Tour Diary: The Mystery Lights in Manchester

Photos by Andy Sawyer

I first met The Mystery Lights back in February in a bar on the infamous Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany. The lighting was red and seedy, old vinyl records decorated the ceiling, and the floor was sticky. It smelled like stale beer and sweat from the last few nights of shows.

I'd seen some photographs of The Mystery Lights on Rolling Stone, and heard the rave reviews about their record. I went in expecting to meet a bunch of 'too cool for school' prima donnas but instead met four unassuming guys from New York, unloading their van and trying to figure out the best place to get more tequila once the rider bottle was done for.

That night they plied me with alcohol, I shot their show, and the rest is history.

Fast forward 10 months, I hear they're doing a short run in England before heading out to Spain. It's cold as shit outside, at some venue I've never heard of, and it's their first time playing in Manchester. So I load up my film cameras, and head out to get drunk with my buds, who just happen to be in a really cool band.