Suede – Edinburgh

I wasn’t really a Suede fan the first time around.

Back in the Britpop era, plenty of people were obsessed with them, but for whatever reason they never quite connected with me in the same way as some of my friends. It wasn’t until years after they reformed that I started to properly appreciate what they had achieved and just how many great songs they had accumulated over the years.

More recently I picked up their album Head Music and found myself listening to it far more than I’d expected.

So when a single ticket appeared on Twickets, I decided it would be rude not to.

There was one small complication.

The brakes on my car had started shuddering.

Now, most sensible people would probably view faulty brakes as a sign that perhaps an unnecessary trip should be postponed.

I viewed it as an inconvenience.

Thankfully both the car and I survived the journey to Edinburgh and I made it to the Usher Hall in one piece.

And I’m very glad I did.

From the moment they took the stage, Suede were excellent.

One thing that struck me immediately was just how much energy Brett Anderson still brings to a performance. Plenty of frontmen slow down as they get older. Brett appears to have ignored that concept entirely. He threw himself into the show with the same commitment and intensity that made him such a compelling performer in the first place.

He spent much of the evening trying to whip the audience into a frenzy.

I say trying because I’m not entirely sure the crowd gave him as much back as he deserved.

There were certainly pockets of enthusiasm, but there were also long stretches where the audience seemed strangely reserved considering what was happening on stage. Brett repeatedly encouraged people to get involved and did everything possible to raise the energy level, but at times it felt like he was working much harder than the crowd.

Perhaps that’s just the way things are now.

It’s something I’ve noticed at a lot of concerts over the last few years. People seem less willing to completely lose themselves in a performance than they once were. Maybe it’s the endless availability of music online. Maybe it’s social media. Maybe it’s simply that live music no longer feels quite as rare and special as it once did.

When I first started going to gigs, every concert felt like an event.

You’d wait months for it, talk about it for weeks afterwards and remember it for years.

Now people attend incredible performances and sometimes seem more concerned with checking their phones or chatting to their mates than fully immersing themselves in the experience.

Whatever the reason, I couldn’t help feeling that Brett deserved a little more enthusiasm coming back his way.

The band certainly earned it.

The songs sounded fantastic throughout the evening and the years have only strengthened Suede’s catalogue. Tracks that perhaps didn’t fully register with me when they were first released now feel richer and more impressive, while the classics still possess all the power that made them favourites in the first place.

Looking back, I’m delighted I made the trip.

The questionable brakes, the drive to Edinburgh and the last-minute nature of the ticket all proved worthwhile. Suede delivered a superb performance and Brett Anderson once again demonstrated why he’s regarded as one of the great British frontmen.

Whether the audience fully appreciated it is another question.

I certainly did.

The videos below capture some of the evening and a band that continue to prove they are far more than simply a nostalgia act. If, like me, you didn’t fully appreciate Suede the first time around, it’s never too late to catch up.