Biffy Clyro at The Royal Hospital Kilmainham | Review

Biffy Clyro at The Royal Hospital KIlmainham, Dublin, Saturday 28th June 2014

“It’s shite being Scottish! We’re the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched miserable servile pathetic trash that was ever shat on civilization.” – Mark Renton, Edinburgh, c. 1993

Had Mark Renton, of Trainspotting fame, spent his days listening to Biffy Clyro rather than taking copious amounts of heroin you’d imagine his assessment of his country would not have been so scathing. Certainly, had he seen their performance at IMMA on Saturday night you can bet his national pride would have been restored with his fellow Scotsmen delivering a five-star performance.

On paper Saturday’s set list may look like a bit of a cop out with the band playing seven songs less than they did in the O2 last March. And yet this was a superior performance, the shorter set meaning filler was at a bare minimum. Proceedings open with Different People, followed by Golden Rule and The Captain. It makes for an excellent opening salvo, full of energy and vigour. Speaking of energy, the band is barely on stage five minutes and singer Simon Neill has already mounted an amplifier. Phoning it in is a foreign concept to the Biff and tonight is no different with the band giving it there all.

The gig continues at a frantic pace with most of the material drawn from their two latest albums, ‘Opposites’ and ‘Only Revolutions’. Old school Biffy fans may have been a bit put out by the lack of older material but the fact is that the newer songs translate better on the bigger stage. Biblical in particular was made for big gigs. With its huge chorus it sounds massive with ten thousand plus people signing along. Many Of Horror also has that big gig feel to it, another number that sparks a mass sing-along. At the other end of the spectrum, Living Is a Problem Because Everyone Dies and Bubbles show that the band can still rock as hard as ever.

Mountains finishes out the twenty-song set, bringing to a close a masterclass in how to play an outdoor arena show. The only question left lingering at the end of the night is where Biffy go from here? This was their third massive Irish show in less than twelve months. Whether it’ll be another arena show or a club date next time around you can guarantee it’ll be well worth the ticket price.