In early May me and 3 friends got on a train headed for London Victoria, from there we were to get the tube to Hammersmith and that night witness 'The Biff' in all their glory. But, it was not the case, as upon reaching Gatwick airport we heard those immortal words: 'everyone, i left the tickets at the station'. It's not all bad though, i made the culprit buy me some dinner.
Still, that is quite annoying, so naturally, when i was at Glastonbury and heard the rumour that Biffy were to play a special guest slot on The Park stage on saturday night, i just had to get there, and thankfully they weren't just rumours (Chemical Brothers at the Stonebridge Bar, was a strong one. Somehow). What followed was a sweaty, injury filled 7 song set filled with some of the band's biggest hits, but it only left me wanting more. So when Itunes announced that Biffy Clyro were due to play the finale of their festival season at the roundhouse i knew i had to be there. After losing out on tickets for any of the gigs, every week, my chances were running low, but as that last glimmer of hope, Biffy started posting competitions for the last sets of tickets for the gig, and thankfully - to UK Under Current - i won tickets, and with the support turning out to be the much hyped Pulled Apart by Horses, i was just in the best of luck.
'Surely the greatest live band in Britain' says The Observer about Pulled Apart by Horses, so i was pretty hopeful about them. The Observer was not wrong. Maybe not the greatest live band in the UK, but these guys sure can play. Both lead singer/guitar Tom Hudson and lead guitar James Brown jump into the crowd at various occasions during the set, they similarly share a love for standing on top of 5ft amps and whipping out a hypnotic guitar solo. Favourites 'High Five, Swan Dive, Nose Dive' (preceded by high-fiving your neighbour, naturally), 'I punched a Lion in the Throat' and 'Hey Buddy' go down a storm, and when these guys leave the stage an air of awe lingers around the crowd as they haven't just played a gig, they have played a show.
As Zane Lowe put at the end of the original broadcast of Biffy's 'That Golden Rule': 'Terrifying!, is that what you wanted, Biffy Clyro fans, is that what you've been hoping for all week all day'. And it was everything i'd been hoping for, at Glastonbury it was still light and too hot and there was no real light show, but here, under a roof, with a light system and a relatively cool room, 'That Golden Rule' was absolutely astonishing. Followed by the light/sound-synchronized 'Living is a Problem' this opening duo of belters set the mood for the night, this crowd was definitely in store for something incredible. Highlights from 2007 album 'Puzzle' includes a monumental '9/15ths', a crowd pleasing 'Who's got a match' and my personal highlight of the night, an emotional solo acoustic version of 'Machines' from lead singer Simon Neill. 'Mountains' the song that got Biffy into the top 10 in the summer of 2008 brings a strong sing along as does 2009 album 'Only Revolutions' single 'Many of Horror'. Not to be outdone by their support band, members of the band lept down stage to see the fans, as well as facing the death defying amp-climb solo. Closing with an encore of 'Cloud of Stink' and the gigantic 'The Captain', these 3 boys from Kilmarnock leave us with torn shirts, trampled feet but most of all, the need to see them do it all again.
Definitely two of the most exciting bands in Great Britain, it's no surprise that Biffy Clyro have sold out arena dates in the winter. As for Pulled Apart by Horses, they're live shows will be picking up so much buzz you won't be able to miss them.
