ON the last night of their UK Tour, Vaults rolled in to Manchester’s Deaf Institute alongside their equally talented support act, Stealth. Quays News entertainment reporter Daniel Willis was in attendance on Thursday (April 14) for us…
The UK band, headed by vocalist Blythe Pepino, have been making quite the noise with their latest release ‘Midnight River’ and have already racked up 20 million views on YouTube.
Before Vaults, the night began at 8pm with support act Stealth, a male four-piece who came out to quite a quiet reception – most people had obviously only come to see Vaults.
What followed this opening was incredible. A musician relatively unknown, Stealth put on an incredible performance which he can be very proud of. He opened the set with the hit ‘Intro’ an upbeat, well-tuned and vocally strong performance – and received a huge ovation from the audience.
Following ‘Intro’, Stealth followed up with ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ which equally gave the audience a surprise, with an incredible vocal range showcased by the vocalist. What made Stealth’s performance so brilliant was his ability to draw in what was at first, a relatively disinterested audience.
The rest of his set was equally as enthralling, maybe none more so than his final track of the night and one of his newest releases – ‘Judgement Day’. This hit really encapsulated the dark tone emanates from his music, and showcased a real flair for the feeling which he puts into his music.
This led to perfectly to the evening’s headliner – Vaults. The group began at 9pm, and didn’t waste any time in getting the audience into the music. Their set began with ‘Cry No More’ which had very little backing sound, but made up for it with the haunting vocals of lead singer Blythe. ‘Cry No More‘ was a hit which on review of the whole night, really set the tone for the rest of her set.
@vaults #lifespan from tonight's gig at @DeafInstitute ? pic.twitter.com/HCCnAmpQTM
— Helen (@TheHDaws) April 14, 2016
Their opening hit was followed by ‘Vultures’ an EP which they released back in 2014, which was equally as sharp and powerful vocally and instrumentally and showed Vault’s progression over the past two years.
The entire group were all amazing musicians, however lead singer Blythe Pepino is vocally, one of the most sharply emotive and powerful that I’ve seen live.
As the band reached mid-set, they performed another 2014 hit ‘Lifespan’ which was again another strong performance from the four-piece. In between songs Pepino would regularly talk and have banter with the audience, and kept the audience engaged through slower, more melancholic songs.
Another memorable track from this set was 2015 hit ‘One More Night’ which was also featured on the soundtrack of the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie. This was mentioned before the beginning of the track – and was easily a favourite among a high percentage of the audience. Again, the vocals of Pepino and the instrumental performance of her backing band were almost flawless.
‘Midnight River’ was up next, and despite being one of Vault’s newest tracks it definitely has the potential to be a big hit. The band are taking huge strides with their music and are racking up thousands of views on YouTube, which as we all know – can be a good signpost as to how fast, and how well a band is growing.
The set finished with ‘Poison’ a hit released on the 2014 ‘Vultures‘ EP – and left the audience seemingly satisfied, with what was overall an incredibly enjoyable, and vocally astute performance.
By Daniel Willis
@DanJWillis_
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