Suede and the Manic Street Preachers at the Hollywood Palladium

Photos and words by Michelle Shiers

30 years after they were dubbed the best new band in Britain and 25 years since they last toured America, The London Suede (or Suede in the UK) brought the Hollywood Palladium to a fever pitch on November 10th. Singer Brett Anderson, ageless and forever-lean, exuded an unstoppable muscle memory - a swagger with the same ferocity as he had at their commercial peak. They began the night with “This Hollywood Life” - a set-opener reserved for this show alone, and whatever deprivation US fans may have felt for the last quarter of a century melted away as the band dove headfirst into their 9-album catalog.

As they moved through “The Drowners” and “Animal Nitrate” from their debut, Anderson jumped on and off the stage, playing it up to photographers and leaning into the crowd. If you could take your eyes off Anderson for one moment, you could see Mat Osman on bass, Simon Gilbert on drums, Richard Oakes on guitar, and Neil Codling on keyboards. Together, Suede proved that when something clicks, it’s there for good. Though the Britpop label might be a cringeworthy cliché to the members of Suede, there’s no question as to their influence on that era of British music in the 90s. Now in 2022, Suede have released their 9th album “Autofiction” and fans erupted just as fervently for newer songs “She Still Leads Me On” and “Turn Off Your Brain and Yell”. Anderson engaged in some requisite amp-hopping and mic-whipping, spending more time performing in the arms of the front row than he was on stage. Lush and lithe, Suede have not skipped a single beat of musical-prowess or raw energy.

Thirteen songs into the set, Brett grabbed an acoustic to perform “The Wild Ones” from 1994’s “Dog Man Star”. This was clearly the poetic sing-along everyone in that crowd had waited more than 2 decades for. One fan was overheard in the crowd noting that although he had been at the previous night’s show holding Brett’s hand, the Palladium performance was several times better in terms of an unspoken attitude regarding being perhaps under appreciated in the states. “It was like church,” he said of tonight. Suede began the end of their set with the punky stomper “Cant Get Enough” and “Metal Mickey” with a glam-guitar bravado and Anderson’s signature falsetto-yelps that brought all the arms clapping.

Before their last song and drenched in sweat, Anderson joked “This might be the last song we ever play in Los Angeleez. Maybe see you again in 25 years. Maybe we will be gone by then.” They ended the night with the unhinged Palladium singing the la la la’s on “The Beautiful Ones” and without an encore, the crowd hustled out of the venue completely satiated, as they did exactly what they came to do: shaking their bits to the hits.

Opening the night were co-headliner and Welsh trio, Manic Street Preachers. Fronted by James Dean Bradfield, Manic Street preachers beamed their way through their set. They opened with “Motorcycle Emptiness” from their 1992 debut album “Generation Terrorists” and though they were never a band known for their people-pleasing, that’s all they seemed to do tonight. The Manics may not have had the same fanbase with Suede, but there was just enough crossover for everyone in the venue to appreciate the veteran English rockers own brand of nostalgia, reinvigorated by the recent release of their 14th studio album “The Ultra Vivid Lament”. Their 15-song set came with a couple covers: “Suicide Is Painless” by Johnny Mandel and the unexpected “Sweet Child O’ Mine” which felt like a backhanded homage to the city they found themselves back in. Between Bradfield’s occasional banter in his Welsh accent, die-hard Manic fans definitely took this opportunity to warm up their voices. Guitarist James Dean Bradfield donned sunglasses and a feather boa - that extra bit of glam to highlight his clash-y jumps and scissor kicks. Socially aware and existentially melancholy, Manic Street Preachers’ music is still pretty, still catchy. They closed their set with 1992’s “You Love Us” and 1996’s “A Design For Life” - soundtracking the night for anyone in the venue who thought, “We don't talk about love. We only wanna get drunk.”

Manic Street Preachers