Manics / Suede UK Co-Headline Tour 2024

[Son of Stopped]

Maybe one of their studio jokes is listening back to tracks and giggling back "The fuck we'll ever do that one live!". And long may that continue says I.

[Marconi Delorian]

They really threw Futurology away. Such a waste of a fantastic album.

They can do it - remember when they played that little gig after the KYE reissue? Debuted 2 or 3 songs they'd never played before!

[Routine Builder]

To be fair, Futurology didn't get a tour but quite a few tracks got an outing at some point between 2014 and 2015:

Futurology
Walk Me to the Bridge
Europe Geht Dutch Mich
Let's Go to War
SPLAM
Hugheovka
Divine Youth

Probably on par with the other post JPFL albums sadly.

[FacelessSenseOfVoid]

I don't think the band quite understand their fan base at times or they pander to the literal majority of fans, by that I mean casuals who make up probably 70/80% of the audience at any Manics gig. I've been on record many times as saying that I'd be happy if they didn't play Tolerate or ME ever again, and that sentiment extends to the majority of the songs that were on that rehearsal setlist.

It's been five years since I last saw them, and I'm not in a rush to see them any time soon although I do have tickets for the Trentham gig but I can't see that being anything groundbreaking.

The best we can hope for as fans is a tour to support the new album with a few more deep cuts but we won't be seeing anything exciting over the summer.

[Oh Nick...!]

I'm as keen as anyone to hear less-rotated and more recent tracks live, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the set at Llangollen. It was a small local festival that had just hosted Bryan Adams and where punters were looking forward to Tom Jones (tonight, I think!), and they played Elvis, Bridge, All Surface, Ghosts, Baby Nothing, Orwellian - all within a reasonably short set. I think that's at least comparable with what Suede did, and my husband and I are proof that there are people who love both bands roughly equally (okay, I love Manics more but I've stuck with Suede since Sept 1992 and think Brett's 21st energy stole the gig a little bit on the night).

[manicbill]

The Irish Times are saying that Suede are up first this evening at 7:30pm? But elsewhere i'm seeing that the Manics are playing first? https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/m...tion-and-more/

[Abstract Unknown Girl]

Manics are definitely playing first and Suede second in Dublin: https://www.instagram.com/p/C86sQubirjq

I think the thing about the Manics is, for all of their bite in the past, they actually like being liked. They like being crowd pleasers, especially at shows where they know they're not the only band people have paid to see. Compare festivals/the Suede tour to their Bath gig last year. They probably felt comfortable they could get away with a setlist like that in such a small venue where they were the ones everyone had come to see.

Remember, Nicky in particular takes chart positions to heart and they decided for a long time that Lifeblood was a failure because it didn't appeal to the masses. I think this is why their online fanbase confused them back in the heyday of FD when they were keeping tabs on us, because it contained a whole spectrum of opinions, some of which were heavily critical. I don't think the band knew what to do with that...which, looking back, is kind of funny given the way social media has gone since. We were all just a bunch of geeky, enthusiastic music fans and it was tame as hell compared to online life nowadays

I don't know enough about Suede to comment on their setlist choices, but I thought it was interesting - and refreshing - at Llangollen that Brett told everyone to stop talking and listen whilst he played an acoustic song by himself. So, I'm guessing he's not as bothered about being a people pleaser lol.

[Rammstein]

Originally Posted by Routine Builder

Should we be treating this as a normal Manics tour? Half the crowd (maybe not so much in Wales) are there for another band, and they have less stage time. It's the reason I'm not bothered for this tour, it's their cashing in on good will tour. Still surprised to see To Repel Ghosts making the cut. Not a bad song, but 1985 is so much more a crowd pleaser. Let's remember the set list at Bath last year and hope for a full tour in the new year!

I also tend to give James a pass on his live singing because even on his worst days he is a top tier guitarist and front man and a lot of bands have neither. He still runs circles around his counterparts and it's very different being in front of him experiencing that than watching a few low quality phone videos from people who should be enjoying the gig than you know, sticking their phones in air blocking people's view.

I haven't posted in a while, so apologies for my conspiracy theory latching onto all your comments but looking at the wider picture, is this tour doing more damage than good? All the reviews are drawing a direct comparison between Manics and Suede (to be fair it's hard not too when both are sharing the headline slot) and pretty much they are saying Brett Anderson's sheer energy is swaying critics and attendees very much towards Suede. This was the case in the US as well, a friend who moved to New York a few years ago was almost apologetic by saying he went for the Manics but because of Brett Anderson, actually enjoyed Suede more.


I've also noticed in the last few months the Manics monthly Spotify listening figures have decreased from 1.2 Million to 870,000 listens and this continues to decline. I have to admit, this is the first tour I've decided to miss, which is a shame but I think the Manics need to re-evaluate things (maybe a new SATT rebirth) as it seems they seem to be stagnating a bit live, it's a shame as when they appeared together for a charity gig (2012 maybe?) The Manics blew Suede out of the water, judging by the reviews and fans social media comments, this is definitely not the case.

[leopheard]

Originally Posted by manicbill

The Irish Times are saying that Suede are up first this evening at 7:30pm? But elsewhere i'm seeing that the Manics are playing first? https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/m...tion-and-more/

I wish I had been informed by the fucking promoters or another official source before getting to the venue and finding I'd missed 75% of the Manics set. How the ever loving fuck are suede on first, not to mention why the fuck did the biggest band start at 19:25 when the doors were at 19:00.

I'm getting a refund off these promoters because this was reckless and stupid. I have been to gigs that have started early in my 25+ years of gigs, never have I been to one that started so early. Last night Elbow came on at 20:30.

[manicbill]

Originally Posted by Rammstein

I haven't posted in a while, so apologies for my conspiracy theory latching onto all your comments but looking at the wider picture, is this tour doing more damage than good? All the reviews are drawing a direct comparison between Manics and Suede (to be fair it's hard not too when both are sharing the headline slot) and pretty much they are saying Brett Anderson's sheer energy is swaying critics and attendees very much towards Suede. This was the case in the US as well, a friend who moved to New York a few years ago was almost apologetic by saying he went for the Manics but because of Brett Anderson, actually enjoyed Suede more.


I've also noticed in the last few months the Manics monthly Spotify listening figures have decreased from 1.2 Million to 870,000 listens and this continues to decline. I have to admit, this is the first tour I've decided to miss, which is a shame but I think the Manics need to re-evaluate things (maybe a new SATT rebirth) as it seems they seem to be stagnating a bit live, it's a shame as when they appeared together for a charity gig (2012 maybe?) The Manics blew Suede out of the water, judging by the reviews and fans social media comments, this is definitely not the case.

I was there tonight and the problem was fairly glaring. It’s the live mix. James’ guitar was painfully low and at times even hard to make out. As was his vocals at the start but they sorted that. His lead guitar sound in the mix was never satisfying. Could barely make out his You Love Us solo. It should be the most prominent sound! The rest of the sound was quite muddled as well, which disconnects the band from the audience. It’s the classic blame the keyboardist moment but I really think the mix is so poor the performance and crowd reaction suffers. It improved overall as the gig wore on but the sound engineers often lagged when turning up the volume of James’ guitar for the solos and so on. In comparison Suede were on full volume mode, around 5-10db higher throughout their performance.and the crunch of their guitars was clear as day. I’m sure the Manics sound checked but I don’t know how they could be happy with such an insipid mix.

Aside: Loved the version of La Tristesse they are playing, Orwellian sounded much better live than in record and No Surface All Feeling was great!

[Oh Nick...!]

Originally Posted by Abstract Unknown Girl

Manics are definitely playing first and Suede second in Dublin: https://www.instagram.com/p/C86sQubirjq

I think the thing about the Manics is, for all of their bite in the past, they actually like being liked. They like being crowd pleasers, especially at shows where they know they're not the only band people have paid to see. Compare festivals/the Suede tour to their Bath gig last year. They probably felt comfortable they could get away with a setlist like that in such a small venue where they were the ones everyone had come to see.

Remember, Nicky in particular takes chart positions to heart and they decided for a long time that Lifeblood was a failure because it didn't appeal to the masses. I think this is why their online fanbase confused them back in the heyday of FD when they were keeping tabs on us, because it contained a whole spectrum of opinions, some of which were heavily critical. I don't think the band knew what to do with that...which, looking back, is kind of funny given the way social media has gone since. We were all just a bunch of geeky, enthusiastic music fans and it was tame as hell compared to online life nowadays

I don't know enough about Suede to comment on their setlist choices, but I thought it was interesting - and refreshing - at Llangollen that Brett told everyone to stop talking and listen whilst he played an acoustic song by himself. So, I'm guessing he's not as bothered about being a people pleaser lol.

That didn't go down well with the people I was with, at all! I think he forgot that it wasn't strictly a Suede gig, where he often these days does a song unamplified.

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Abstract Unknown Girl

I don't know enough about Suede to comment on their setlist choices, but I thought it was interesting - and refreshing - at Llangollen that Brett told everyone to stop talking and listen whilst he played an acoustic song by himself. So, I'm guessing he's not as bothered about being a people pleaser lol.

Perhaps a bit of an optimistic request from him on that occasion considering big outdoor gigs often bring in a casual 'drinks and conversation with mates' kind of audience, but it's something he's done at Suede's own indoor gigs. At one gig last year he stopped a song and asked the audience to tap someone on the shoulder if they were talking. And good on him, I do find endless chatter throughout gigs inconsiderate and irritating.

As for the setlist choices, they have the usual go-to hits and favourites but they tend to rotate things a bit more, even if it's just a couple each night. Last year, their tour had one completely different deep cut album track or b-side each night on top of the usual rotations. Pretty much of all my bucket list tracks were played across the tour, but most of them at gigs I wasn't at! Brett has commented in the past that some of his personal favourites are obscure tracks, plus he's a bit more of an accurate historian of their work than Nicky is of Manics, so I've always read it as a deliberate attempt at representing anything and everything over time. Each Suede gig I've seen, there's been something I didn't expect or hadn't seen them play before.

[Damian]

For anyone going to the Cardiff gigs from Bristol - the Severn Tunnel is closed so there are no direct trains. We're having to do a two hour trip via Gloucester. Might make the roads busier too.

[Oh Nick...!]

Originally Posted by manicbill

I was there tonight and the problem was fairly glaring. It’s the live mix. James’ guitar was painfully low and at times even hard to make out. As was his vocals at the start but they sorted that. His lead guitar sound in the mix was never satisfying. Could barely make out his You Love Us solo. It should be the most prominent sound! The rest of the sound was quite muddled as well, which disconnects the band from the audience. It’s the classic blame the keyboardist moment but I really think the mix is so poor the performance and crowd reaction suffers. It improved overall as the gig wore on but the sound engineers often lagged when turning up the volume of James’ guitar for the solos and so on. In comparison Suede were on full volume mode, around 5-10db higher throughout their performance.and the crunch of their guitars was clear as day. I’m sure the Manics sound checked but I don’t know how they could be happy with such an insipid mix.

Have to agree with this for LlanG, the difference in sound was marked when Manics first came on. It improved over time. We heard them sound checking at about 2.00pm, and Suede at about 5.30 - but I assume both the agreed set ups are supposed to be maintained?

[Son of Stopped]

Have a great one at Cardiff tonight! Although getting there and back sounds a nightmare.