TWO BLISSFUL SIGHS FROM THE SUBLIME

Setlist Motorcycle Emptiness You Stole The Sun From My Heart (It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love Europa Geht Durch Mich Suicide Is Painless (Theme from MASH) Everything Must Go Rewind The Film Die In The Summertime Your Love Alone Is Not Enough Enola/ Alone Walk Me To The Bridge A Design For Life This Sullen Welsh Heart The Everlasting Revol Futurology Ocean Spray You Love Us Tsunami Show Me The Wonder Motown Junk If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Dansk version

When this review runs two of my close friends are probably going to be pretty angry with me. These guys share an unbridled love for Manic Street Preachers and they were both unable to attend Monday night’s concert in Copenhagen.

They would probably love a review telling them that on this particular evening Manics were having an off day. However, truth will out and consequently I have to risk their wrath: Manic Street Preachers’ effort at the Vega venue was only two blissful sighs from the decidedly sublime.

When you’re able to open a concert with a triple trip to heaven like "Motorcycle Emptiness", "You Stole The Sun From My Heart" and "(It’s Not War) Just The End Of love" and quality wise stay up there for most of the evening, it only serves to further prove vocalist and guitarist James Dean Bradfield’s songwriting genius.

WINGSPAN
Both he and the band were on top form in Vega. And when these guys are on top form they perform with a marvelous wingspan that is all their own.

Nowhere better illustrated than during an absolutely spellbinding version of "A Design For Life" that took off and soared into sonic heaven (yeah, here we go again!) Monday night to a degree, that it saw Bradfield himself both humbled and surprised (if I read his expression correctly).

He had good reason to be; what with an audience happily singing along to some of the last two decade’s brightest shining pop rock pearls  like "Everything Must Go", "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough", "The Everlasting", "Ocean Spray", "Motown Junk" and even new song "Walk Me To The Bridge".

Both "Walk ..." and the title track – also played – bays well for Manics’ upcoming album  "Futurology", to be released on July 7th.

Finally I have to state in the strongest possible terms what an extraordinary guitar player James Dean Bradfield is. During the evening he practically pours potent measures of riffs, marvelously harmonic chords and vignettes over us. It is absolutely beautiful and the bastard does it with the same naturalness that the rest of us brush our teeth.

Excluding the rather flimsy  "Unwind The Film" and the – to these ears at least – contrived "Europa Geht Durch Mich" I cannot find fault with an evening that was generally a masterful and magical manoeuvre a’la Manic Street Preachers.

I’m not ashamed to admit that the purity and beauty of this music occasionally brings a tear to my eyes. They’ve done it before and they’ll hopefully do it again As the song goes: "You Love Us!"

You´re damn right I do ...