Biffier than thou

How dare anyone nominate the SECC as the best gig venue in Glasgow. Let this be a lesson to the misguided: you can criticise the QMU for its preposterously early starting times, but they have their money-spinning club nights to host. What exactly was going on at the SECC that required Biffy Clyro to kick off proceedings at 7.30? If a gig is on a Saturday night i don't start thinking about it until 7.30- who do they think we are?

I know most support bands are largely ignored, with good reason, but a lot of locals who wouldn't have minded seeing the cacophonous Glasgow trio on that huge stage arrived at the reasonable time of eight to find Biffy winding up their last song. Why exactly were Biffy first on the bill? What have Aqualung done that's so amazing? Oh yeah, that car advert. Well, both bands suffered the curse of the SECC support act- the poorest sound quality you will hear in a Glasgow venue is here in this huge hanger during the support slots. I came here to see Idlewild support Coldplay in 2002 and was sickened by what they did to my favourite band. On the other hand that night saw me fully converted into a Coldplay fan- i nearly bought a coffee table upon which to rest my copy of Rush of Blood to the Head.

It is safe to assume that the headline act at the SECC will sound awesome, it's a stadium- that what they're for- but support bands deserve their chance to warm up for the headliners properly. They are not just names that look nice on the poster, the punters pay to see them too and it's a chance for second-album bands to prove themselves to a wider audience, the kind of audience that shells out fifteen pounds to see Feeder. I doubt anyone was convinced by Biffy, as they sounded like they were coming to us live via internet radio from the abyss.

It seems that not only are Aqualung the perfect backing music for selling a pretty wee car, but hearing them as a distant rumble provides the perfect soundtrack for twenty minutes of standing at an understaffed, overcomplicated excuse for a bar, being ignored by a juvenile ginger hireling who seemed only to serve women who stood either side of me and the plump fellow who spent ten minutes leaning on my shoulder before he was served. Adding insult to that injury, said plump fellow addressed me with the following words in what he thought sympathy sounded like, 'you were here before me weren't you'. Thanks mate, for acknowledging that you had so self-servingly intercepted the barman when you knew full-well I should have been served first! I hope you had a brilliant night and went home to your Stereophonics albums warm in the comfortable aura of the guiltless pride you take in your own selfishness. For heaven's sake, I only wanted a bottle of water and an Irn Bru. Twenty minutes!

Despite the frustrations I encountered at the SECC and my grievances with that particular Feeder fan, I was looking forward to seeing the headliners, who are arguably one of the biggest bands in Britain. Although their most recent material is a little on the muddy side, their first and second album yielded a handful of songs that excite something like nostalgia in me. You'd also be surprised at how many Feeder songs there are and how many you know. Also bear in mind the tragic loss of their drummer not so long ago. While it seems to the idle record buyer that Feeder churn out album after album without progressing too far in sound or scope, it might just be possible that when other, dare I say it, cooler bands than this are forgotten, Feeders back catalogue will characterise this era of British music in decades to come. They've had their hits of course, and I must say I looked forward with some interest to how the crowd would react to Buck Rogers. I was personally more excited to hear songs like Insomnia and the frankly beautiful Yesterday Went To Soon.

I was reminded that there is nothing really offensive about Feeder. They don't shout too loud or sing too low. Yes, they do deploy the simplest guitar riffs of all time and have a predisposition to start verses with some summary of the writer's "feelings". But having said that, songs like Just The Way I'm Feeling are bearable. The visual backdrops make proceedings move that little bit quicker for the poor souls in the seats, from which perspective the sight of about 10,000 people heaving themselves into the air for Buck Rogers and chanting 'I think we're gonna make it' was practically life-affirming.

A few rows down from us in the stands was a man and his young son in matching leather jackets and throughout the gig the boys father held his arm firmly around his son's shoulders. That alone warmed my heart. That may well have been the boy's first gig and I'm happy for him. Hopefully it was an inspiration for him and a source of pride for his dad. Feeder are a fine band for a first gig; fine family fun all round.

Added: Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Reviewer: Robin Davis
Score: 3/5