LAST NIGHT: Daughter and Choir of Young Believers At The 7th Street Entry

Photo by Stacey Hatfield

The Entry is one of those really great venues where you’re occasionally lucky enough to catch stellar acts in a remarkably intimate setting before they start headlining the massive Mainroom. Last night’s lineup is a prime example: UK’s ethereal trio Daughter drew an enormous crowd (on a Wednesday!) and became a gorgeous soundtrack to a chilly, rainy autumn night in the city.

Denmark natives Choir of the Young Believers opened with an impressive set; their sound reminiscent of something in between The Smiths and The Mary Onettes (out of Sweden) thanks to front man Jannis Noya Makrigiannis’s luscious dreamy vocals coupled with new wave synths and soft drum beats. COYB released Rhine Gold in March 2012 to rave reviews and rightly so: their sound was polished and vibrant, and they chatted comfortably with the crowd throughout their set.

Daughter took the stage around 10:30 and immediately made the tightly packed club feel more like an intimate show in someone’s home. The band opened with “Run,” a fast-paced new song to start the night with an upbeat swing. Lead singer Elena Tonra cradled the syllable of every lyric and truly made you feel every word she wrote. Guitarist Igor Haefeli’s playing was divine: taking a note from the Jimmy Page/Jonsi Handbook, he stroked the strings of his guitar with a violin bow and created an ethereal sound that reverberated alongside the thick bellowing drums played by Remi Aguilella. Daughter honestly has the look of a band that’s played together for ages.

Tonra is a darling mix of beautiful and bashful, letting Haefeli do most of the talking while she adorably sipped her gin in between songs and remarked quietly, “I am in love with Henricks gin. It’s really good shit.” Songs were played from both of her 2011 EPs (The Wild Youth and Landfill) along with a few older tracks that are only found in live and demo form. Each and every song was played flawlessly and with absolute sincerity; that was apparent as she twitched with smiles while singing the proud, fan favorite track ‘Youth’: “We are the reckless/We are the wild youth/Chasing visions of our futures/One day we’ll reveal the truth.” The audience swayed and sung along in blissful unison.

Daughter ended their set with the powerful track “Home,” leaving the stage in a flurry of the crowd’s claps and whistles. Everyone was left wanting more.

Leaving the Entry, my partner in crime mentioned the excited breathing she heard from a girl standing next to her throughout the entire set: a sound somewhere between laughter and tears over the refreshing, intense honesty of a show like this.

Daughter’s first full-length album is due for release in 2013.

Set:
Run
Landfill
Love
Candles
In The Shallow
The Woods
Tomorrow
Youth
Home

By Tara Rogan
Wednesday, October 24 2012
7th Street Entry

Posted 6 months ago