by Erinn Fortson
The layout of indie venues is one of the reasons they are so enjoyable. These music scenes create an intimacy between the artist and audience that is not always felt when a show is held in a much larger setting. Smaller locations allow a musician to play the role of performer and fan. It is humbling to see artists take the stage and then immediately join the crowd of fellow music lovers after finishing their set. I was reminded of how exciting this can be when I attended the Daughter show at Kung Fu Necktie.
Joined by Lucy Stone and Choir Of Young Believers, Daughter visited Philadelphia this past Monday. Throughout the evening, one could see front woman Elena Tonra happily walking around Kung Fu Necktie before taking the stage and delivering a fantastic performance.
The show begins with 20 year-old Lucy Stone demonstrating the power of her infectious, mature voice. The band, named after its front woman, is the perfect start to a night full of talented acts. Singing songs like “Out Of Time” and “Tell Me To Go” from their newest EP Would You?, Lucy Stone has the audience literally screaming for more. The crowd is really bouncing on their feet when the band performs their hard-hitting cover of “My Body”, originally sang by Young The Giant. Support from both loyal and new fans is overwhelming and can be felt during the Lucy Stone’s entire set.
Jannis Noya Makrigiannis is thrilled to being touring with Daughter. He modestly expresses this to concert attendees during Choir Of Young Believers’ performance. In addition to his voice, Makrigiannis easily mesmerizes fans with his actions on stage. Pure passion can be seen on his face as Jannis feverously strums the guitar and sings each song with just as much excitement as the last. He leads the band throughout their performance with his haunting voice on songs such as “Sedated” and “Paralyse”. With sounds of synthpop and backing from cellist Cæcilie Trier, it’s no wonder that Choir Of Young Believers is such a unique band. It’s evident the group just loves to create music which makes their stage presence seem as though it were simplistically founded.
Elena Tonra finally prepares to perform. Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella join her as they begin to assemble their set. Tonra hasn’t stopped smiling since first arriving to Kung Fu Necktie. Even before singing, it is apparent that she has captured the audience’s attention. One fan excitedly rants about how she ran into Tonra earlier in the night and struck up a conversation with the singer. Elena seems just as eager to become friendly with the remainder of the audience as she raises her glass and says “Cheers”, toasting the crowd in between performing. Hearing Daughter live is even more incredible than listening to their music through a set of personal speakers. Tonra has an exquisite voice that carries perfectly throughout the venue. It’s hard to believe that such prevailing vocals are coming from this petite woman on stage. Anyone formerly unaware of Daughter’s musical abilities is quickly won over as soon as the band starts to play. Fans can barely hear the opening to “Youth” as they find it hard to contain their excitement. Tonra is forced to stop singing as she modestly giggles at the crowd’s enthusiastic cheering. It’s clear that Philadelphia has crowned Daughter one of the city’s favorite new bands.
