Mitsubishi Electric Hall, Düsseldorf, Germany31st January 2026
Biffy Clyro - “The Futique Tour 2026” - Support: Bartees Strange
Fans in Germany had to wait three and a half years to see BIFFY CLYRO again - the Scottish band last toured Germany in September 2022. However, with ‘Futique’, the new studio album released in September 2025, Simon Neil and brothers James and Ben Johnston had a good reason to pack their bags once again. However, one member of the band still had a major hurdle to face:
A few weeks before the start of the tour, which kicked off in Belfast, Ireland, in early January 2026, bass guitarist James Johnston took to social media to announce that he would not be available for the upcoming dates as he had slipped into addiction as a result of mental health issues, which he now needs to address with professional help. In the same post, James also announced that he would be replaced by Naomi Macleod for the following dates.
Bartees Strange
As support, the organisers found a rather unusual solution in BARTEES STRANGE. Born in England but living in the USA, the musician sees himself as a musical chameleon who combines different genres such as Folk, R&B, Rock and Jazz. In Düsseldorf, BARTEES STRANGE performed as a solo artist, making himself comfortable on a stool in the middle of the large stage and accompanying himself on his green Fender Jazzmaster.
And he did a good job. A really good job. Vocal-wise, the solo artist was absolutely on top form, and the chords he drew from his guitar sounded wonderfully rich and rounded off the performance. After a solid half hour, BARTEES STRANGE earned respectable applause, which was not a given considering the stylistic difference to the evening’s act.
Biffy Clyro
There wasn’t much to change on stage after the support act’s performance. Nevertheless, it took another thirty minutes before the lights dimmed in the sold-out Mitsubishi Electric Hall, filled with around 7,000 fans, and the instrumental, monotonous ‘Multistability 1-B’ by British music producer Mark Fell blasted from the speakers. Only then, after another five minutes, did BIFFY CLYRO take to the stage and start their set with ‘A Little Love’, the opening track from their current album ‘Futique’.
The stage, which had been covered during BARTEES STRANGE’s performance, was now fully functional. It was now clear that the concert would not only take place on the stage floor, but that there were also two levels/floors thanks to a simple but functional construction. Drummer Ben Johnston took his place behind his drum kit on the first level, while two violinists positioned themselves to his left, slightly higher up on the second level.
This for years has been home to additional live musicians Mike Vennart (guitar) and Richard Ingram (keyboards), who used to lead their own band together with OCEANSIZE, remained close to the ground and positioned themselves to the left and right of the centre of the stage, leaving the place in the sun in the middle of the stage to the new bass guitarist Naomi Macleod. And Simon Neil? The frontman of BIFFY CLYRO was the last of the live line-up to take his place in the centre of the first level.
As mentioned, the band kicked off with ‘A Little Love’ and ‘Hunting Season’, two songs from their new album ‘Futique’. Over the course of the evening, BIFFY CLYRO performed seven of the eleven tracks from the album, in exactly the same order as they appear on the album. Considering that these are new songs that have hardly been tested live, the two new songs went down very well with the audience. Of course, bangers like the following ‘That Golden Rule’ touch the fans on a different level, but after just two songs, one could already be optimistic that the seven new songs would integrate well into the set list.
In the course of the show, new and old songs alternated with a certain ease. It was a bit of a shame that BIFFY CLYRO completely ignored songs from their first three albums. On the other hand, songs from the 2009 album ‘Only Revolutions’ were exceptionally well represented. But who can blame the band? Sixteen years ago, the Scots created a masterpiece with this album, which is packed with hit after hit. An album for the ages.
There wasn’t really much interaction with the audience throughout the evening. The exception was ‘Friendshipping’, the song in the middle of the set, during which Simon Neil referred to the absent James Johnston and at the same time praised Naomi Macleod as his replacement on bass guitar. Mountains’ concluded the regular set - by this point, a few crowd surfers were already making their way through the front rows of the audience - and was celebrated frenetically. The crowd sang along, and even in the seated area at the edge of the hall, more and more people gathered to dance in the aisle between the rows of chairs. What a powerful end to the show.
But of course, that wasn’t all. BIFFY CLYRO returned to the stage for an encore after a short break, initially only Simon Neil, Ben Johnston and one of the two violinists. Sitting on the steps of the stage construction, the three musicians treated themselves to an almost intimate moment and performed ‘Machines’ in a beautiful unplugged version, which was loudly supported by the audience, before moving on to ‘The Captain’, ‘Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies’, ‘Bubbles’ and, of course, ‘Many Of Horror’, reaching a captivating finale in which the atmosphere soared from one climax to the next. There’s no better way to end a concert. Mon The Biff!
Setlist
01. A Little Love
02. Hunting Season
03. That Golden Rule
04. Who’s Got a Match?
05. Shot One
06. Space
07. Wolves of Winter
08. Tiny Indoor Fireworks
09. Goodbye
10. Friendshipping
11. Biblical
12. A Thousand and One
13. Different People
14. A Hunger in Your Haunt
15. Black Chandelier
16. Instant History
17. Two People in Love
18. Mountains
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19. Machines (Acoustic)
20. The Captain
21. Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies
22. Bubbles
23. Many of Horror
All pictures by André Wilms
