Live Review: Cellar Darling – Deaf Institute, Manchester
27th october 2022
Support: Black Orchid Empire, Kassogtha
Words & Photos: Rich Price
Traffic was insane, areas were cordoned off, and police and ambulances were everywhere. I got there later than I wanted, but it seemed I wasn't alone. However, the Deaf Institute, quite probably my favourite Manchester venue, has a way of calming all ills and providing a chill, almost magical atmosphere as soon as I breathe its air.
Opening band Kassogtha had already started, and their performance was damn good. Thankfully they started late and I’m glad I got to see as much of their set as I did, the fact it overrun made me think that it may have started later to compensate for the disturbances outside. They employed a fantastic vocals use of dual vocals, and effortless switching between harsh and cleans provided for some lovely contrasts.
They had strong Arch Enemy vibes to their sound, but with more subtlety and nuance where required. Underpinning it all was some especially strong drumming, which had many a head nodding and banging along, finishing to warm applause from the audience.
The only downside was that they did look pretty cramped on the relatively small venue stage, I suspect with a bit more real estate they’d have been throwing themselves around with gusto. I definitely want to catch these again.
Following up that was Black Orchid Empire, a three piece that were thankfully not quite so compressed in their space. They had a lovely sound to them, crystal clear soaring vocals and had the crowd singing along to some catchy choruses in no time at all. Damn, these are great, they remind me a lot of Leprous with a strong post-rock feel to them, it was difficult to pin down a genre, but then that’s usually the hallmark of a quality band. This was wonderful, epic, proggy, with a fierce edge.
A heckler complaining about, of all things, the beer they were drinking was put down with a surprising level of charm. The response being that they were the support band and the headliners get to drink the good beer, was met with warm laughter from the audience. By the last song I was in rapture, these are amazing, powerful and resonated around the lovely venue. Damn, that was incredible.
After such a strong finish from Black Orchid Empire, it made Cellar Darling seem almost anticlimactic for a song, theirs being a more subtle sound. However very quickly they settle in and put on an utterly magical performance. Powerful in its own right, but more understated. The quiet and delicate power of the trio, in particular, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Anna Murphy was captivating. These are wonderful, playing to a crowd of smiling faces.
Playing songs from ‘The Spell’ an album about a girl who falls in love with death: An incredible set of songs, brimming with passion.
There were notable some technical issues with the set, a delay pedal apparently had developed too much of a relationship with death and shuffled off its mortal coil; it had a good life. This then prompted calls for the crowd to provide their own delay to the vocals.
The build-up of intensity was especially not lost on the crowd with a man fainting and given a bottle of weather by Anna, full of genuine concern for their health. After recent years, it still touches the heart to see a band who so obviously genuinely care for their fans.
The last song Avalanche was just beautiful and leaves the crowd clapping along warmly for several minutes until the raising of the lights is met with good-natured booing. It’s safe to say that they wanted more. Safe to say this was a gig that anyone attending will cherish.
Photo credits: Rich Price Photography
