Biffy Clyro made the Belasco Theater sing like a stadium with Raue
On Monday April 20th Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro brought their melodic magic to The Belasco Theater in Los Angeles California. A fantastic live band, these talented Scots often play to some of the largest festival crowds in Europe, so seeing them at this intimate Los Angeles venue was truly amazing. Considering the 4/20 date is a holiday in downtown LA, the crowd for this show seemingly formed slowly on a Monday night, and openers Raue from Santa Cruz, CA, received a rather lukewarm reception. Biffy Clyro on the other hand, were beloved by their Southern California audience. They drew a huge crowd later in the evening and almost every person in the venue sang along to each song at the top of their lungs. Initially scheduled for December at the Lodge Room, the show was rescheduled due to travel visa problems, but it ended up being a fantastic concert regardless. However, Biffy Clyro’s bass player James Johnston (brother of drummer Ben) was notably absent from the show as he recovers from mental health and addiction issues. His incredible energy, singing, and stage presence with the band were sorely missed, and the band even mentioned him and dedicated a song. Best wishes for his recovery and return to the lineup.
Raue, a high-energy grunge-punk duo from Santa Cruz, CA opened the show with great youthful exuberance and enthusiasm, although they unfortunately seemed to lack the same stage presence. The band acknowledged being on one of their first big tours and played some really catchy and rocking songs. However their banter about the Coachella festival and living in Escondido somehow fell flat with the LA crowd, and some audience members seemed genuinely confused. Paige Kalenian on vocals and guitar was a powerhouse; she riffed away playing heavy, sludgy riffs and jumped wildly onstage while drummer Jax Huckle wailed away on his drumset, pounding the drums so hard they required large weights and sandbags to hold them down. He is an insane live drummer and was a blast to watch. This band is clearly on the rise; they have tremendous talent and will only grow and improve as openers. In a few years, they will likely headline these same shows.
Biffy Clyro is one of those bands whose catalog you can just fall in love with, their songs are so emotional and raw, with lyrics based around everyday life and relationships. Touring in support of their latest release, 2025’s Futique the band highlighted that album and some of its melancholic emotion with performances of songs like “A Little Love,” “Friendshipping,” “Goodbye,” “Shot One,” and the single “Hunting Season.” Highlights of the early set also included some of the band’s harder selections, which lean more into metal and alternative rock. Songs like “That Golden Rule,” “Who’s Got a Match,” and “Wolves of Winter” highlight the band’s heavier side, showcasing Ben Johnston’s powerful drumming and singer/guitarist Simon Neil’s incredible riffing. It’s actually amazing to hear Neil get such heavy sounds out of his white Fender Strat, his guitar tone at this show was outstanding and cut sharply through the entire venue. The touring lineup for the band on this current outing includes bassist Naomi Macleod, who is filling in for James and also sang background vocals beautifully, along with Mike Vennart on guitar and Richard “Gambler” Ingram on keyboards. The whole touring band sounded fantastic and absolutely huge in the intimate, historical Los Angeles theater. Walking to the upstairs balcony during the show the entire building seemed to be shaking on its foundation from the heavy bass and drums.
The main portion of the band’s extensive twenty-one-song setlist in Los Angeles concluded with the bouncy “Mountains” from the 2009 album Only Revolutions, which was another crowd favorite of the evening. Biffy Clyro then returned to the stage for an encore with a beautifully moving acoustic performance of the song “Machines” by Simon Neil. This was followed by some of the loudest and wildest crowd reactions of the evening. Songs like “The Captain,” “Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies,” “Bubbles,” and the closing song “Many of Horror” caused huge singalongs and even a few mini mosh pits as the crowd jumped and danced on the floor. At times, the crowd was so loud that it nearly drowned out singer Simon Neil, who seemed genuinely happy about it. Biffy Clyro gave absolutely everything to their fans in Los Angeles on this fine April evening, literally sweating it out on the small SoCal stage. While not a stadium show, the Belasco Theater felt huge and absolutely full of emotion. On this night Biffy Clyro made everyone in attendance true believers.
