Misterwives

The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ

October 9, 2023

Review and Gallery By: Hannah Kelly

Misterwives is a band I discovered in my teenage years when I saw them open up for Twenty One Pilots on a tour in 2014. I remember being instantly obsessed with the energy that lead singer Mandy Lee brings to the stage as well as the unique sound the band has. Since then, I’ve taken every opportunity to see them live. They always put on such a fun, positive show and this was no different.

The evening started out with Natalie Jane, a newcomer to the scene who is probably best known for her Tik Tok. Her Tik Tok boasts an impressive 8.4 million followers, with an additional 1.8 million on her Instagram. Those are huge numbers and they make sense when she opens her mouth and begins to sing. She has some serious pipes on her, hitting high notes and insane runs with no ease. She’s probably best known for her cover of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, which went viral on Tik Tok and features one of her insane runs. She performed this cover during her set along with a slew of her original songs like “seeing you with other girls,” “Do or Die,” and “AVA.” I was extremely impressed with her set and at only 19 years old, I can’t wait to see where see goes from here.

Next to take the stage was Misterwives, who is sharing the headlining spot on this tour with Bishop Briggs. They started their 16 song set with a few songs from their newest album, Nosebleeds, which was released earlier in 2023. Lead singer Mandy Lee, started a top the large LED screen on stage, appearing up there suddenly. She took the audience by surprise when she appeared. About midway through the song, she came down and joined the rest of the band on stage. She began working the audience, getting as close as possible to the fans and singing along with them. She even at one point came down off the stage and joined fans at the barricade to sing.

After playing a few songs from Nosebleeds, they took a break from the new album and played “whywhywhy,” a song off their 2020 album, SUPERBLOOM. After “whywhywhy,” they continued on with playing more of Nosebleeds. During song “Ultraviolet” Mandy went to the top of the LED screen once more, but this time with arrows stuck in her back. After this, Mandy came back to the stage with the rest of the band and they once again took a break from the Nosebleeds songs and played “SUPERBLOOM.”

After “SUPERBLOOM” the band played “Our Own House” and “Reflections” off their first album, giving their old fans a moment to party to the songs that made them fall in the love with the band. They finished off their dance party of a set with three more songs off their most recent album, ending the set with the title track “Nosebleeds.”

The final act of the night was Bishop Briggs. She took the stage in the same manner as Mandy from Misterwives, starting atop the LED screens. She too stayed up their for the first half of the song before coming down onto the stage to be closer to the audience. Covered in alternative orange and green light she powered through her first handful of songs, which consisted of songs like “Wild Horses,” “My Shine,” and “Baggage” before playing an acoustic version of “The Way I Do.” She continued on through her set playing mostly original music, but also mixing in a cover of “Take Me To Church” by Hozier. She carried on playing the rest of her set, bouncing around the stage like a maniac and keeping the audiences energy level at the same as hers. She closed out her set with her biggest hit “River.”