Delilah Bon at Manchester Deaf Institute.
Delilah Bon take over Manchester’s Deaf Institute for their first ever tour, not just UK tour but first tour as a whole.
The band consists of Lauren Tate (from Hands Off Gretel) on vocals, Ruena on Bass and Tasmin Taylor as their DJ.
To kick off the night, is Fear of Marko, someone who I had never heard off before tonight. At first the set starts off slow, but with the crowd’s encouragement, Marko looks deep into the crowd and begins to get into the feel with his music. The dance moves, the outfit changes mid song, this man has an ability to merge rap and teen emo angst together perfectly. With influences like My Chemical Romance, Green Day and also Britney Spears he gives that vibe 100%, he merges pop punk and emo with cheesy pop that works perfectly well for the type of crowd we have tonight.
Next up is Bizarre Fae, a non-binary artist whose music career emerged from the isolation of lockdown to share their rebellious slice of alt-pop mixed with rap, showing everyone the boundaries that we all need to be paying attention to. I have never watched an artist that makes a crowd feel more accepting for a show than this, they bring the crowd together with shared experiences and angry lyrics aimed at the horrific people who caused so many others in the crowd pain.
With their DJ wearing a transformers mask, and Bizarre Fae wearing a fishnet top, nipple covers, a matted mesh skirt and fairy wings, this was a band that doesn’t give a flying fuck. They get everyone together before the end of their set, by getting everyone to rest and sit on the floor and just listen to the soft and meaningful lyrics as everyone gathers, together and not alone.
Ruena and Tasmin take the stage first and get in position, before Lauren joins the girls on the stage and the crowd erupts in cheers. Lauren is wearing a checkered blue skirt with patches dotted around it, with a matching crop top and a pair of white knee high socks with trainers. Ruena is sporting yellow and black checkered pants with a silver chain attached to the belt loops, with a black top, and Tasmin is matching Ruena with a yellow checkered skirt, crop top and fishnet sleeves. All of the girls match together with their hair down with parts in pink tails.
They start the show with “Freak of the Week”, the sound that they have is a mix between Cardi B and Slipknot, giving a new version of nu-metal. It’s not your usual like Limp Bizkit and Hollywood Undead, this is pure feminist anger and raw sexuality being proudly shown. The vibe you get from the room, the second you walk in is safe. You feel completely safe in this room, If you’ve had a negative history with men and you’re nervous about going to shows for this exact reason, this is a show you can go to without any worry. As someone who has had similar experiences, and hadn’t listened to Delilah Bon previously before this event, I felt incredibly welcomed, safe and supported without anyone knowing each other’s stories.
Lauren writes all of her own lyrics, and the ones she is spitting out with venom as the show carries on are incredible. She can rap but she can scream and let out those deep, dark vocals like Maria Brink from In This Moment. If Maria Brink ever decided to release a nu-metal album this is exactly what I envision It sounding like.
“Chiquitita” and “Where My Girls At ” are next, and you can honestly see this sea of strangers just come together, with the ultimate Girl Boss Shit. Which to be fair the crowd chanted to Lauren when she took the time to talk to the crowd.
“This is my first ever tour, and look, you came! I wrote all the lyrics for this record, and I’ve always written my own lyrics and produced this including the art work and I’m so proud of myself for that and so happy you guys have come to my first Manchester show!” leading the crowd to go into a “GIRL BOSS SHIT”
“Chop Dicks” and “Homework” are next, the next few songs being dedicated to hating school and the negative experiences many people have had to deal with before. Lauren explains that the songs are about the relentless bullying most of us had to suffer with during our school years, only for those bullies to want to be around us years later when we come out of our shell and find our own path.
“Red Dress” and “War on Women” come along next, Lauren makes a speech about domestic violence, and every person that we have lost due to it, and how the horrific people responsible practically get away with it, before showing the crowd a black sheet with so many names of those who lost their lives to domestic violence.
Being in a crowd and seeing a packed out room of people, ultimately becoming more and more comfortable throughout the set was such a touching thing to see, you saw the embracement of sexuality and gender identity that you don’t get at any other show.
Delilah Bon are a must see, if you want some anger letting out and you just want to scream about the people that have caused you pain then Delilah Bon are an act for you!
Words & images: Lauren Allard
