Review: DELIGHTful evening at Deaf Institute

Playing their final gig of 2021 at the Deaf Institute, Delights recruited Minds Idle to support them on a Saturday evening. In comparison to when I last saw Delights, at Gorilla in August, I felt a more personal and intimate experience at Deaf Institute, making it more special. Feeling somewhat negative about university and COVID-19, this gig reminded me why I chose to move to Manchester and the beauty of live music.

Since Gorilla in August, Delights have released their EP In My Life, featuring four songs: ‘Monday’, ‘Telephone Baby’, ‘Utopia’, and ‘Didn’t Know Better’.

The support act Minds Idle successfully set the tone for the night from their first song. The entire night was filled with groovy music. The lead singer of Minds Idle, Ted, channelled his inner Alex Rice and held the crowd’s attention throughout both the upbeat songs and the slightly slower paced ones, especially with the incredible green eye makeup. The keyboard and effects made Minds Idle stand out as a band and performers, drinking their Fosters throughout, and I would highly recommend going to one of their gigs.

Next up was the headline act. Starting with ‘Monday’, the crowd immediately got grooving and singing along, despite the song only being released in August. As soon as the boys were on stage, there was, noticeably, a fifth member (or special guest)—Cameron, from Dolphin Centre, who I saw in July at the Sterling Press headline at Aatma. Following on with ‘Jungle’, the crowd’s upbeat spirit was maintained. Adam Maxwell, the frontman, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for their sold-out audience. For me, Delights stand out in comparison to other indie bands, specifically due to the layers of instruments and vocals in their music—there is never a dull moment.

‘Didn’t Know Better’, from their recent EP, was well received by the crowd, to which Maxwell said “Thank you, I thought you’d hate it!” Arguably a missed opportunity for a pun and giggle, as “I thought you’d hate it, but I didn’t know better” would have been fitting.

Following on from the slightly slower ‘Sun Lounger’, the crowd resurrected into their funk with ‘One Step Forwards (Two Steps Backwards)’, going smoothly into ‘Telephone Baby’ and then rewarding us with a festive special of ‘Feliz Navidad’, to which the security and bouncers were also dancing along.

Coming on for an encore, Maxwell spoke directly to the crowd, stating that “it’s cringe but true, we would be nothing without you”. You can tell that these boys are genuinely appreciative and thankful to their fans. Performing a mashup of ‘Lost in Music’ and the Bee Gees ‘You Should Be Dancing’, you could see the age distinctions amongst the crowd very clearly… Finishing with ‘Sometimes, Lately’, they went out with a bang, including an explosion of silver confetti falling from the ceiling.

Highlights and standouts from the gig were the gratitude the boys expelled, and the sheer number of mullets in one location. A personal highlight is also that this is the first gig I’ve been successful in attending since being diagnosed with PTSD recently.

9/10 (would have been 10/10 if ‘Sun Visor’ was played.)