Oh yeah, I remember, I quite like those Manics boys...

So after their not-quite-two-year hiatus, the Manics are well and truly BACK. All the excitement has inspired me to revisit the last few times I saw them, waaay back in 2011.

First up, in October, was a rather jammy opportunity to see them in the smallest and most legendary venue I could imagine, Night & Day Cafe. It was a radio thing and for once in my life, I was in the right place at the right time and managed to bag a couple of VIP guestlist places. The gig itself was short and atmosphere a bit strange, as these type of things tend to be, full of competition winners and media types. But watching Sean play a box was hilarious and we got a spine-tingling rendition of She Is Suffering.



The biggest thrill was running round to the back of the venue like a teenager and gushing, blushing and finally, after a decade of waiting, getting my Everything Live video cover signed. James mock-applauded me 'sticking it to the man', after I explained that security had refused me getting it signed at the HMV Cardiff 'Truth' album launch in 1998!



Not content with one meeting in a month, I also went along to the HMV signing of the big pink polaroid book (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is). There was lots of waiting...


... as well as quite a bit of squealing when my queue-mate discovered a whole paragraph about her in the book's intro text! But it was definitely worth it, for my one and only fan-girl Manics pic (thanks Franny!) :D



So by the time we reached December, I had completed my regression to 17-year-old teenybopper extremes of giddiness. Much of the nervous anticipation for the big O2 extravaganza was channeled into customising my gig-dress. I was aiming for the DIY aesthetic but with crowd/beer/pogo-proof durability. I think I managed it, although sitting down proved a risky business.



The gig was everything I hoped for and more.





Nicky had a few skirt issues...



Sean was a drum master. Of course he was.



Man and dog...



The screens were so hypnotic I sometimes forgot to look at the band on stage.



It all ended in a flurry of confetti and tears.



Welcome back Manic Street Preachers! We missed ya x

P.S. You can click through the pics to get to the full albums on flickr!

Haven heaven... a decade on

Almost exactly ten years ago, I raved about Haven in my fanzine, "The Ruby Slippers", following my recent acquisition of their debut album, Between the Senses, and a frenzied gig as their star ascended above Manchester's legendary Night & Day Cafe. This retrospective blog post is inspired by reading the rather fantastic Between the Lines - A History of Haven, by my fellow 'zining friend from back then Mary O'Meara. The photos (scanned from film - not sure what camera I used!) all come from the Night & Day gig on 9th February 2002, as mentioned in the excerpt from my 'zine below. Possibly another post to follow with some photos from a later gig!



"… as singer Gary likes to point out, the songs should speak for themselves, a claim reinforced by the complete lack of lyrics in the album sleeve. Nat put it eloquently in the NME recently: ‘We exist as humans, but the songs exist as a hell of a lot more than that’. So now Haven are on the brink of erupting into this huge phenomenon – there’s barely a wall in Manchester which isn’t adorned by a ‘Say Something’ or ‘Between the Senses’ poster. It all feels like it happened very quickly to me, so I can’t imagine what it’s like for them right now! Last week I got the album through in the post and it’s been on repeat play pretty much ever since. Then last night I was at the Night & Day Café for a pre-tour warm-up gig, which was a pretty special occasion…

"I think there’s a good order of events for getting into a band – first of all you hear a song on the radio and are immediately blown away – you go out and buy the single and the b-sides are amazing too, so then you go and see the band live and they confirm all your hopes. Maybe a couple more gigs and singles down the line, they release an album – some of the songs you know really well (the singles), others are familiar from hearing them at gigs and others are completely new. This is pretty much what happened with Haven and so I’ve been able to appreciate ‘Between the Senses’ on several different levels, which makes it all the more exciting to listen to.

"First of all, it was great to hear the singles in their proper context, instead of crammed between power pop and nu-metal shite on the radio - ‘Beautiful Thing’ sounds so much more powerful as an album opener than it did standing alone and ‘Say Something’ still fizzes with chart-breaking freshness. Of the live-faves it’s ‘Still Tonight’ that was most eagerly anticipated and five tracks in, here it was – that simple but inspired guitar intro, slower and grittier than it’s live equivalent, in perfect contrast to the smooth and flowing vocals, the drum beats juddering at just the right moments to give me shivers, then there’s a gradual build up to the final chorus, with Gary holding ‘there’s…’ just long enough before it all takes off and makes me dizzy. Yes, you may have guessed, this song is rather special! ‘Lately’ is another – a softly lilting acoustic beginning, with the vocal oh so gradually building into a huge, emotive force - ‘nobody lately looks like yoooouuu do’ - before winding back down into a fragile and heart-rending ending.

"The final three tracks steer us away from the more traditional form of the songs on the rest of the album and into more atmospheric territory – ‘Is This Bliss’ has acoustic guitar reminiscent of Holy Bible era Manics B-side ‘Hibernation’, ‘Keep on Giving In’ is all moody, echoey harmonies (this one with a slightly Mansunish guitar riiff!) and finally ‘Holding On’ – sounding like a perfect soundtrack to cult fantasy film ‘Labyrinth’! I thought Haven were gonna be a new Marion, but they are so much more than just Gary’s albeit divine voice. Musically, they have it all – soaring pop singles, ballads that really do hit you and then, just when you think it’s too good to be true, there are these slightly off kilter, dreamy tracks too. They say the band is their haven – this album could well become mine."