PVRIS + Maggie Lindemann @ o2 Institute, 25 January 2023
Massachusetts trio PVRIS joined us in Birmingham on the eve of the release of their latest single ‘Goddess’ to play a sold-out show. They were supposed to play back in April 2022 but postponed the tour to focus on their upcoming fourth album. The electro-rock trio combine electronic and rock music with drum and bass driven beats.
Opening for them PVRIS had Nashville-based Charlotte Sands, followed by Texan Maggie Lindemann. Maggie is about to commence her own world tour (including coming back to Birmingham for a headline show) and it’s clear why.
Her presence and style combined with her strong vocal and catchy choruses make for an artist who is going places. Her music combines electronic, pop-punk and heavy rock. The standout track from this evening was ‘Self-Sabotage’ but you can hear all Maggie’s music on her new album Suckerpunch.
Between the support acts and the appearance of PVRIS, several crew members distributed bundles of plants across the stage giving us rainforest holiday vibes, but also making for some nice visuals for the show.
PVRIS opened with Autumn 2022 single ‘Animal’ which was also part of a short film released in the same year. Across the evening they played tracks from all three of their studio albums. Decadent song ‘Fire’ from first album White Noise got everybody singing and waving arms, as did anthemic track ‘Use me’ from their latest album of the same name. Other stand out songs included one of their heaviest ‘Mirrors’ and, honestly, any track where singer Lynn Gunn got to showcase her outstanding vocals. Her upper range is particularly impressive and she could take on the likes of Hannah Reid from British band London Grammar.
There were some new songs in the set including ‘Anywhere but Here’ which has an acoustic, summer sound that went aptly with the palm plants on stage, and latest single ‘Goddess’ with its meaty guitar riff.
The sound tonight was flawless so kudos to everyone on that team. In addition to Lynn Gunn, who plays guitar as well as vocals, the band comprises Brian MacDonald who multitasks bass and keyboards, and Denny Agosto who has toured with them since 2020 playing drums.
The show closed with Gunn asking everyone to put their dancing shoes back on for electronic song ‘Death of Me’. The band came out a second time for a three-song encore that included some serious jumping about to ‘My House’, and, of course, ended with a sing-a-long to hit single ‘Hallucinations’.
PVRIS’ tour continues on in the UK and Europe during February.
Setlist
- Animal
- Monster
- Mirrors
- Dead Weight
- Gimme a Minute
- What’s Wrong
- Fire
- Old Wounds
- My Way
- Anywhere but Here
- You and I
- Use Me
- Death of Me
……………..
- Goddess
- My House
- Hallucinations
Review: Chrissie Duxson
Photographs: Ian Dunn
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