Deaf Institute was once again the setting for a dramatic performance on a Tuesday night. And no, we are not talking about my latest Tinder pursuit, but rather the small matter of the re-birth of Ren Harvieu, returning to play a hometown gig. That’s assuming Manchester counts as a hometown gig for a gal from Salford, and indeed there were plenty of Salfordians in the supporting crowd.
One might be forgiven for thinking Ren Harvieu was the name of a solicitors who promised to recoup my lost PPI funds, though any misinformed punters quickly became acclimatised with the reality. Ren sang as beautifully as the bird with which she shares a name. Of course she was not alone, with Dave Grohl on guitar (a slightly larger, more talented version) as well as competent musicians on drums and bass, all of which helped elevate Ren to a glowing status. She grew with confidence as the night went on, boldly choosing to switch songs in the set list, much to her colleagues’ initial bewilderment. The second switch caused Grohl to playfully question the decision, purely because he didn’t think there was anything “more stripped back” to play, despite Harvieu’s insistence. Where there’s a will, there’s a way however, and something more stripped back was delivered.
Singing about love, lust and…her mother, Ren had her audience utterly captivated. With performances like that, she can expect to be selling out venues up and down the country away from her home town where her dad isn’t making up the numbers – as she liked to joke between songs.
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