MELANIE MARTINEZ PERFORMS TWO SOLD-OUT SHOWS AT MANCHESTER’S O2 APOLLO IN SUPPORT OF HER NEW ALBUM ‘PORTALS’

★★★★★ (5/5)

MELANIE MARTINEZ PERFORMING AT MANCHESTER’S O2 APOLLO
PHOTOCREDIT: SABRINA RAMDOYAL

If one was expected to hear portions of Melanie Martinez’s back catalogue that garnered her early popularity, it’s going to leave the avid listener disheartened. The hailing New York City artist has left her alternative pop personas behind and transformed into a majestic creature that one would find in one’s lucid dreams. It was a departure from Cry Baby & K-12 days and fans were treated to her newest album Portals in full, extra tracks included.

With a gust of smoke billowing from the stage, the crowd was wild for elixir on the second sold-out night at the Manchester o2 Apollo. The portal opened with a candle on the screen and sauntered Melanie’s unearthly manifestation surrounded with inflatable mushrooms, earthly visuals, and her back-up dancers. A distinctive gateway was expressed through each song from her newest album Portals, setting the crowd alight with every dance break and lighting shift, amplifying the mood from start to end.

Death, Void and Faerie Soirée was the start to the supernatural environment depicted in the overall aesthetics of the stage. It was a charming look into the unknown as the album’s themes were brought to life in glowing detail. Whether if it was the reimagining of one’s past from songs Spider Web, Leeches and Tunnel Vision, or the onscreen imagery from The Contortionist, Moon Cycle, and Nymphology, this was not an average concert. The fans were treated to an emotive slow rock ballad Light Shower as their faerie queen sat on a worm podium and a confetti celebration during the tender Womb added delight to the warm air. The encore of Powder, Pluto and Milk Of The Siren were greeted but realised that the captivating journey was over and for the entrances to close, which the Manunian spectators did not want.

The evening was more than the music itself. This was a fascinating piece of theatre. The visuals were whimsical, the back-up dancers added a flair to the performance and the leading faerie Melanie Martinez carried a mystique that thrives to be explored multiple times.