{"id":31315,"date":"2025-10-27T10:57:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:57:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/?p=31315"},"modified":"2025-10-27T10:57:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:57:16","slug":"gig-review-miki-berenyi-trio-at-duffys-bar-saturday-4th-october-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/gig-review-miki-berenyi-trio-at-duffys-bar-saturday-4th-october-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Gig review – Miki Berenyi Trio at Duffy’s Bar, Saturday 4th October 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Adam Piotrowski<\/a><\/p>\n

Photographed by Kevin Gaughan<\/a><\/p>\n

Another Saturday night and another surprisingly quality show on offer in Leicester\u2019s music scene. This time round it was the Miki Berenyi<\/a> Trio<\/strong> at Duffy\u2019s<\/a>, one of their two warm-up shows in the UK before the head to the States for 15 show tour, where they will traverse from the East to the West Coast with a couple of Canada shows peppered in for good measure.<\/p>\n

As this is to be their first and last proper US tour \u2013 Miki citing increasing costs of touring for mid-sized bands – they have promised plenty of songs from the band that made her semi-famous, Lush. The set was comprised of 17 songs and we did hear a few choice Lush tunes such as Ladykiller<\/em> (big sing-along to this one), For Love<\/em> (bass driven, reminiscent of The Cure), Stray<\/em>, Light from a Dead Star<\/em> and Leaves Me Cold<\/em>. These songs had a particularly enthusiastic response from the surprisingly packed Duffy\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Miki Berenyi Trio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of the setlist was composed of Miki Berenyi Trio\u2019s songs, including every song from the Tripla LP, which came out in April, and here there was something a bit fresher and more compelling going on. These were songs which they had been practising together, but as is often the case, the magic comes when the act is still being polished, when there is still a sense of uncertainty and perhaps a little bit of doubt. But the trio were tight and confidently moving through the spacey tunes. We had the pleasure of watching them finesse these songs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They opened the show with a spot-on live debut of the 6-minute-plus Doldrum Days<\/em>, the song building to a final chorus where the bassist sang lead, making way for Miki\u2019s falsetto to take the melodic lead. The songs over time became nearly indistinguishable; while they seemed to start with a varied selection of drumbeat\/backing tracks – one quite funky, one quite Latin-salsa sounding – once the guitar and vocals came in, they seemed to blend into one mid-tempo soundscape. This had a hypnotic effect, with big sweeping songs rarely making significant changes partway through, begging a consistent head nod throughout. As a drummer, I would love to see a Miki Berenyi quartet with some moody, noisy, jazzy drums to fill out the live sound, but I imagine that would probably deter from the intimate feel of the band.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Miki Berenyi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite Miki\u2019s 30-plus years in the industry, the performance seemed to suggest her reluctance as a singer. Instead of the vocals being front and centre, they were mixed quite evenly with the instruments, making it difficult to make out specific lyrics and interpret the meaning of the songs. While the between-song banter was funny and entertaining, when she sang with eyes closed, the high register of her vocals didn\u2019t seem to cut through meaningfully; instead, it was itself another sound in the aura. Even so, the trio delivered a captivating and atmospheric set, the room more than engaged and happy to be along for the ride.<\/p>\n

Shoutout to local gent Kevin Hewitt<\/strong><\/a>, who humbly lost himself in a concise solo acoustic set to open the evening. In one song the cyclical repetition of the lyric \u2018losing you and finding you\u2019 never seemed to get old, but kept drawing the audience further into the feeling. The vocals throughout were fluid and his efforts to genuinely communicate feeling were fruitful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kevin Hewick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When wrapping up his set he warned us that his spontaneous choice for a closer was foolhardy as it wasn\u2019t something that he had prepared. Save it for tomorrow<\/em>, which he had co-written with his friend Libby, was much more tolerable than he led us to believe it would be, and he lived up to the good words that everyone seemed to be saying about him prior to the show, as I gather, he has been playing around Leicester for quite some time.<\/p>\n

While Kevin played his set, Miki watched gracefully from the audience. There is no backstage at Duffy\u2019s and when he finished, she came up to help him off stage as he seemed to have been suffering from a minor injury \u2013 not enough to keep him from playing. Such was the feeling of camaraderie, non-judgement and good vibes in the venue all evening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They opened the show with a spot-on live debut of the 6-minute-plus Doldrum Days, the song building to a final chorus where the bassist sang lead, making way for Miki\u2019s falsetto to take the melodic lead.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":31319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[346,216],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-346","category-gig_reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_7011.jpg?fit=1001%2C667&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73uhX-895","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31282,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/preview-miki-berenyi-at-duffys-bar-saturday-4th-october-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":0},"title":"Preview – Miki Berenyi at Duffy’s Bar, Saturday 4th October 2025","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"30\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It all started when Miki Berenyi was on the promotional tour for her memoir Fingers Crossed - How Music Saved Me from success in 2022. Berenyi, never one to follow the crowd, chose to dedicate a large section of her memoir to her childhood rather than glamorise the indie music\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2025"","block_context":{"text":"2025","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2025\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mIKI-bERENYI.jpg?fit=1200%2C647&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mIKI-bERENYI.jpg?fit=1200%2C647&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mIKI-bERENYI.jpg?fit=1200%2C647&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mIKI-bERENYI.jpg?fit=1200%2C647&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mIKI-bERENYI.jpg?fit=1200%2C647&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29823,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/gig-review-luke-broughton-debut-ep-release-gig-at-duffys-bar-saturday-19th-november-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":1},"title":"Gig review – Luke Broughton Debut EP release gig at Duffy’s Bar, Saturday 19th November 2022","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"21\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When Luke stepped on stage, there was a roar of excitement followed by a deep silence as Luke began playing. People described the night as \u201cmesmerising\u201d and \u201cimmersive\u201d.","rel":"","context":"In "2022"","block_context":{"text":"2022","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2022\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0435.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0435.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0435.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_0435.jpg?fit=1000%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16825,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/preview-arielle-with-trio-and-scott-mcwatt-at-duffys-bar-thursday-21st-february-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":2},"title":"Preview – Arielle with Trio and Scott McWatt at Duffy’s Bar, Thursday 21st February 2019","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"15\/02\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"New Jersey native but LA resident, Arielle has been performing music since the age of 5 and has since played with the likes of Slash and Duff McKagan (Guns N\u2019 Roses), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), and Corey Taylor (Slipknot). With shredding guitar skills, Arielle can rock out with the best\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2019"","block_context":{"text":"2019","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/49269886_1557765407701313_6839871504918773760_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/49269886_1557765407701313_6839871504918773760_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/49269886_1557765407701313_6839871504918773760_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/49269886_1557765407701313_6839871504918773760_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/49269886_1557765407701313_6839871504918773760_o.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15753,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/preview-goatfest-at-duffys-bar-12th-january-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":3},"title":"Preview – Goatfest at Duffy’s Bar, 12th January 2019","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"31\/12\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Goatfest Duffy\u2019s Irish bar has become a surprising bastion for Leicester\u2019s thriving alternative scene. This is probably why three of city\u2019s most eclectic indie rock acts have chosen the venue for Goatfest, a celebration of \u2018The Devil's Rock 'n' Roll\u2019. With jesuscarfish, Produkty, and Kittenfang all taking the stage, along\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gig previews"","block_context":{"text":"Gig previews","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/music-home-page\/gigs-in-leicester\/gig-previews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/48390643_2212973435414289_1196771291042938880_n.jpg?fit=838%2C716&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/48390643_2212973435414289_1196771291042938880_n.jpg?fit=838%2C716&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/48390643_2212973435414289_1196771291042938880_n.jpg?fit=838%2C716&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/48390643_2212973435414289_1196771291042938880_n.jpg?fit=838%2C716&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29941,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/gig-review-ghost-dance-at-duffys-bar-saturday-6th-may-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":4},"title":"Gig review – Ghost Dance at Duffy’s Bar, Saturday 6th May 2023","author":"Kevin Gaughan","date":"07\/05\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"with Family of Noise and Gestalt Reviewed by Steven Hellyar Family of Noise is a fantastic band with two talented guitarists that really know how to put on a show. Their performance in Leicester was nothing short of amazing, with the atmosphere in the venue being electric from start to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2023"","block_context":{"text":"2023","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/2023\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1590.jpg?fit=1001%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1590.jpg?fit=1001%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1590.jpg?fit=1001%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/IMG_1590.jpg?fit=1001%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8342,"url":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/trilogy\/","url_meta":{"origin":31315,"position":5},"title":"Trilogy","author":"Trevor Locke","date":"18\/12\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Trilogy at Duffeys Bar","rel":"","context":"In "2015"","block_context":{"text":"2015","link":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/Music\/history-of-leicester-music\/the-year-2015\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Trilogy-at-Duffys-4.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Trilogy-at-Duffys-4.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Trilogy-at-Duffys-4.jpg?fit=600%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31315"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31321,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31315\/revisions\/31321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicinleicester.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}