Manics / Suede UK Co-Headline Tour 2024

[rpmacmurphy]

Rather enjoyed last night although getting to the venue was a pig what with the big hill to
climb and getting out saw various fans aimlessly wandering about in the semi dark seeking
trains and buses.

I did like the queuing system administered by one of the Suede fans that was overseen by security and let the early birders let in slightly early to scramble for the front row, I jogged as fast as dignity would allow and got barrier stage left

As for the show itself I felt MSP where good but I found it hard to get into it as much as I'd have liked as my creaking body wanted stern words with me - hardly the bands fault

Got to give Suede credit - they knocked it over the boundary and seemed really up for it !!

[The Crow]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

Stop lying, I bet you were at the front row frothing at the mouth bursting with joy when the the sample for YSTSFMH started playing. We know what you're like!

You got me! I started queuing from last week as well to be at the barrier

[amay]

I thought they were on markedly good form in London - the sunshine helped I think! Overall a great show and they seemed happy to be there. I've really enjoyed seeing Suede but I think I will be glad to get back to a full Manics crowd - some of their fans were nice but a lot of them were particularly...humourless. And coming from a Manics fan that's quite a comment lol

[Rammstein]

Originally Posted by Europa Gluten Free

I'm trying to still work out what is the great benefit to both bands in doing these co-headlining shows? Obviously it must be economics, but I'm still wondering. Is it just splitting costs - such as venues, roadies etc?

I tend to agree on the purpose of this tour, especially for the Manics, its all about personal opinion but it seems like much has been gained for Suede on these co-headlining tours and very little, if even damaging for the Manics. It seems they have been used as a benchmark to judge how brilliant and energetic Brett Anderson has been and how it seems the Manics have plodded along almost apologetically with sound issues and illness. I have seen so many posts saying "Suede were better" "Manics are normally brilliant live but seemed off it", "I came for the Manics but Suede won me over", "it was Suede's night tonight" etc and have wondered what has been the benefit for the Manics side of things from this tour. Out of pure interest, I have followed the live feed on Twitter every night to gauge opinion and it seems to have followed this rhetoric every night, even reviews online say similar.

I would be curious to see if the Manics gained any new fans. I can completely see the benefit from the Suede camp even before the US tour began and my only thought could be the band wanting to reminisce with old touring friends? I don't mind Suede but it will be nice to have the Manics as their own entity again and not a bench mark to how much Suede have upped their game for this tour, and gained new fans, dare I even say at the expense of the Manics?

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Agree with all of that. Don't think they shared roadies though, but I suspect they will have made more money doing this tour rather than doing a handful of summer festivals (and they only did two of the biggest festivals last year, so wouldn't have been invited back this year), where they would have to share the ticket sales with more acts. This whole 'co-headline tour' thing has just become another marketing gimmick, quite a few other bands have been doing them as well for the nostalgia factor.

I almost felt like we were intruding on a Suede tour at times, rather than it being a co-headline tour. Most of the hardcore fans down the front were there for Suede and I know some of the regular Manics queuers were put off this whole set-up and gave it a wide berth. Even I sacrificed barrier for the Cardiff dates because Brett Anderson's touchy feely frontman style with the crowd was actually a deal breaker and made me feel too uncomfortable to put myself in that situation again after Llangollen.

As I said earlier in the thread, just a clash of two bands with very different sounds, styles and approaches to live performances for me. Not even comparable really, but because they were put on the same stage one after the other and the tour was sold on the premise that there are significant ties between the two bands, it invited comparison. And the press and more casual fans seemed to decide that because Brett throws himself around a lot on stage and gets intimate with the crowd that equals a "better performance" completely ignoring the fact he doesn't play an instrument whereas obviously, James does. It's such a strange comparison to me and I don't see why one is deemed better than the other. Brett has more freedom to do that kind of thing, whereas arguably, James carries a more significant weight of the gig on his shoulders.

Honestly, the whole thing just made me feel strangely protective of the Manics and I've gone from feeling pretty indifferent over Suede to never wanting to see them again even though there wasn't actually anything wrong with the way they sounded

Originally Posted by LA ex

Random question - what's going on with James' guitars this tour. In Manchester he changed his guitar after the intro to MASH, last night he did the same halfway though ADFL (which I'm presuming were unplanned) and he seemed to have to retune four or five times mid song which I can't remember noticing him doing before. New guitar tech or something else wiesrd happening?

Originally Posted by someone, somewhere, soon

Could be the switch from guitars being stored somewhere warmer to them coming onto a colder outdoor stage - a change in temps like that could be causing the strings to contract, pulling them out of tune.

James had the same guitar tech as usual on this tour, so don't think that was the reason. But I definitely think the bad weather played a part. I noticed at Leeds there were protective covers on all the equipment until about 10 minutes before they came on stage, which I assume was to guard from the elements.

[Scarecrow]

I'd be inclined to agree with the theory that this tour was a business decision. The two touring together overseas giving fans a rare chance to see either live made sense, and in a time of nostalgia package tours it wouldn't surprise me if promoters saw an obvious summer draw in Britain, even though both bands could have done their own separate tours.

I will hold my hands up and admit I've been guilty of coming out thinking 'I enjoyed Suede more'. Manics historically had the bigger impact on my life and have been a bigger draw for me, but Suede are hitting the right notes for me these days, not necessarily due to Brett's energy but artistically/on record and with their tight unpredictable live performances. That said, I loved the Manics gigs too, very celebratory and great atmospheres with a few welcome surprises, so no complaints from me. The tour was convenient as I love both bands.

[denton83]

I went to the Alexandra Palace gig on Thursday. It was so hot and what a killer of a hill you have to walk up to get to the venue. Both bands were fantastic. The Manics were on great form and Suede were fantastic too.

The next day i headed to Margate and had some fish and chips on the beach before heading to queue up at dreamland. I did find it weird queuing in an allyway, dodging cars. Thank you to those handing out water in the queue. I got chatting in the queue to lovely people. I managed to get near the front. The Manics again were fantastic. During Suede it got a bit pushy and i ended up behind two extremly tall girls ( i am a short arse) who had their arms in the air during the whole set so it was very hard to see but i did still enjoy it.

It's going to be a bit of a come down now. I have enjoyed this tour.

[LA ex]

It is interesting the response to people saying they enjoyed Suede more, with Brett's energy on stage being a key factor. I first saw Suede five years ago and the Leeds/Manchester shows were the eighth and ninth times I'd seen them live. Whilst I was initially blown away I'm now feeling a bit numb to seeing Brett go through the same motions every show.

I do think that the Manics missed a trick with their setlists... popular singles like Motown Junk, Faster, Australia, Masses, Found that Soul or Stay Beautiful could have been thrown in and seen them out rock Suede easily.