Brilliant Biff as bold acoustic tour wins hearts

Biffy Clyro, MTV Unplugged Tour, St David’s Hall, Cardiff

IT TAKES a band with real self-belief to do what Biffy Clyro are doing right now. The notoriously no-nonsense Scottish rockers are exposing themselves.

And not in their usual way of performing topless.

This current MTV Unplugged tour is all about stripping back their music and performing in a more intimate, acoustic setting. You could call it back to basics, but for a band normally so loud and brazen, it’s a genuine departure.

It felt so alien and yet so right, even if frontman Simon Neil admitted towards the start of this St David’s Hall show in Cardiff: “This is still f***ing weird” as he sat, suited in a rocking chair backed by green foilage, acoustic guitar in hand. Juanita Stein, this Cardiff crowd was

The stage, anchored by an oak tree, primed for a truly special evening. resembled something more fitting for a Beginning with a beautifully hushed string quartet. version of rip-roarer The Captain, Neil

What followed Neil’s self-deprecating and his posse of alternative-rockersturned-acoustic remark was two hours of near story-tellers exhibited perfection. all their musical talents which might

Imagine an acoustic set from the best otherwise have been lost to a field of rustic wedding band you could possibly boozed-up festival goes – their regular dream of. But better. And playing the audience. Here you could feel every Biffy hits we have known and loved for note. Highlights included a tender nearly two decades. rendition of Machines, crowd-pleaser

It probably wasn’t for the fans of early Bubbles – which got the theatre-esque years Biff: no Blackened Sky or Vertigo of crowd off their feet – and the irresistible Bliss tunes here, now that really would God and Satan. have been weird. What we learned? Biffy can do

But after a pleasant supporting set anything. Just anything. from Australian singer-songwriter ■ Dominic Booth

Last night’s National Lottery Lotto winning numbers were: 07, 20, 25, 26, 34, 40. The bonus ball was 59.The Thunderball winning numbers were: 06, 11, 30, 36, 39. The Thunderball was 14.