Over two decades on from their last Nottingham date, though many things have changed in and around Suede just as much remains the same. 1992's show at the Nottingham polytechnic came before the departure of original lead guitarist Bernard Butler and the release of their self-titled debut full-length, but by then Brett Anderson's ragtag army had already amassed a cult following not dissimilar to their fellow proponents of buzz-saw guitars and glam imagery, the Manic Street Preachers. It was perhaps the beginning of the ascent in earnest of the band's first peak and, against all odds, their return twenty one years later could be the beginning of a second.
For whilst the greatest reactions from the crowd are unsurprisingly garnered from the earlier selections of their back-catalogue, the punchy 'Animal Nitrate', bleary-eyed indie disco staple 'Beautiful Ones' and B-side 'Killing Of A Flashboy', 2013's "Bloodsports" has the consistency and swagger of their first trio of full-lengths and, more importantly, their live show retains the same vitality. Brett prowls the stage with an undeniable animal magnetism, a face increasingly like Stuart Pearce levied with child abuse charges but the moves of Elvis on the right kind of drugs. He swan-dives into the crowd on numerous occasions, encouraging the audience to take over vocals and reappearing each time with a shirt buttoned down further.
Though surprisingly not sold-out, it is the crowd that makes the night almost as much as the band, equally adoring of new material such as the opening couplet of 'Barriers' and 'Snowblind' as the classics, and impressively attentive to the night's support, something which could never be said of the cult of their welsh counterparts. Here, of course, it helps that Kettering's Temples, a relentlessly pounding psychedelic force, are one of the country's best new bands. They approach late-sixties revisionism from a similar angle to Wolf People and Dungen but abstain from the wig-outs that often dilute their power, and on most nights they would steal the show.
Continue reading: Suede - Nottingham Rock City 28th March 2013 Live Review 2013
Suede - Suede
