which is consistently the best song in the set. All the old favourites are still here - 'Stay Beautiful', 'Motown Junk', 'Motorcycle Emptiness' - even 'Yes' is still included.
The phrase of the night is low key. No extras here - no trumpet solo in Kevin Carter, a one song acoustic set, no 'Lust For Life'-esque epilogue at the end of 'You Love Us and most disappointingly of all, no encore. The Manics rarely turn out a bad performance and tonight is no exception, but there is an air of unwillingness to try the new songs - only 'Tsunami', 'The Everlasting' and 'You Stole The Sun From My Heart' are played, all of which are surefire crowd pleasers. Perhaps the upcoming arena tour will see some new live territory being explored.
