MUNA returned to London for the first of three sold out album release shows at Heaven. Playing their latest album ‘Dancing on the wall’ in full as well as an eight-song encore consisting of all the fan favourites.
They took to the stage under the arches at London’s most iconic queer venue and immediately filled it with the most insane energy. The room was filled with haze which combined with the light show created the most incredible atmosphere.
‘Dancing on the wall’ takes MUNA’s discography in a new direction, infusing synth-pop with rage about the current political state of the world. Naomi McPherson’s production kept the tunes catchy and danceable while approaching ‘controversial’ topics. Despite the album only being out for 3 weeks, the fans sang along to every word. Surprisingly, ‘Mary Jane’ appeared to be the favourite off the album, given the sudden volume increase!
They pulled out all the stops to put on such an amazing show for their fans, from Katie Gavin’s choreography breaks and violin solo during ‘Why Do I Get A Good Feeling’ to Naomi bringing out the keytar to accompany their multiple synths. Both the band and fans were so in tune with each other, leaving space for their usual ad libs that have become an integral part of their live show.
Many people seem to be shocked about how political this album is, but MUNA have never shied away from standing for what they believe in. Josette Maskin called to “Free Palestine” before leading into ‘Big Stick’ which criticises the military-industrial complex and Trump administration, the crowd made their views well-known throughout those verses. Josette‘s crowd interaction and backing vocals didn’t go unnoticed, adding yet another layer to the exceptional performance. ‘Buzzkiller’ ended the first half of the show perfectly with Katie sat on the edge of the stage delivering emotionally devastating vocals as the crowd sang them back to her so beautifully, it was truly cathartic.
They told us about how their first ever fans were from London before dedicating ‘Promise’ in remembrance of a fan, Courtney, who recently passed. The energy was then brought back up with the return of Stacey, an inflatable horse. The crowd was sternly told to take care of her before she floated around the venue during ‘Anything but Me’. They wrapped up the show with fan-favourite ‘Silk chiffon’ as the crowd erupted in cheers before falling silent to take in Naomi’s breath-taking vocals, accompanied by jokes about ‘Boots’ in reference to the ‘CVS’ lyrics.
They couldn’t have picked a more perfect venue to get everyone ‘dancing in a gay bar’. It was such a cathartic evening full of queer joy and political rage and I’m sure everyone left feeling a bit less alone about the current state of the world.
They return on a full UK & EU tour in November, get your tickets here!