The fourth stop on Stella Donnelly’s tour de Europe was Manchester on a not-so-glorious Monday evening—outside, that is, because inside, YES, under the pink beams, there was fun to be had.
Touring her wonderful third record, ‘Love and Fortune,’ Stella and her band of multi-instrumentalists found their way to the northwest via Cardiff, Leeds, and Glasgow.
The night was kick-started by Jack Gaby, the bass player, and a bit of everything else player, in Stella’s band. Those who came down early were all ears, captivated by some gorgeous tracks from one voice and one guitar.
As the room filled up, the crowd was treated to a spellbinding set from Welsh group Pys Melyn. Though unable to understand their lyrics, performed completely in the Welsh language, the harmonies and instrumentation from the two frontmen especially blew my mind.
The room was then packed and brimming with excitement as the main event took to the pink-lit stage. What awaited us giddy gig-goers was a career-spanning hour of early classics, a sprinkling of tracks from the heavily underappreciated ‘Flood,’ and the new tracks, which were well received and sang along to, which really popped a smile on my face.
A change of opener from recent gigs in the form of well-loved fan favourite ‘Old Man’ started the party in style. That trickled straight into ‘Flood’ as Stella took to the keyboard, losing the guitar, showcasing the immense talent of herself and her bandmates.
Sing-alongs were had as we travelled through the set, and the crowd was more than in awe and appreciative of the beautiful backing vocals on offer via Stella’s band.
Donnelly’s songs are, though serious when they need to be, a lot of the time brilliantly witty, and this plays into the hands of her stage show. A slip of the tongue led to the insanely catchy ‘Being Nice’ being introduced as a song about breeding—we soon learned it was not. ‘Baths’ was introduced as a guided meditation, and, though meant jokingly, it did feel that way, as it was the quietest and most attentive the crowd was all night—you could have heard a pin drop. And of course, ‘Mosquito’ was introduced as the song about vibrators, and it came equipped with a subtle buzz when mentioned mid-tune.
I won’t just sing the praises of the backing vocalists at the front of the stage. A lot of tracks in Stella’s catalogue don’t allow drummer Marcel of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever to let loose. But the recent indie-rock-inspired banger ‘Feel It Change’ really does allow that to happen. And as a whole, it was really cool to see the whole group rock out to that one.
The band left or hid away, and the crowd was treated to two stripped-back solo efforts.
‘Mechanical Bull,’ one of Stella’s earliest singles, got one of the biggest cheers of the night upon announcement. And ode to the world’s worst boss, ‘U Owe Me’ gained a lyric change to now feature a nod to Manchester’s finest—Boddingtons.
The band came back just in time for the songwriting masterclass that is ‘Beware of the Dogs.’ Dedicated to a free Palestine and the Aboriginal Australians, this performance was likely the highlight of the night—truly astounding.
Though admitting afterwards that she hates playing it, ‘Laying Low’ was a really big part of Stella’s set too. To me, it showcases just how far she’s come since her early singles, and I see it to be the perfect mixture of everything that made the first two albums so good, all colliding to make what I perceive to be the best track on album three.
After a little dance to ‘How Was Your Day?’. We were treated to a stunning rendition of the heart-shattering ‘Year of Trouble,’ which is a sad song, but it’s okay because she’s happy now (her words). A track that is 90% soul-shattering before turning into a dance party, if you allow for a few technical issues.
Stella showcased her best dance moves during ‘Die,’ and her signature tune ‘Tricks’ won the biggest singalong of the night, and just like that, the hour was all over, and back to reality we went.
A truly wonderful and talented lyricist, quick-witted with a stage presence any performer would kill for. It is a shame that these performances aren’t in rooms tenfold, but everyone on stage looked so delighted to be performing to such an adoring crowd. I’d urge anyone to catch Stella Donnelly and her crew while she’s on our shores. You’d be a fool not to.