How do you document a spiritual experience?
I’m sitting here faced with the monumental task of putting the recent Weyes Blood concert into words: a show so profoundly beautiful and divine that attempting to convey it through words feels almost intimidating.
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The show began with her band silently entering the stage in procession, donned in dark red and black attire. Surrounding them were billows of stage fog and flickering candles, evoking a sense of nostalgia reminiscent of a kitschy vampire-slasher from the ’70s.
Emerging from the fog dressed in all-white, Weyes Blood floated across the stage to her space at the front, her radiant, captivating energy apparent even before she sang the first note.
One of the most striking aspects of the show was the sheer clarity and beauty of Weyes Blood’s vocals. Every word of her poetic lyricism resonated through the venue, mesmerising the audience with her storytelling.
English documentary maker Adam Curtis provided visuals that complemented the music perfectly. His masterful projections added another layer of depth and meaning to the already immersive experience, weaving a visual narrative that enhanced the ethereal ambiance of the concert.
Playing songs across her discography, from Titanic Rising to the recent And In The Darkess, Hearts Aglow – one of the most breathtaking moments (of an already breathtaking show) occurred during Andromeda, where the band cut out while a single spotlight illuminated Weyes Blood for the line –
“Treat me right, I’m still a good man’s daughter.”
– And then, the rest of the band joined back in. It was a breathtaking second of quiet reflection, a simultaneously beautiful and haunting moment which made those already hard-hitting lyrics hit even harder.
An unexpected highlight of the evening occurred when it was revealed that it was the bass player’s birthday. Without any prompting from Weyes Blood, the entire audience spontaneously burst into a chorus of “happy birthday.”
Not to sound all woo-woo hippie, but the concert was genuinely healing: a friend of mine, who had been suffering from food poisoning before the gig, emerged from the depths of the Forum completely healed.
The concert was a sensory overload of emotions: I wanted to cry at several points throughout the concert, but I dared not shed a single drop for fear of my gaze fogging up and missing even a fraction of a second of the show.
It hit all those promised buzzwords: transcendent, etherial, otherworldly. I’m a complete convert, ready to devote myself to the altar of Weyes Blood.
Amen.
Weyes Blood 07/06 setlist
- It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody
- Children of the Empire
- A Lot’s Gonna Change
- God Turn Me Into a Flower
- Andromeda
- Grapevine
- A Given Thing
- Everyday
- Wild Time
- Twin Flame
- Hearts Aglow
- Encore: Something to Believe
- Encore: Picture Me Better (Solo on guitar)
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