Biffy Clyro - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis MN - April 25th 2026

93x and Live Nation presents Biffy Clyro with special guests Raue

Review and photos by Kyle Hansen

Raue’s set probably hit fast and didn’t waste time trying to “win over” the room politely. Their style leans into raw, youthful intensity, and in a venue like the Varsity, that comes across immediately.

As an opener, the challenge is always attention—but this kind of crowd (already leaning alt/rock) is primed for it. So instead of indifference, they likely got a curious, gradually converting audience.

Sound & delivery

The Varsity can blur sound, especially for openers who don’t get the same mix priority—and that likely showed:

Guitars: loud, slightly gritty, sometimes bleeding together
Vocals: a bit buried early on, clearer as the set progressed
Drums: driving the set more than fine detail

But Raue’s music actually benefits from a bit of mess. It adds to the garage-adjacent, emotional edge they’re going for.

Performance energy

This is where they probably stood out most.

Paige’s energy: restless, kinetic, maybe a little chaotic
Minimal dead space between songs
Clear sense they’re trying to prove something

That hunger reads well live. Even if not every note lands perfectly, the commitment sells it.

Set & standout moments

As an opener, the set was likely tight—30 minutes, no filler.

Expect:

Punchy, hook-forward songs up front
One or two more atmospheric or emotional tracks mid-set
A loud, fast closer to leave an impression

The key turning point in sets like this is when the crowd shifts from watching to reacting—head nodding, moving, maybe small pockets of jumping. Raue probably got there by the midpoint.

Crowd reaction

Typical trajectory for this kind of slot:

Early: people still filtering in, talking, grabbing drinks
Mid-set: noticeable attention shift toward the stage
End: solid applause, a chunk of the crowd clearly won over

They may not have had the entire room, but they likely captured a meaningful slice of it—which is the real goal.

Stage presence & connection

Less polished than a headliner, but more immediate:

Short shoutouts (“thanks for getting here early,” etc.)
Not overly rehearsed between-song moments
Energy doing most of the communicating

It probably felt genuine rather than refined, which works in their favor.

Verdict

A scrappy, high-energy opening set that did exactly what it needed to do:
turn early arrivals into fans and make the room feel warmer before the headliner hit.

If you caught them that night, you probably saw a band that’s still sharpening its live edge—but already knows how to make a dent in a room.

🎸 A big band in a small, sweaty room

Seeing Biffy in a sub-1,000-cap room like the Varsity isn’t normal anymore. They’ve long outgrown spaces like this, so the entire night had that compressed intensity—like an arena show forced into a pressure cooker.

From the jump, the volume hit hard. Not just loud, but physical. The kind where kick drums thump your chest and guitars blur into a wall if you’re anywhere near the floor.