THE serene surrounds of the Manchester Opera House may seem like a strange setting for Biffy Clyro, the Scottish trio more accustomed to ‘turning it up to 11’ with their stadium-filling brand of anthemic rock.
But the Biff delivered a perfectly-crafted and, in many ways, beautiful stripped-back set on their one-off MTV Unplugged tour.
Dwarfed by a magical enchanted tree – possibly borrowed from the Christmas panto – at the rear of the stage, the acoustic guitars and lightly-brushed drums are greeted by a mass singalong from the first strains of set opener the Captain.
The band themselves are also sporting a new look, smartly suited and booted where you would normally find them sweaty and bare-chested – a look that complimented a more laidback evening with Biffy Clyro.
Although the dark of the stalls made it all the more nauseating when the inevitable handful of gig-goers decide to watch the whole show through their iPhones, this was a minor negative.
Saturday Superhouse, Falling Stars and Mountains are particular highlights of a setlist well over 20 songs long.
By the time a closing pair of Bubbles and Machines come around, the whole crowd are on their feet.
And an encore of Many of Horror caps off a truly unique night from a band who can now, 15 years on from the release of their debut album, count themselves as veterans of the UK rock scene.
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