Manic Street Preachers on the Garden Stage stage at Belladrum 2015, 07/8/2015. A review.
Between song banter is kept to a minimum, although James Dean Bradfield did try and list the venues they’ve played in Scotland before commenting that, “we’ve been going so long now that half of them have probably closed down”.
Bassist Nicky Wire and drummer Sean Moore are absolutely solid, Bradfield’s claim that they are the best in the business is probably not too far off the mark either. Wire is enigmatic and imperious as ever, rarely speaking apart from dedicating a song to the missing Richey Edwards.
There was very little in evidence from the last album Futurology and at times it did feel a little pedestrian, don’t get me wrong, the songs were played well and with aplomb but it felt a bit… ‘wham bam thank you mam and we’re done bye’.
Of course many of the tunes here are overtly political with anti-capitalism (Motorcycle Emptiness) and anti-war (If you Tolerate this..) themes and the main stage is no stranger to political commentary from artists gracing that particular platform. See Billy Bragg last year as an example. However, on this occasion the Manics prefer to let the music do the talking and aside from a couple of Welsh flags on stage, there (thankfully?) really wasn’t any additional comment.
A good, solid, if not entirely inspiring performance from the Welsh rockers.
Make sure you check out our Belladrum 2015 page for all the news and reviews of what’s happening at the festival.
Still in the mood for a festival then check out the forthcoming North Hop festival featuring the best beer and local music in the area.
