Biffy’s ‘Bodies in Flight’, taken from latest album effort Vertigo of Bliss is both a powerful opener and an apt description of tonight’s performance.  The three Scots – lurching, hair-laden guitarist Simon Neil, with solid bass and drum twins Ben and James Johnson, have entered Norwich Arts Centre and left a rather pungent post-grunge smell.

Surprisingly, latest single ‘Eradicate the Doubt’ is played early, providing bass-heavy power chord relief, before moving tone with the skipped, lengthy pauses of ‘The Ideal Height’.  You can sense the anticipation building, a testament to this group’s procrastinating small-town fanbase, when a small delay and an earful of requests by certain younger members of this audience reveal a earth-shatteringly loud ‘Convex, Concave’.  They pause to let the crowd sing along, I should imagine to cite this Norfolk town into singing “Hit Reset” in a variety of inaudible student accents.

There’s no let-up in dynamic shift. However, there are only few moments of real subtlety.  My eyes are starting to drift after drinking one-too-many Guinnesses.  I have to compete for ages with a seven-foot tall fucker in front of me, and I can’t see the three Biffy’s. But wait…

The britpoppy, anthemic ‘Questions & Answers’ precedes ‘57’ and ‘27’ to prove this band can pull off their crowd-pleasers.  Loudly.  There is a really, compressed yet visceral Foo Fighters sound going on now, which is by far tonight’s high point.  After ‘ummming’ and ‘ahhhing’ for what seems like eons, I move away from the S.F.T.F.

Once in sight, Simon Neil does looks like an impressive grunge throwback, and the threesome thrash about furiously, finishing their set with ‘Now The Action Is On Fire!’  And yes, they succumb to the obligatory mini venue crowd surfing, but the guitars remain unharmed.  I think it's wise to watch this space.
(4/5)

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