Live Review

Suede – Coming Up Live – Brixton Academy, London

• 23rd May 2011

Three nights at Brixton Academy, with each night focussed on a specific album. Thursday night saw Suede lay out their Debut for fans, and then Friday they got together for Dog Man Star. And whilst I wish I was there for the two albums responsible for getting me into the band – I was instead sent on my mission for the third and final night which saw the band play the entirety of Coming Up.

Despite a bit of a wait – the band don’t waste much time and literally give a wave, grab their instruments and then crash wildly right into Trash.

Pulling double-duty as photographer as well – it’s often hard to judge the sound, but it was initially hard to make out Brett Anderson in amidst all the noise from the band. But he’s too busy leaping on top of objects, or jumping down to hug the fandom in front of him without ever losing a note. And me chasing him up and down waiting for the bastard to slow down.

It’s an energetic start to the show – and it continues. Memory of their second song on the album (Filmstar) is vague in my head as I spent the majority of this song getting the shots I needed. But observing the band, they seem a bit subdued in their duties, making the music work for the crowd and allowing Anderson to do literally all the talking.

Lazy follows this up, which was one of the highlights for me when the album first came out, so I got a particular thrill when Brett Anderson leap down for what must have been a fifth time to embrace the crowd with one arm and sing with the other – right in front of me. It’s nice when a photographer gets to grab a few up close and personal shots, but to have a front man also embracing the crowd at the same time is a joy, and to do it to your favourite song of the evening marked a highpoint.

After this it’s out the pit; stash the camera; and then back in again to enjoy the rest of the show. The album runs through the 10 track strong album, hitting the likes of The Beautiful Ones along the way. The band don’t deviate from the written text and then vacate the stage for a short break coming back to perform a second hit of lesser known tracks. The final trio of songs are previous hits So Young, Metal Mickey and Animal Nitrate.

By the end they send out their love and thanks for the past three nights, a highly satisfied crowd leave and then it’s all over. I have remarked in the past about the growing trend for bands to revisit albums of the past. But the argument still stands. Today’s music just doesn’t have anything truly inspiring going on at the moment to capture the masses attention. So it’s nice to go back and reflect on time where there were so many good things going on at the same time. I have mixed feelings about the “Brit Pop” of the mid 90’s; but Suede were around at the time and they had their own impact on us. The albums have dated well – so it’s a joy to see the band play them as they were when they reached us in record shops.