Hold
up… Suede? At The Fleece? Is this 1992 again, or what?
Nope,
there’s a simpler explanation… Rough Trade Bristol announced a short “instore” promo
set for sleazoid glam Britpop survivors Suede, to celebrate the release of new
album “Autofiction”; only due to anticipated demand, this one was moved from
their usual c, 100ish capacity instore back room to the, ooh, 450ish capacity
Fleece. Wow! Undeterred by a couple of recent more indifferent performances by
these nonetheless Dance Card regulars and attracted at the prospect of seeing
them at such close quarters (closest, in fact, since that June 1992 Windsor Old
Trout gig, no. 211!), I booked tix immediately, luckily jumping in before they
sold out in a matter of seconds. Subsequent reports also indicated “Autofiction”
heralded a move away from the sweeping, orchestral and frankly a little bit
dull atmospherics of their most recent release, 2018’s “The Blue Hour”, and
back to a rawer, more primal sound (some even calling it Suede’s “punk rock”
album!) if more encouragement was needed. Let’s see…
A
matinee show as well, so we left Jami at home with Maccy D lunch (Logan fishing
in Brixham with his Uncle Andy) and hit the road at 12, weaving around the
Cabot Circus queues and suffering a brief parking-mare (who knew daily street
parking was 2 hours max? We only come here at night!) before joining the lengthy
queue and chatting to a knowledgeable fellow punter, there with his father in
law! Grabbed a drink and a spot house left, about 1/3rd back (the
front rows already rammed with eager punters) and talked rock to while away the
short wait. Suede, led on by drummer Simon Gilbert, took the stage to little
fanfare just after 2, vocalist Brett Anderson joining us last, already whipping
the masses into a frenzy, exhorting them to louder and louder cheers. And
straight into new album opener and leadoff single “She Still Leads Me On”, a
rampant, robust bass line leading to a huge sweeping chorus, strident and raw, Anderson
already hanging from the Fleece pillars and leaning over the audience (as he regularly
did throughout, apart from a couple of incursions into the crowd!),
leading the singalong. Woah. Midway through this startling opener, Rach turned
to me and said, “it’s already better than Southampton (last time out for this
lot in April 2019, gig 1,134),” and by its conclusion, plans were made to catch
their tour proper, next March.
Clearly
invigorated by this excellent new material, Suede were brilliant this afternoon,
playing like a band reborn, or almost like a brand new band (they’d done a
secret gig recently under the name Crushed Kid, so maybe…), the performance full
of power, passion and purpose. “Personality Disorder”, next up, was a dark
backbeat beast with a stream of consciousness vocal from the energetic
Anderson, “15 Again” could have stepped out of the 80’s Batcave days with a
creepy, almost gothy guitar pattern, whilst the mid-paced “The Only Way I Can
Love You” was the most “Suede” sounding number so far. The already profusely
sweating Anderson (I always admire that in a performer, so well done sweaty
Bretty!) finally paused for breath after 5 numbers, complimenting the crowd’s “Big
Bristol welcome!” before delivering “Drive Myself Home”, a beautifully desolate
late-night backstreet torch song for voice and piano only.
The
dramatic pounding stomp of “Black Ice” continued the “Autofiction” virtual run-through
(the boys playing the first 8 tracks in order, and only omitting one from this
set), before a quite startling “Shadow Self”, a thrillingly ringing, urgent and
insistent rocker unlike anything Suede had recorded before, and pretty much a
shoe-in for my “Best Of 2022” comp CD. “What Am I Without You” was a widescreen
Bowie-esque ballad which recalled his “Station To Station” period, before the
soaking Anderson tested the crowd with a “really old song,” 2011’s “It Starts
And Ends With You”, slightly struggling to hit the high notes but no surprise
after the effort he’d put into this performance. An encore of the “Rock’N’Roll
Suicide”-esque “Life Is Golden” for his son Lucien, backstage this afternoon, brought
an astonishing hour to a close, easily the best I’d seen Suede since their
reformation and maybe even the best ever…!
Caught
our breath and grabbed a list before heading off – weird to drive home in the daylight
after a Fleece gig! However, this was well worth it; nothing short of a resurrection
for this enduring band, and with “Autofiction” a potential Album Of The Year
candidate. Hopes are high for their March 2023 tour now!
No comments:
Post a Comment