Live Review: Suede @ den Atelier – May 22nd 2022

When Suede released Coming Up in 1996, it signaled a seismic shift in the band. Their first album without founding lead guitarist Bernard Butler, and their first with his replacement Richard Oakes (as well as their first with additional fifth member Neil Codling on keyboard and rhythm guitar), it had the sound of a re-energized band with something to prove. And prove it they did, as the record quickly became their biggest selling and generated five top 10 singles on the British charts. It also marked the solidification of the line-up that persists to this day.

In 2021, the band embarked on a 25th anniversary tour for the album, playing a series of dates around the UK. May 2022 saw the extension of that tour to continental Europe, including a stop at den Atelier in Luxembourg.

The show was divided into two sets, with the first one being dedicated to Coming Up, which they played in full. After two and a half decades, the band has found some maturity, but lost none of the raw punk energy that pervaded the record. Singer Brett Anderson in particular never seemed to let up, prowling the stage, waving his arms, and posing in true rock star fashion. The audience reacted in kind, jumping and reaching toward the stage. From the opening notes of ”Trash” to the final fade out of ”Saturday Night”

After a short break, the group returned to the stage to play a second set full of hits, album tracks, and a few obscurities to keep even the most hardcore fans happy. Starting the set with ”He’s Dead,” a b-side from their first album, may have confused some of the more casual fans in the room, but to the dedicated it was as big a deal as some of the greatest hits. The rest of the band left the stage to Anderson and Codling for a stripped down version of ”Down,” and then Anderson played a solo acoustic rendition of ”Europe Is Our Playground.” But the causal fans got plenty to keep them happy as well, with hits such as ”We Are the Pigs, ”Metal Mickey,” and ”Animal Nitrate.” The more recent albums got some attention as well, with the band performing ”It Starts and Ends With You” from Bloodsports and ”Outisders” from Night Thoughts. They finished with an encore of “Life Is Golden” from The Blue Hour.

Rumors abound (started by none other than Anderson himself) that the band hopes to embark on a rare North American tour in the fall. If it happens, it will be one not to miss.

Meanwhile, the band is far from done. The very next day after the show, they made the announcement of their ninth album Autofiction, due to be released on September 16th. The album is available to pre-order now, and you can see the band perform the first single from it, “She Still Leads Me On,” the next night in Brussels in the video below.

Suede setlist

PHOTOS © MATT CONDON

Suede