MANIC STREET PREACHERS – Lokerse Feesten, Belgium – 10 August 2018

The Manics once covered B.J. Thomas‘ 1970 hit Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head (written by Burt Bacharach/Hal David). Well, yesterday at the open air Lokerse Feesten Festival in Belgium it rained fiercely all night long. After the long heat wave period, it
seemed like the rain wanted its revenge. James Dean Bradfield thanked sincerely the
wet crowd for being there. And, yes, the bad weather definitely didn’t stop thousands of us, including a legion of British fans wo crossed the channel for the Welsh legends and co-headliner Kasabian, to scream at the top of our/their lungs.

The short, but highly vibrant one-hour set was a flaming mix of the crème de la crème of their countless hits, three standouts (International Blue / People Give In / Hold Me Like Heaven) from their new flamboyant LP Resistance Is Futile and a perfectly matching cover of The Cure‘s In Between Days .

Despite being soaked to the bone you can’t but being totally energized by Manic Street Preachers’ imperishable live power, overwhelming stage energy and their anthemic tsunami of massive tunes. Our bodies went cold by the persevering rain but the Welsh romantics did again, for the umpteenth time in my case, what they do best: keeping the many fans’ hearts and souls warm and glowing and their voices lubricated.
We still love them, no doubt about that…

Nicky Wire, colorful as always…

Raindrops kept falling on our heads…

Passion, power and energy…

SETLIST
Motorcycle Emptiness
International Blue
You Stole the Sun From My Heart
Everything Must Go
People Give In
Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
In Between Days (The Cure cover)
Kevin Carter
A Design for Life
You Love Us
Hold Me Like a Heaven
Motown Junk
Tsunami
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

Newest album RESISTANCE IS FUTILE – stream here.

Manics: Website – Facebook – Discography

(pics by JL/Turn Up The Volume!)