In late March we were invited to Lions Den in Deansgate to experience ‘Venus And The Stars’ live experience. Providing a powerfully emotional performance it was clear the band had been honing their live skills, with the lead singer Venus becoming the living personification of disco pop the second they were on stage.
The night began with the first support Lemon Ginger. Beginning in February, this is still very much the beginning of this band, but what a beginning they seem to be having. They showed an incredible amount of skill as a band with each of the 3 members showing off an impressive amount of talent on their given instruments. A perfect opener for the night from a really exciting 3 piece that you can be sure are worth keeping an eye on. Second up was the solo singer/songwriter Destiny K, bringing a set filled with personal tales and emotionality.
Venus And The Stars kicked off their set with an explosion of disco fun as they introduced their first couple of songs ‘finest wine’ and ‘closer’ which you couldn’t help but move along to. Truly kicking off their performance with all the energy that this genre of music can bring.
After a great cover of Kate Bush’s Running up that hill, Venus introduced the rest of the talented band during their song ‘I put a spell on you’. Each member of the band were great all through the night, but a massive stand out for us was Ned Marsh on rhythm guitar and keys, especially in this specific track, adding so much to the overall sound and fitting in perfectly with the aesthetic Venus was setting as the lead.
The band then took the set in a more sombre direction performing an incredibly emotional song ‘Dreaming’ focusing on Venus’ personal experiences. These more personal tracks really show the strength of the songwriting that Venus And The Stars possess, as while some of these more personal experiences aren’t applicable to everyone – not everyone can truly understand these as they aren’t always shared experiences, at no point does this dull the impact of the raw emotionality. ‘Dreaming’ culminated in a poignant costume change, signalling the beginning of the second half of the set.
This second half truly showcased one of the main virtues of Venus And The Stars – Venus Whitehurst. Venus is one of the best performers we’ve seen in recent times, an artist who truly takes time to craft the entire performance, complete with costume changes, crowd walks and an incredible presence on stage that you would struggle to beat in Manchester. Venus is truly a credit to their genre and scene and this gig was yet another example of this.
The band ended with another incredibly powerful moment as the band left the stage to leave Venus to a solo performance of ‘Happy’ before closing with their debut single ‘Disco Baby’. This last track was a monumental moment for the band as it marked the ending of the original bassist’s (Dyl Pickles) time with the band. An asset to the band since the start, Dyl will absolutely be missed by them.
All in all this gig was an absolute masterclass in crowd interaction and stage presence, an incredibly fun testament to the joys of the disco pop world that can only go upwards from here.
