LIVE FROM THE PIT: PVRIS and Julia Wolf

PVRIS celebrated the 10th anniversary of their debut album White Noise with not only a re-release of the album featuring some reimagined versions of songs (including a feature from Courtney LaPlante!), but also an accompanying tour with dates for both Manchester and London with support from Julia Wolf.

PVRIS’ last Manchester show was cancelled due to the venue flooding, resulting in their highly anticipated return, as the crowd piled into the stunning Albert Hall there was a clear air of excitement in the room. The intimate chapel-turned-concert hall was the perfect venue for this unforgettable event for an album worshipped by their fans.

Julia Wolf opened the evening, this tour being her first time playing in Europe ahead of her own EU/ UK headline tour at the end of the year. Her setlist featured primarily songs from her new album ‘Pressure’. The religious theming in ‘Kill You Off’ being especially appropriate for the venue, as well as playing other songs discussing trauma, self worth and issues within relationships, amongst other topics. Wolf closed her set with her well known song ‘In My Room’ which went down well with the audience, including fans holding up Julia Wolf printed thongs which the artist was selling on the merch table. 

PVRIS take to the stage, led by Brian Macdonald and touring member Denny Agosto Vega, with singer Lynn Gunn following closely after. The crowd is fixated from the get-go as the first half of the setlist is White Noise front to back, with the only exclusion being ‘Empty’. The mic was well and truly on as Gunn performed each song effortlessly. As fans sang along to every word it was evident how impactful this album has been in people’s lives, especially for the queer and alternative communities as you look across the audience and see pride- themed hand fans, couples sharing moments together and a sea of PVRIS merch from each era over the past 10 years.

The second half of the setlist consisted of various PVRIS songs from each of their albums, with the exception of “All We Know Of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell”, but with the 10th anniversary of their second album being in the not too distant future it will be fun to see what they pull out of the bag for that. 2024 release ‘Burn the Witch’ came first, setting an upbeat tone which contrasted greatly with the songs featured in the first half of the setlist. Following the same theme, up next is ‘Snakes’ from the Arcane series as well as “Good Enemy”, “Animal” and “Dead Weight” which sees fans screaming along. The chaos is brought to a calm once again by “Oil & Water” before we reach the last few songs of the night “Monster”, “Hallucinations” and last but not least, “Goddess”.

Words and Photos: Libby Percival