OVO Hydro, 21 January 2026
When Biffy Clyro formed in 1995 or thereabouts, did they ever imagine they would be ending the UK leg of their tour in front of 14,000 adoring fans at an indoor arena in Glasgow?
Such was the case when they arrived on stage to an adoring fanbase on a damp and dark January night. As an event, the audience had much to look forward to and a couple of questions to have answered.
For many who had followed the band since their earlier days, how would they function as a unit without key member, bassist James Johnston, was probably top of the list. On the evidence of her overall performance, Naomi MacLeod was a very worthy replacement.
On a further note, the band were supporting their latest studio album Futique and, while the setlist included seven tracks from this release, they complemented the band’s choice of crowd favourites which were peppered throughout the set with tracks resulting in mass singalongs.
The core band members, Simon Neil and Ben Johnston were supplemented by Naomi along with Mike Vennart on guitar and Richard “Gambler” Ingram on keyboards to fill out the live sound, while the addition of two violinists was also a welcome touch to enhance the songs throughout the set.
The music was impressive, the band were impressive and the whole stage and light show made for a spectacle that few bands will better this year.
From the opening chords of A Little Love to the finale kicking off with Machines through The Captain, Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies, Bubbles and finally Many of Horror which closes the night to an arena singing every word back in unison.
It’s a balanced show, mixing the present with the past, from a group still very much in tune with their fanbase.
Support Acts
The American band The Armed kicked off proceedings on the night with what can only be described as coordinated chaos.
They are a band who have become for their confrontational, loud and deliberately unsettling style.
The short set is punctuated with band members running off stage to the front of the growing mosh pit, while the songs themselves are a mix of relatively melodic playing and singing interrupted by banshee shouts, distorted guitars and any other means of shocking the audience out of any casual time they hoped to spend before the main show.
Next up were Soft Play with a stripped-back playing style. Two band members on drums and guitar augmented by shouty lyrics formed their set. They already have a following though if the front of the audience were anything to go by. The mosh pit was in full swing with ne track dedicated to a female only mosh. Strange but true. Successfully implemented. To some they may not be an easy listen, but along with another similar act, Big Special, they bring something different to the table.
Both The Armed and Soft Play can only be described as totally different from the structured songs of Biffy Clyro but they were very entertaining and an excellent choice to warm everyone up on a chilly Glasgow night in January.
