Manic Street Preachers
Bradfield and company shatter the Piece in Yorkshire.
As this West Yorkshire gig coincides with the release of the band’s new album,, James Dean Bradfield suggests that tonight’s show is an unofficial launch party. And a party atmosphere there is; the Manics’ 17-song set seems to hurtle by in no time. Few bands in the world, let alone Britain, can boast a better opener than , perfectly setting the tone at Halifax’s magnificent Piece Hall – a Grade I-listed, eighteenth-century marketplace. Ideal surroundings for the more refined, present-day Manics. Speaking of, recent singles and integrate nicely with their lush, piano-driven textures, but it remains to be seen whether they become permanent additions. inspires roars, shaking the Georgian architecture to its foundations, while is met with more of a subdued sense of reflection than an outpouring of emotion. An apt response for these strange times, although several thousand voices ignite when the band launch into their customary cover of . With the lights of the Calderdale hills puncturing the night, ’s euphoric strains conclude the Manics’ first visit to HX1. “Why the fuck haven’t we been here before?” Bradfield asks. Halifax concurs.
