The Future Teaches You To Be Alone

I got a very late offer of a ticket to see Manic Street Preachers at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester last Friday night- not the sort of offer to turn down. I missed Suede unfortunately, arriving at the gates to the venue at the exact moment Brett was on the lip of the stage,saying, 'thank you Manchester'. The Manics took to the stage at 9.15pm, the lights and projections in stark contrast to Manchester's slate grey skies, and powered into their calling card, You Love Us (a little affected by a few sound issues for the first few songs, 60% of it being James' Les Paul guitar solos and the bottom end a dull thud). Everything Must Go and Motorcycle Emptiness followed, a strong opening 1- 2- 3, the latter with the young Manics from the song's video projected behind them. James introduces their cover of Suicide Is Painless (Theme From Mash) with the remark that 'this is one of the most depressing cover versions of all time', but the mood is jubilant, the crowd and band reflecting a celebration of the music back at each other.  

The Anchoress joins them on stage on vocals for Little Baby Nothing, a song with the some of the 'best lyrics Richie wrote', Nicky Wire tells us. The sound issues have been sorted, and the set thunders along- Your Love Alone Is Not Enough, Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier and Walk Me To The Bridge all stand out. In the middle of the set they play A Design For Life, a song that never loses its power or appeal. James' voice is a roar, the projections play loops of footage from the 80s- England fans and striking miners- and the communal melancholy of the lyrics, 'We don't talk about love/ We only wanna get drunk', still glorious all these years later. 

A Design For Life 

It's followed by La Tristessa Durera (Scream To A Sigh), the guitars sounding huge, a wall of mid- 90s indie- metal. Kevin Carter is as good as anything played tonight, the staccato guitar riff and harrowing subject matter of the lyrics a strange fit in some ways for an outdoor, mini- stadium gig. The Manics never wrote about fluff. When the words Culture, Alienation, Boredom and Despair appear on the screen behind them in letters ten feet high, there's another wonderful moment of dissonance- a band so loved by their audience and so warm towards their fans, playing to thousands. This isn't alienation and despair, it's community and love. They finish with If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, another outsider anthem, another heart on sleeve song, anti- fascism, Spanish bombs and A Homage To Catalonia all wrapped up in the Manic's widescreen indie- rock.