Manic Street Preachers
Llandudno Theatre Cymru
7th May, 2009

View: at the back

The Manics arrived with their new album Journal For Plague Lovers and played the whole of it as their first set. It was greeted with enthusiasm by the home crowd, the lyrics having been written by missing guitarist Richey Edwards, and it brought to mind heady days from The Holy Bible era, with several punchy hard rocking numbers and plenty of crowd participation. The second set was given over to a compilation of greatest hits, dating back to the ever-popular Motorcycle Emptiness. Fourteen tracks followed, including the brilliant Your Love Alone Is Not Enough. The crowd began rocking on If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next, and they continued for the rest of the set, which included the anthemic Australia, What Have You Done To Your Hair and the rousing closer, A Design For Life. Bradfield’s vocals were as spot-on as ever, though the audience didn’t see any customary star-jumps from bassist Nicky Wire, as he was suffering with a prolapsed disc. Obviously they’ve caught up with him.

Reviewed by Craig Hughes
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