Live review : Biffy Clyro (Olympia, Paris)
09:59
Almost two months after seeing them destroy Birmingham's Barclaycard Arena and London's O2 Arena, I am in Paris to see Biffy Clyro play in a completely different setting : a small venue. If, in the UK, the Scots are used to festival headlines and arenas, in the rest of Europe, the rooms they play are much more intimate, and the theatre of events tonight, the Olympia, only has a capacity of a thousand and seven hundred people.
After waiting for what feels like five hours, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes grace the stage of the Olympia with their presence. There is only one existing word for what happened during those forty minutes : triumph. After only one song, the audience is on board and a man near me turns to his group of friends and shouts how good he thinks this is, large smile on his face. Of course, when you start with a song as energetic and straightforward as Snake Eyes, people are bound to find you good, aren't they?
Frank Carter's talent is not just about the songs - even though he is quite alright at making decent ones. Lullaby, which he dedicates to his young daughter Mercy Rose, is a jam and a half, and I Hate You is poignant and explosive. His ability to instantly make people who don't know him hang to his every word and every note lies in the quality of his performance, how incredible a frontman he is, and how much charisma he has (a truckload). Bouncing up and down the stage, jumping into the crowd during Lullaby (and celebrating the "strong women" carrying him with heartwarming joy) - you name it, he's done it. He's also excellent at interacting with the crowd, finding the perfect balance between getting his point across, going a little personal and yet, involving the audience and giving the thousand and something people in front of him a night to remember.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes' set ends under rapturous applause and, as the lights are turned back on, the woman in front of me tells her friend that it has been a long time since she was that impressed by a support act. Triumph, I told you.
After a twenty minute wait, it's Biffy Clyro's turn to play. They are in France to promote their latest record, Ellipsis, released in 2016, but what is mostly in the trio's mind is that they haven't played a Paris headliner in a very long time - since March 2013, actually. They will extensively apologise for it, and make it their mission to make up for it, too.
When you go from a twenty thousand capacity arena sponsored by a bank to a classic two thousand capacity theatre in the heart of Paris, your stage settings are bound to be a little different. Gone are the fancy lights and the platforms everywhere. If you wanted to see pyro, you're not in the right place, wait your turn until Download or TRNSMT. This show (and these smaller European gigs in general) are all about Biffy Clyro's excellent musicianship and showmanship. The setlist is slightly different than during the first leg of the tour, and numbers such as Victory Over the Sun and God and Satan are brought back to the stage. Despite the difference in venues and crowds, every single song is performed with the same perfection it always is. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies or Stingin' Belle sound as impressive and intricate in smaller rooms as they do in arenas, and slower songs like Machines or Medicine are just as delicate and intimate.
Speaking of songs that are delicate and intimate, let's mention Many of Horror for a minute here. The stunningly written ballad, extracted from Only Revolutions, had made me shed a tear (or five thousand) during the arena tour due to a crowd of several thousand echoing its every word behind me. It has easily become one of my favourite songs to hear live - I'm always partial to a good singalong, as you will know by now, and the Parisian crowd didn't disappoint me in that regard. One of Biffy Clyro's most recent singles, Re-Arrange, another beautiful, heartbreaking ballad, gets to my heart in a matter of seconds. (I also did the little clap during the chorus, accidentally got the people around me to follow suit, only for them all to start clapping at the wrong time. Together. What a confusing three minutes for me).
My favourite song to hear live, though, isn't a ballad - it's the bouncy, cheery Bubbles. Also extracted from Only Revolutions, it always sees me dad-dancing like there's no tomorrow, and its characteristic riff makes me happy beyond belief.
The encore, composed of Machines (acoustically played by frontman Simon Neil) and the explosive Animal Style and Stingin' Belle, close another triumph that has just taken place in the Olympia. Biffy Clyro have more than made up for their four year absence (and promise they won't leave it that long until they come back). They have attitude, they have talent, they have confidence, they have charisma, they have a unique style - it's not rocket science to figure out why they have won the UK over, and it's probably the same recipe that will see them win over the rest of Europe soon.
Frank Carter's talent is not just about the songs - even though he is quite alright at making decent ones. Lullaby, which he dedicates to his young daughter Mercy Rose, is a jam and a half, and I Hate You is poignant and explosive. His ability to instantly make people who don't know him hang to his every word and every note lies in the quality of his performance, how incredible a frontman he is, and how much charisma he has (a truckload). Bouncing up and down the stage, jumping into the crowd during Lullaby (and celebrating the "strong women" carrying him with heartwarming joy) - you name it, he's done it. He's also excellent at interacting with the crowd, finding the perfect balance between getting his point across, going a little personal and yet, involving the audience and giving the thousand and something people in front of him a night to remember.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes' set ends under rapturous applause and, as the lights are turned back on, the woman in front of me tells her friend that it has been a long time since she was that impressed by a support act. Triumph, I told you.
After a twenty minute wait, it's Biffy Clyro's turn to play. They are in France to promote their latest record, Ellipsis, released in 2016, but what is mostly in the trio's mind is that they haven't played a Paris headliner in a very long time - since March 2013, actually. They will extensively apologise for it, and make it their mission to make up for it, too.
When you go from a twenty thousand capacity arena sponsored by a bank to a classic two thousand capacity theatre in the heart of Paris, your stage settings are bound to be a little different. Gone are the fancy lights and the platforms everywhere. If you wanted to see pyro, you're not in the right place, wait your turn until Download or TRNSMT. This show (and these smaller European gigs in general) are all about Biffy Clyro's excellent musicianship and showmanship. The setlist is slightly different than during the first leg of the tour, and numbers such as Victory Over the Sun and God and Satan are brought back to the stage. Despite the difference in venues and crowds, every single song is performed with the same perfection it always is. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies or Stingin' Belle sound as impressive and intricate in smaller rooms as they do in arenas, and slower songs like Machines or Medicine are just as delicate and intimate.
Speaking of songs that are delicate and intimate, let's mention Many of Horror for a minute here. The stunningly written ballad, extracted from Only Revolutions, had made me shed a tear (or five thousand) during the arena tour due to a crowd of several thousand echoing its every word behind me. It has easily become one of my favourite songs to hear live - I'm always partial to a good singalong, as you will know by now, and the Parisian crowd didn't disappoint me in that regard. One of Biffy Clyro's most recent singles, Re-Arrange, another beautiful, heartbreaking ballad, gets to my heart in a matter of seconds. (I also did the little clap during the chorus, accidentally got the people around me to follow suit, only for them all to start clapping at the wrong time. Together. What a confusing three minutes for me).
My favourite song to hear live, though, isn't a ballad - it's the bouncy, cheery Bubbles. Also extracted from Only Revolutions, it always sees me dad-dancing like there's no tomorrow, and its characteristic riff makes me happy beyond belief.
The encore, composed of Machines (acoustically played by frontman Simon Neil) and the explosive Animal Style and Stingin' Belle, close another triumph that has just taken place in the Olympia. Biffy Clyro have more than made up for their four year absence (and promise they won't leave it that long until they come back). They have attitude, they have talent, they have confidence, they have charisma, they have a unique style - it's not rocket science to figure out why they have won the UK over, and it's probably the same recipe that will see them win over the rest of Europe soon.
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