Wisp serenades Manila in Shoegaze stage

American musician Wisp brought Manila to a dreamy and ethereal state with her short but hit-filled discography at her solo concert held on 5 December.

Wisp, real name Natalie Yu, performed all her songs — a total of nine, at the SM North Edsa Skydome, giving audiences the chance of a lifetime to immerse themselves in the magical melodies during the around 45-minute-long concert made possible by PULP Live World.

While it may have been a short night, fans were still up and pumped to listen to one of the artists pioneering the revival of shoegaze pop, a mix between indie and alternative rock embodied through its hazy and soothing melodies and distorted vocal and guitar effects.

“I wish I could play for you guys every day,” Yu says to a crowd decked out in all black.

Wisp kicked off the concert with her performance of “Pandora,” the title track of her first EP, building up with a dreamy intro and her soft vocals then striking hot with a head-banger drop, a common theme throughout her songs.

“Tangled dreams” lulled fans into her hypnotic muffled voice, nodding to the beat while creating a melancholic mood felt by the crowd.

What really got the audience going was hearing the rising effect at the start of “Enough for You” and the catchy guitar riff all throughout “See You Soon,” driving a rush of adrenaline through fans and creating mosh pits at the center of the crowd.

Enchanted by the spell of her lyrics, fans fell in love with Wisp more as they singed along with her to “Luna,” a song about a romance between two lovers under the glow of the moon.

Fans from the underground alternative rock scene in the country were able to express themselves freely that night, swaying along to the upbeat “Once Then We’ll Be Free” that had the crowd jumping to their heart’s content.

Bringing the audience back to a supernatural trance was the last track of her debut EP “Mimi,” captivating fans with her divine vocals and visuals. They could feel the music touch their souls with every guitar strum.

As the night nears its end, Wisp sings a song of longing for someone long gone with her latest single, “I Remember How Your Hands Felt On Mine,” a moody but also energetic track that got cheers from fans allured by her charm.

Closing off the night was her debut single and her most popular track yet, “Your Face,” driving a pulse of energy through the crowd, singing and shouting every single lyric of the chorus and pushing each other around in a circle pit. But the 3:49-minute duration of the song left fans craving for an encore, with the crowd shouting “One more song!” until Wisp returned to the stage.

“Special, just for you guys,” she said, performing “Your Face” for a second time to a hyped audience.

Capping off the last leg of her Asia tour in Manila, Wisp delivered an immersive live performance to her Filipino fans, taking them to another dimension. A dreamlike world of emotion and promising to take them back there when she returns to The Philippines.