GHOSTWOMAN BRING THEIR NO PHONE BILLED SHOW TO MANCHESTER’S YES

PHOTO GALLERY | GHOSTWOMAN | YES MANCHESTER | 29th October 2025 by Lucy McLachlan

Psych grunge duo Ghostwoman return to Yes, Manchester following the recent release of their 4th album Welcome to the Civilized World. Which turns the dreamy psych from their first two albums into a much heavier moody beast of a sound. 

Ghostwoman consist of Canadian guitarist Evan Uschenko and Belgian drummer Ille Van Dessel. Before the set, the stage is a mass of cables and pedal boards with a drum kit tucked away behind a speaker to the side. A number of people wander over to have a nose at the array of pedals and rack of guitars on show taking photos on their phones.

Posters had this tour down as a no phone show. We were wondering how this would be enforced, especially after once attending the infamous Jack White phone locked in a pouch show.
There were no formal enforcements or even mention of it before going into The Pink Room but the crowd appeared to obey for the most part (there was always going to be a few). The last time Ghostwoman played Yes, Uschenko pulled up a guy in the front row for a constant invasion of space by having a phone filming in his face. And quite rightly so. We wondered if that particular incident lead to the phone ban but it is everywhere. In smaller venues perhaps with no barrier and limited space in front of the stage you see the front row regularly taken up by a line of people filming the whole show usually without even moving. It can spoil a vibe and creates a barrier from the rest of the audience. Just be in the moment and enjoy it, you won’t get to see the exact same gig repeated.

Ghostwoman are a force to be reckoned with live from Van Dessel’s fierce and furious drums and Uschenko’s gritty fuzz guitar and brooding vocals they create a cacophonous sound that easily dominates a room.

Support came from multi instrument one man band noise maker Boy Wonder. If you catch him on any other dates feel free to buy him a stage beer or two. He forgets to bring one with him and loves a good Red Stripe. 

Bristol’s Exchange gig on 30th October is now sold out but Ghostwoman will be hitting up, London’s The Garage on 1st November and Patterns in Brighton on 2nd November before embarking on an extensive EU tour. 

About the Author

Lucy

Contributor

View All Posts