It has felt like decades since Dundee hosted big gigs – so it was only fitting that Manic Street Preachers’ return to the city after 23 years heralded the resurgence of live music.
The venue this time was Fat Sam’s Live rather than the Caird Hall, but the band rolled back the years at the sold-out show – and not just because they opened with the timeless 1992 single Motorcycle Emptiness.
Audience members – many wearing masks in a sign of the times – lapped up the mix of old and new with a setlist that leaned reasonably heavily on songs such as Orwellian and Still Snowing in Sapporo, from the new number one album The Ultra Vivid Lament.
There were also classics released over the past 30 years including If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next, You Love Us and, of course, A Design For Life.
The last time the Manics swaggered into Dundee was 1998 on the high of being one of the biggest bands in Britain.
They may no longer hold that position as an unlikely mainstream success story – despite both shows centring on the band’s two chart-topping LPs – but there was no lack of energy from frenetic frontman James Dean Bradfield and bassist Nicky Wire, complete with aviator sunglasses and a glittering guitar strap, who rolled back the years to put on a show.
A sold-out Dundee venue hosting Manic Street Preachers? Some things are worth waiting for.