Tonight we get to see Au/Ra at Manchester academy and honestly no one is ready for this experience which is actually quite hard to put in simple terms but it was absolutely magical. To top things off even more the amount of lore do to with films/anime and fan fiction was nothing short but pure genius and something I was not expecting at all, there’s a mad science behind her and it’s something that I’ve not actually encountered before in all my years covering shows. Before we dive into au/ra set it’s time to talk about Brooke Ellen who was her only support for the night. 

Coming on stage elegantly with her outfit, which is either a fairy or an angel with her giant wings which from the floor is taller than Brooke herself, she moves around stage with so much ease and passion which opening up the set with her brand new single “screaming in silence”. 

Having so much happiness and excitement, this is Brookes biggest show to date and that’s a massive achievement alone to play at an academy venue which this one has a 650 capacity even though it wasn’t completely full as fans come in , it’s still something worth being happy for as she sings on though the set.Even though it’s still pretty early in the night, the crowd is eager to help sing along as Brooke asks the crowd to help sing the chorus to Doppelganger as she says “fantastic” when it’s the crowds time to shine. 

You guys Wana hear a new song? Dead-eyed Doe, which comes out next month, we were the first ones to hear this and that’s pretty ace! Despite a short set Brooke utilised every moment she had, which she’s bound to have a load more fans tonight. A load of her songs are like mini stories full of emotion and meaning which i’m guessing moments reflect on her personal life as she sings her last songs on the set with Vodoo and corset and then ending with Try Harder. 

Au/ra come’s on stage and opens with “crack” which gets the crowd pumped already and we know this sets the tone for the night! With this being the first show of the tour there’s no time to waste as she plays an older gem Assasain. “Welcome to High Fantasy” As she plays Dead girl which feels a lot more pop which does feel like a completly different era for aura as she’s experimented a lot with the synth sounds for her newer work as she now sings blah! 

This is now when the show takes an unexpeted shift for those who aren’t familar with Au/ra’s music. She laughs as some people know what’s happening next which of course needs some pretty strong autotune as she imitates the chorus to panic room. This is pretty mich the silliest song ever written and it’s about shrek and his swamp. Aura laughs as she’s “forcing” crowd participation for the chorus to Swamp which is outstanding with the autotune. 

I’ve been covering shows for 14 years now and honestly for this plot twist during the set was nothing but amazing. The music video to Swamp is just top tier too which i’ll add a link to it! Not only that but the theme for tonight which Au/ra was a chilled frieren look , the award for the best dress cosplay will win the shrek ears which she is wearing. “you are shrek” Yes someone has got shrek face paint on complete with shrek ears already so now this fan has two sets!  (Swamp music video link)

“Ever been in love with a fictional character? People from crowd say yes as Au/ra said she’s never experienced that before which makes it that more funny which this song Lo/re is about and this is on her new album along with a few more too and that includes killswitch which is next. 

What’s absolutely bananas is how this show started of normal and yet it’s Shrek related the whole time what absolute plot twist for those who don’t know Au/ra until now. This is absolutely incredible that there’s Shrek related music! Spicing the set up with some more older tracks like Bite Marks. Au/ra says that it’s so nice to hear you sing it with her so thank you for that! Now what’s pretty cool is she brings a Tiny tiny chopper teddy on stage and as it turns out not to long ago she hat the oppotunity be a part of the theme song for this little fella for the One Piece live action show! With this Au/ra is happy to be back touring after years of an unwanted break and it’s magical to play again! 

There’s been dark times these past few years and with the brand new album coming out next month “heartcore” it’s restorted her passion and fun for music. It’s basically a concept album based on au/ra as a character dungeon crawling which is her mind itself to regain her heartcore.  The next recored really healed her and hopefully this can help heal yu on what journey you’re on. This song is named after her favourite studio and her favourite film is a girly movie and it’s about going though girlhood and this is the first time au/ra has played this live and it’s called Princess Mononoke. As a fan of Studio Ghibli this is ace! This song is powerful, dramatic and you can tell there’s passion behind it.

“Anyone who feels ashamed of being different? Well don’t” Another brand new single Rewire and next with another new track, Emotion! Coming to the end of the show with just a few more tracks while au/ra is ever so thankful for coming out, you can really see why she’s loved by so many people, her music speaks out to a lot of fans which brings comfort, joy and emotion along which is swings both ways on the serious and silly spectrum which is a perfect fomrula as it makes the experiance feel more human. Ending the show with Panic Room and the show was done and dusted. No encore , just done, bish bash bosh and onto the next show! 

Photo Gallery: Brooke Ellen (C) Christopher James Ryan Photography

Photo gallery: AU/RA (C) Christopher James Ryan Photography