LIVE REVIEW: Saint Agnes @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester
It’s the first night of tour for SAINT AGNES, and they’re ready to bite – fresh off the release of Uppercut!, a tune as punchy as its title suggests, and with a fresh mini-album (this summer’s Vampire) in their back pocket. Manchester’s The Deaf Institute is definitely one of the prettiest among the city’s wealth of live music venues, replete with theatrical curtains and a disco ball, but tonight SAINT AGNES bring a darkness and luxury that both fits our setting and subverts it.
Before we get to the main event, Blackburn’s SKY VALLEY MISTRESS are here to provide a taste of what’s to come. Their classic sound is brimming with punky energy straight out of the golden era of the Riot Grrrl and, of course, they give a performance to match, kicking out those meaty riffs with power and aptly gearing us up for the evening.
Rating: 6/10
Following SKY VALLEY MISTRESS, all the way from Brighton, is SIT DOWN, who bring the punky atmosphere in a completely different way. It’s all bright colours and technicolour vibrancy for these lot, who churn out a set that remains fierce even as the band giggle and joke that we should all come and buy their t-shirts “so they can afford to get to the next date of the tour”. Gut-wrenchingly noisy guitars clash up against the relentlessly crashing drums, from behind which vocalist Katie Oldham sits, somehow managing to deliver her intoxicating vocals whilst drumming. The crowd are restrained but definitely appreciative, and the garage-punk power SIT DOWN pack gets heart rates raised and ready for what’s to come.
Rating: 7/10
When SAINT AGNES appear on the stage, it’s with melodrama absolutely suited to their sound and our surroundings, which come together to put on a show in perfect symbiosis. The Deaf Institute’s stage is just a bit higher than average, but the impact it has is huge, turning the band into towering idols above the crowd. They open the show with Daughter of Lucifer, performed in almost complete darkness bar the blinding flash of the strobe, illuminating the band as shadowy silhouettes like a sinister puppet show – it’s captivating. For the rest of the show, the lights stay blue and dim, immersing us all in SAINT AGNES‘ underworld.
Their music is otherworldly but Kitty Austen manages to match it without any bells and whistles; all she needs to compel is her guitar (occasionally) and her devilishly dynamic stage presence. SAINT AGNES are masters of magnitude tonight: This World Ain’t Big Enough is enough of a stomper on its own, but when the band throw in a Killing In The Name-shaped outro it floods the room even more, and down the other end of the atmosphere scale, The Witching Hour’s eerie instrumental segment is one of the intensity peaks of the evening.
“We’ve been sat at home for eighteen months, watching Netflix and wanking… it feels so great to be back!” Kitty yells, to laughs of agreement from the crowd, before launching into the fearsome Repent. The band’s hellish control is evident start to finish, even when they’re chatting away on stage like we’re all best mates, and Repent proves this even more when Kitty actually manages to get the entire room down on the ground – literally, not one single person doesn’t lose it when we’re all thrown into the air for the final chorus, a jubilant display of the kind of community the live shows create.
Rating: 8/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography here:
