Neill saw Sleep Token at Wembley

16th December 2023 

I saw Sleep Token at Wembley and it was a magical experience! It was a sold out gig but I managed to have the seats next to me empty, which was nice! 

The support act was ‘Health’ - a band from LA. Imagine Placebo, Pet Shop Boys and Sleep Token all rolled into one. They were decent but I don’t think I’ll be following them.

Then Sleep Token arrive. I’ve seen them several times before in smaller venues, obviously, but this was the biggest show I’ve seen of theirs, in terms of staging. The choir were standing 10 feet up on a large block, stage right, and were actually moving! Normally they would stand completely still but they were all doing sexy dance moves throughout. Speaking of dancing, they actually had four female dancers who would come out and gyrate in a coordinated and very unexpected way, if you’ve ever seen a Sleep Token gig before. As for the band - ii, iii and iv have all had new masks made. Whereas before they were black fabric, these are properly constructed - Slipknot style. Or “Sleep Knot” as I saw someone describe them! ii was up high, stage left, at a similar height to the choir. As well as new masks, the band seemed to have new costumes and complete looks, too. iii was in attendance, despite missing the last few gigs in Germany for personal reasons, and had red hair and a lot of fresh-looking body art. 

They all looked amazing and clearly wanted to put the effort in for their Wembley gig. 

Vessel appeared as he usually does in his black cloak and white/red mask, with black paint over his torso and arms. He did a fantastic performance of Vore and several other tracks, accompanied by laser beams and colourful lighting.

I didn’t notice any difference in his voice until halfway through the gig with the lights off, everyone left the stage. The musical intro to the next song stopped, and after a few moments, the lights were up again in white, revealing a deserted stage. A standard man - clearly not part of the performance - walked on stage with Vessel walking behind him. “Vessel can’t sing. He’s not well. You’ll have to sing instead. He’ll still appear on stage and might sing the odd line or two, but he’s not able to carry on.” To my knowledge, the only time the audience has been directly addressed at a Sleep Token gig. They don’t speak!

The audience was sympathetic and Vessel was given a round of applause. The next song started and the audience obliged by singing at the top of their voices - perfectly rendering the lyrics and style of the song. Vessel danced and gave lyrical cues here and there until he must have got a second wind and started singing again. 

Everyone I spoke to was super-hyped to see the show. For some, it was their first time - others had seen many performances. But the reaction to the entire gig was one of dazzled amazement.

Neill Wilkinson