Despite Manchester Academy 1 being one of my least favourite venues (a depressing black sweatbox of a room), I was quite game for seeing Suede again. Having only ever seeing them once before, when they played the Hop Farm in 2012, I have a memory, albeit a hazy one, of a flamboyant captivating frontman and a run of anthemic sing-alongs and was expecting more of the same.

The band opened with the very unexciting Still Life from 1994’s Dog Man Star, kind of setting the tone for the night. After the track had dragged out for over 6 minutes Brett launched into a run of songs from the latest album ‘Bloodsports’, which on CD I quite enjoyed but for some reason tonight it seemed almost half hearted.

Half way through the set, the so far inactive crowd seem predictably enlivened by a few of the hits being pulled out, with some classics from ‘Coming Up’ and ‘Suede’ making an appearance. The band seem to reflect the change of atmosphere, adding some passion and energy to the sophisticated, elegant performance.

The brilliant B-Side, ‘Killing of a Flash Boy’ was a highlight, showing some of the dark edge that seems to have been lost with Suede’s most recent, slightly lightweight, offerings.

Brett Anderson is certainly not the cause for the slightly lacklustre effort being offered from the audience, jumping around with more energy than most frontmen half his age, but it does seem that the audience are struggling to keep up through the slower songs, mainly from the latest two albums.

Although it would be unfair to compare the atmosphere of a summer festival to that of an October Thursday evening in Manchester, it’s still fair to say that the band didn’t blow me away, like they did the first time I saw them. The set-list is played flawlessly, but to me this may have been the issue, there was very little spark or excitement. It’s safe to say that Suede are a tight live band, it may be the ‘Bloodsports’ heavy set-list that gave the crowd a lack of enthusiasm, or the fact that Suede have in some people’s opinion lost their edge after the last two albums.

Some said that ‘Bloodsports’ was the kindest way for Suede to fade away after 2002’s ‘A New Morning’ which was less than well received; the lack of ‘New Morning’ songs in the set-list appears to be an indirect admission of this. Unfortunately, after tonight I would be inclined to agree.

@ameliasward