Suede, April 2019 UK tour: Southampton performance at O2 Guildhall Southampton on 27 April

 

On 27nd April we had the opportunity to see Suede live for the second time, this time in Southampton. It was the night of Suede special treats for the fans and loving audience. Suede’s music has always been a great inspiration in my life and I am sure I am not speaking only for myself. Unlike so many people who saw them live over the years, my first real opportunity to see the great Britpop act appeared only in 2015. When you live far from their more common venues, which I did until 2014, catching their performance is not easy. However, I knew I didn’t want to miss this fantastic opportunity to catch Suede on this tour.

BC-Camplight-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-2We arrived in time to see the supporting act BC Camplight. We knew nothing about the artist, apart from the fact he came from the USA. Brian is undoubtedly indebted to the Indie music expression and has been inspired by the genre. Although I wasn’t familiar with the songs, I enjoyed them nonetheless. I checked him out today and I could remember hearing “Deportation Blues”, “You Should’ve Gone To School” and “I’m Desperate”.

Suede-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-9Suede took over the stage at 9. They opened with “As Onefrom their latest album The Blue Hour. The lightning on the stage combined with the heavy use of the smoke machine was not ideal for taking pictures, but enjoyable and appealing to the audience, as well as in line with their performance. The next song was “Togetherfollowed by “Outsiders”. It was obvious by now that together with the new material we would hear all their greatest hits. They decided to play songs from their legendary albums Suede and Dog Man Star next. To my great delight, we could hear some of my favourites: “We Are The Pigs”, “So Young”, “Metal Mickey” and “Heroine”. What was in front of us on the stage were five exceptional musicians who were giving all they had to the audience. Brett’s energetic performance and radiant Suede-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-23 Suede-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-32energy reflected on each and every person present; his presence on the stage took many breaths away. The energy which Brett was transmitting to the audience and the response the band got in return were simply touching. Their live shows are one of the most superb performances you could possibly wish to see. By now, there wasn’t a person present who didn’t sing along. They decided to slow it down with “Breakdown” and the acoustic version of “Obsessions”. Soon we were back to Suede repertoire with “The Drowners” during which Brett left the stage and joined the frenzied crowd! They played a few more favourites of mine, “It Starts And Ends With You”, “Trash” and “Animal Nitrate”, before Brett took the acoustic guitar and played “The Living Dead”. “The Invisibles” and “Flytipping” from The Blue Hour ended the amazing set list which consisted of 19 Suede classics!

Suede-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-30 Suede-pic-by-Marija-Buljeta-24However, the band called it a day after almost an hour and a half, but not for long. Of course, we knew they couldn’t leave us without an encore. They returned to play two more songs. First on the encore list was “Beautiful Ones” from Coming up, which was followed by “Life Is Golden”, my favourite song from The Blue Hour. It was a dream ending of such an outstanding performance, the amazing set list and absolutely stunning atmosphere that the band shared with the fans. It was surely more than a show, it was an experience!

Set list: 1. As One, 2. Together, 3. Outsiders, 4. We Are The Pigs, 5. So Young, 6. Metal Mickey, 7. Heroine, 8. Breakdown, 9. Obsessions, 10. The Drowners, 11: It Starts And Ends With You, 12. Sabotage, 13. Painted People, 14. Trash, 15. Animal Nitrate, 16: The Living Dead, 17. I Don’t Know How To Reach You, 18. The Invisibles. 19. Flytipping

Encore: 20. Beautiful Ones, 21. Life Is Golden

Full gallery: http://www.altvenger.com/suede-o2-guildhall-southampton-southampton-27-april-2019-gallery/