{"id":239599,"date":"2026-01-11T14:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/239599\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T14:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T14:52:11","slug":"biffy-clyro-light-up-dublins-3arena-with-fan-favourites-and-new-tracks-from-futique-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/239599\/","title":{"rendered":"Biffy Clyro light up Dublin\u2019s 3Arena with fan favourites and new tracks from Futique \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biffy Clyro3Arena, Dublin\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

Biffy Clyro<\/a> have been one of the best live bands going for a long time so the fans arrive at the 3Arena<\/a> with high expectations. Few leave disappointed.<\/p>\n

The crowd are well primed by punk support from American hard-core group The Armed and English duo Soft Play, the latter of whom brought in plenty fans of their own. Drummer Isaac Holman pre-empts any questions about his own kit by leading the crowd from the middle of the pit in a chant of \u201cf**k the hi-hat\u201d. The pair changed their name from Slaves in 2022<\/a> as it \u201cdoesn\u2019t represent what our music stands for\u201d. The visceral Punk\u2019s Dead skewers critics of the change. They finish their set with \u201ca 15-second song called Girl Fight, about girls having a fight\u201d and an all-girl mosh pit. They also issue a warning not to \u201cstep on the white kabuki or Simon will have your guts for garters\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thankfully the curtain survives and frontman Simon Neil opens Biffy Clyro\u2019s set from behind ghostly white sheets, the like of which have produced many a horror. However, he reassures us that \u201cwith a little love, we can defeat them all\u201d. <\/p>\n

The curtain rises to reveal the rest of the band on a three-tier stage as they launch into the bristling Hunting Season, also off the Kilmarnock trio\u2019s new album, Futique.<\/p>\n

Over their three decades together, the trio of Neil, and twins Ben and James Johnston, have progressed from small gigs in Scotland to playing Glastonbury and Wembley Stadium and picked up some touring musicians along the way. However, this show, at a less than sold-out 3Arena, still feels intimate.<\/p>\n

The Scottish rockers began this tour in Belfast on Friday night without bassist James. In December, he said he would not join the band this time because of mental health and addiction issues<\/a>. He said he had recently started to receive professional help and assured fans \u201cthere is light at the end of the tunnel\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"BiffyBiffy Clyro, Scottish rock band, at the 3Arena in Dublin. Photograph Nick Bradshaw<\/p>\n

Naomi MacLeod, formerly of Dublin band Bitch Falcon, doesn\u2019t miss a beat after stepping in at short notice but the band\u2019s dynamic feels a little different, with the focus on Neil even more than usual. The band dedicate Friendshipping off the new album to Johnston midway through the gig. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Biffy Clyro: \u2018The saddest music can be the most joyous\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Futique features heavily in the set list so it\u2019s just as well the long-term Biffy loyalists know the September release well. However, it\u2019s the anthems from deeper in the catalogue that bring the place alive and That Golden Rule and Who\u2019s Got a Match? light the touch paper on the evening.<\/p>\n

After the uplifting Biblical, Neil says it\u2019s good to be back in Dublin, \u201cwe\u2019ve missed you guys so f***ing much\u201d. A few years ago, it didn\u2019t seem certain they would be back. Neil told the Independent recently they considered breaking up in the wake of the pandemic and the \u201cf***ing nightmare\u201d that was the \u201cMyth of the Happily Ever After\u201d tour in the midst of that. Instead, they took a two-year hiatus. Perhaps it\u2019s telling that only one song for that album features Saturday night. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s the staccato power of Living is a Problem, classic crowd-pleasing sing-a-longs to Black Chandelier, Mountains and acoustic emotional favourite Machines, but much of the crowd are waiting to hear just one word: Bubbles. It arrives in the encore and brings even the old guard in the seated section to their feet.<\/p>\n

\"'Frontman‘Frontman Simon Neil opens Biffy Clyro\u2019s set from behind ghostly white sheets’. Photograph Nick Bradshaw<\/p>\n

There\u2019ll always be a space in Dublin\u2019s heart for Biffy.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Bob Weir, co-founder of rock group the Grateful Dead, dies at age 78Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n