Biffy Clyro @ Garage, London

Biffy Clyro

This evening was a little bit of a let down – not only were Serafin announced as the warm-up act only the day before (hence, we didn’t know, and missed them) but Tetra Splendour were unable to play, due to illness. Tetra Splendour were replaced by a band called Tenner. They have talent. Their guitarist is skilful, their bassist has all the right moves. But their shining star is the vocalist. A very strong voice and an attitude to go with it.

They played in the well-known and well-loved style of grunge-rock, with all the usual guitar, bass, drums and vox. Unfortunately, they played a somewhat mediocre set, going from a bad song to an acceptable one and back again, always fluctuating between the two and never sustaining the good vibe they so nearly had in their hands for long enough. In all honesty it was a slight relief when they left the stage, and the cheer from the crowd at the end of the set was tinged with sarcasm.

Then came the moment we had all been waiting for. Biffy Clyro came on stage. Biffy Clyro are a three-piece from Kilmarnock and Ayr in Scotland, and they were certainly ready to rock this evening. As they came onstage, vocalist and lead guitarist Simon was sweating almost before the lights hit his face. The crowd went wild. There was moshing almost all the way through the set which ranged from grunge to rock to punk to quiet, melodic emo.

The atmosphere was almost electric, as fans and new converts alike were mesmerised by the talent and the way in which Biffy Clyro swapped effortlessly between pop-rock songs with punk elements like current single 57 and tinkly, pretty tunes like Hope For An Angel.

About half way through the set, we heard someone in the crowd yelling “Kilmarnock!” and “Clyro Me!” came the cry from behind – and we turned, only to be faced with Didz and Tom from The Cooper Temple Clause, who were there along with the rest of the band and (apparently) a couple of members of Vex Red and the Llama Farmers. Just the fact that people like this are showing up to see Biffy Clyro speaks volumes. These boys are going places, and no mistake.