CONCERT REVIEW
Artist: Lauren Mayberry
Date: January 31, 2025
Venue: Club Soundwell
City: Salt Lake City, UT
The wonderful Lauren Mayberry graces the country on “Vicious Creature” her first solo US tour.
We all know and love Lauren Mayberry the small statured powerhouse voice Scottish singer for her band “CHVRCHES”, and now she has released a solo album, and is taking it live to US audiences, and let me tell you, you WANT TO SEE THIS TOUR.
My daughter and I have a tradition of seeing CHVRCHES every time they roll through town, one night we showed up at the venue just coming out of COVID-19, and the show was canceled, because they got snowed in trying to come in from Denver. So when Salt Lake was on the top of the tour dates, I was excited and took my daughter with me. We prepared for this night by listening to the album “Vicious Creature” for a couple of weeks. (get that album, you’re welcome)
The venue “Soundwell” is where I have shot so many great shows, SWANS, Thelma Huston, Alaska Thunderfuck, Noah Finns, and countless other artists, they always sound great here. While I was sitting in the ADA/VIP area, Lauren walked past me with a scarf over her head, sunglasses, and little star clips in her hair, she didn’t want to be noticed, so I didn’t bother her.
CULT OF VENUS
If Lauren Mayberry wanted to impress the hell out of everyone before even taking the stage, she did it by choosing “Cult Of Venus”. I saw the name and had a chuckle, as any old-school Dark Wave Punk music fan would remember, one of the possible band names Joy Division tossed around was “Slaves of Venus”, the name never really took, but it was great to have “Slaves of Venus” opening for Peter Hook & The Light in 2013. Cult of Venus was simply a woman with a guitar and keyboard. She played her set in high heels and managed guitar and her keyboard pedals that way. Nothing short of incredible, look her up, you’re all fans already.
Lauren Mayberry
The intro tape “Liability Waiver” “The Following is a work of fiction, any similarities to actual events or actual persons or events is purely coincidental” played in a loop while the band (a drummer/keyboard player, and bassist) took the stage, and they opened playing several measures of “Crocodile Tears” for a few measures then Lauren came out in a pair of leather shorts, knee high boots, and a T-shirt saying “SAFETY, DIGNITY, AND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TRANS PEOPLE”, that statement on her shirt alone made all of us instantly love her. She picked up an old rotary telephone on the stage, as a prop, and sang “I picked up the phone to start a chain reaction”. She already had everyone singing along with her, she didn’t need to do much to get the punters at the top of their game. I sat in the pit getting photos, like previous times, but honestly, this felt like a different experience.
“Hello, my name is Lauren Mayberry and I am too short for this microphone” she greeted the audience and was cheered for a welcome. While she adjusted the microphone stand Lauren thanked everyone for coming out, and explained that she had canceled the gig the night before because she was suffering through a cold, and asked us to ignore if she coughed. Then she went right into “Change Shapes”, laying into “God I know you love it when you’re eating your young” as if that line was meant for that moment.
She sat down on the stage, in her leather shorts, and boot, singing “Mantra” (looking taller than she is when she stood up), getting right in the faces of punters in the tiny space between us in the pit, and the barrier. She did this contorted back bend and back into her twirling dance. Going to the elevated panels at the back of the stage to finish the song. It was hearing it live that I noticed the drum beat being that of “In A Lonely Place” by New Order, but with a very happy upbeat vibe to it.
Lauren began using a throat spray, apologizing ahead of time for her voice being weak because of this cold. She would take a spray, and mention something about Trump, saying “FUCK THAT GUY!!!” in between songs.
When she got to “Anywhere But Dancing” she was sitting on the edge of the platform, with her drummer on piano, she got up drank some water, and hummed the next line, to applause. She was doing everything to keep her voice in good form for the punters. With some more banter “Fuck that guy, Fuck that guy the first time, and Fuck that guy the 2nd time too.” with a very receptive audience responding in cheers.
Her bassist started thumping out the bassline (on a regular guitar) of “Punch Drunk”, she was dancing like Cleopatra to the strobes behind her, and red lights illuminating her in front. With all the power she could put into her voice “Kiss me quick, drive me right around the bend, I’m punch-drunk, baby, I hope it never ends” with the entire hall dancing and singing along with her, but as quickly as the song started, it ended.
I noticed a family behind me, on the other side of the VIP rope, a mom and dad, and two young girls. One couldn’t have been older than 8, and the other was probably 11. The younger was standing on a chair, with hearing protection phones on, and her phone up, I walked over and took her phone from her hands and she thought I was confiscating it, her parents nodded at me, and I walked up really close to the stage and took a few up close pics for her, then handed it back. I was surprised at how elated this little girl was over that, but she was a die-hard fan, starting early.
We had a longer intro to “Something In The Air”, while she paced the stage, giving a silhouette and building the atmosphere. Lauren would sing the chorus into a red bullhorn/flashlight. It was poignant when she sang “If you want to believe then that’s your prerogative, I wish you the very best” giving us all the power of a voice that we were not accustomed to. She was giving us far more with her voice than we had ever heard at any prior CHVRCHES gig. After she finished the song, she told us about the bullhorn she was using. She bought the first one on Amazon and found it had been contaminated with pictures and statements supporting Donald Trump. She said she had to package it up and send it back, hoping she hadn’t gotten some sort of illness from having handled it. All to the cheers and laughter of the audience. She then said how she found a different one without MAGA all over it and purchased that one for the tour. Then she said again “Fuck That Guy”. She went off and apologized to the younger listeners for dropping F-Bombs, and saying a few other things, intending for it to be “Family Friendly”. I honestly don’t think anyone had an issue with what she said, as much as everyone was laughing.
Lauren took the stool at the keyboard to play “Are You Awake”, it was a somber presentation, “Are you awake I don’t remember when we last spoke”, we all were able to feel the absence and what was missing when she wrote this song. She gave us a quiet thoughtful moment, with this song still having the power it did when we heard it over a year ago, just more “real” live.
A good couple sprays for her throat and Lauren was playing “Bitter Sweet Symphony” the timeless classic by the Verve, first verse on the piano and then the full band was playing behind her with all the vigor as if we were listening to her, OR the VERVE at Glastonbury. The moment was wonderful while she gave us everything, in a small club. This is one of those gigs where you experience so much greatness, in a small venue, where she could just as easily be headlining Lollapalooza, Lauren Mayberry is happy to give us something new, unique, and wonderful, showing everyone she can do it on her own.
She finished up the first part of the set with “A Work of Fiction” and “Sorry, etc”, leaving everyone happy, and wanting more.
After a somewhat extended break, and the house lights still dark, we knew she would be back, knowing that it might be a short encore set because of her voice, the shadows of each member of the band came back to the stage. The drummer took the guitars, and the guitarist sat at the keyboard, showing she had a very talented band with her switching out instruments.
“Dress me up, take me to school
Parties with birthday balloons
And you teach me about all the bad and good
Oh, Mother, I couldn’t do without you “
The opening verse of “Oh Mother” hit us all pretty hard, the crowd was completely silent, recognizing this feminine powerhouse, and paying tribute to help make her who she is. With dream pop guitar lines, enhancing the mood of the song exactly how Lauren wanted it to reach us.
With all the applause, and a few more sprays from the bottle, she thanked everyone for coming out to the gig in sub-zero temperatures, she unloaded her gratitude to us and said this would be the last song. The piano line for the one song I was waiting for “Sunday Best” finally!!! It is my fave song on this album “Vicious Creatures”, and I was thrilled to be hearing it after waiting through a wonderful set, this song alone made it worth going. With more animation than she had most of the night, she was everywhere on that stage, working off the drummer, making eye contact with as many people as she could. In the final verse with the entire venue clapping along with the beat, she was giving us everything her voice could give us under great strain. She walked off the stage, to a satisfied crowd.
Not a single punter would say her voice was off because Lauren Mayberry knows how to give it all, for her, 50,000 at Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, 15,000 at The Ogden Twilight Amphitheater, or even 600 at Club Soundwell, Lauren Mayberry will make sure she performs nothing short of perfection. Though I can honestly say, after all of the CHVRCHES gigs I have seen, this was the best performance I have ever heard from Lauren Mayberry.
Epilogue
Within 30 seconds of the house lights coming on, Lauren’s manager walked right up to the two young girls handed both of them 2 of the star hair clips, and said “Hi, Lauren saw you both and wanted you to have these”. She noticed her fans and was happy to see these young sisters at her show, by the simple act of giving those little star-shaped hair clips (See photos), those kids are now die-hard fans, and their grandkids will hear this story of how they got them.
Thanks for everything Lauren, we all hope your voice feels better soon.
To all you readers, grab a show if you can
#laurenmayberry #Chvrches #viciouscreature