What a show from Biffy Clyro. Having seen them once before at Reading in 2021, I knew what to expect; however, this show blew the roof off.
Biffy Clyro headlined Finsbury Park on Friday, a full-day festival featuring many other artists. In order of appearance: Wavves, Marmozets, Don Broco, Nothing But Thieves and Biffy Clyro as the cherry on top. I could tell fans all round the park were looking forward to this heavy-hitting line-up. One to remember. This show was part of their outdoor summer series. They are also showing up at Cardiff Castle, Sziget, Open Flair festival, Noches del Botánico, to name a few. Roughly forty-five thousand pairs of feet hit the ground at Finsbury Park on the third of July. This was Biffy Clyro’s biggest headline show to date. Following the heatwave we had just had in the UK the week before, the weather was excellent. With little cloud in the sky and a peak of 26 degrees, suncream was required; however, I also found plenty of shade in the really pleasant park, even if some of it was dappled.
The crowd were definitely something else on this day. I arrived just in time for Don Broco. I just want to doff my hat to Rob Damiani and his posse. An incredible mix of songs along their set and the insane ability they have to drive unrivalled power through the crowd, with mosh pits left, right and centre in the rather warm 5:30 pm sun. After this, Nothing But Thieves took to the stage as the penultimate act before Biffy. Die-hard fans eagerly awaited them at the barrier. I saw fake tattoos and signs for the upcoming album, Stray Dogs. They played many a hit that echoed through the park.
As soon as Biffy came on, they hit the stage with “The Captain“. The chorale “woah” rippled through the crowd for this one. Rest assured, the crowd would only grow stronger and stronger throughout the evening.
The performance as a whole was second to none. The performance had it all. Within the first three songs, Simon Neil pulled out a flamethrower. Having pit access at this point made it extra special to bear witness! He sprayed it around above his head while addressing the crowd, telling them they’re in for a show of old and new. Shortly after, the stage shook hands with the CO₂ blasters and sprinklers. It was kicking off from the get-go. It was also nice to see pyro, sparks, fireworks, flames all the way throughout the show. Definitely at pinnacle points, but there were small fireworks throughout from behind the stage, a nice touch.
The lights. I haven’t seen lights like this before. There were roughly six clusters of lights on the stage, all with LED bars on the front and all six clusters hanging from their own cabling, which could lower, raise, pivot and hold. Like a marionette controlled each one. Originally they held high, then they went to the lowest, tightening the stage, then all through the show they were at 45-degree angles, all at different heights and going up and down. It changed the form of the stage, making it look different for each song; it was genuinely incredible. The back of the stage was lit by tens of small LED panels that illuminated the entire crowd and really gave them creative control over the colours on stage. I think we saw all of them. The visuals on the screen were something else too. Simon Neil and his crew were all lit on the screen with a lidar-style spark effect, merging real-time video and VFX on the fly.
The show was absolutely scattered with one-of-a-kind performance pieces. Simon walked over the side of the stage and played an entire song under the big screen, pulling out the aforementioned flamethrower. At one point, the lights went low, and they sang “There’s No Such Man as Crasp” a cappella, with Simon Neil shaking his arm left and right to keep time; it was something to marvel at. Violin players joined them on stage for part of the set, Jamie Campbell Bower joining them for “Machines“, a truly tender song that captivated all. They really did pull out all of the stops for this show, which made it incredibly memorable.
The set included a true plethora of songs. We found ourselves in the midst of travelling time with the band. The oldest song played was “Justboy“, released in 2002, a whopping 24 years ago. The latest song was “A Hunger in Your Haunt” from 2021. The set featured all of the songs that the crowd would sing along with, and they really did. Standing at the back to soak it all up, I could hear the crowd louder than the band at some points, even though the audio for the festival was really well placed. Jamie Campbell Bower came out for the encore. It started with “Machines“, which Bower has covered solo before, acoustically. The encore also featured the last two songs being “Bubbles” and “Many of Horror“. We all knew it was coming, but it was lovely to finish on these two, as they really resonate with the crowd and you can tell they mean a lot to the people there.
Overall, I am truly taken aback by Biffy Clyro’s performance this night. I recall last time I saw them that their show was one I remembered as incredible, but this felt like a whole new level. From the sheer scale of the production to the intimacy of the quieter moments, Biffy were exactly where they needed to be; the stage was not ready for them, and they truly took over the crowd. Forty‑five thousand people stood together in complete awe, and as the final fireworks popped behind “Many of Horror”, it made an incredible finish for the show.
A true demonstration of the die-hard fans of the band’s quality and skill was on display perfectly as they went through the ages and delivered their biggest headline show to date, truly incredible.
