I’m taken across the empty hall by the team manager, where the vibes are certainly very chilled as one of the supporting acts, Annie Eve, is having a little sound-check with the small tech team. Outside the committed fans eagerly queue up in drizzly Digbeth, soon to swamp the floors of ‘the Library’.
Through to a room backstage I’m introduced to Daughter strumming and tuning their various guitars with Breaking Bad on pause. It has certainly been a very fun and busy few weeks for the London-based trio, who have just come back from a sell-out tour around Europe. Fast-forward twenty minutes of an enjoyable interview with Daughter, I shyly ask if I could take a photo of them outside on my relatively new Nikon D60, only to discover that the battery has run out. The iTouch saves the night, however.
Still a little swept away by what could only be described as their ephemeral auras, I totter off to the side of the stage and check out the first act, Annie Eve. The Library has certainly packed up since I first came in, with many a folk fanatic swaying along to the harmonious sounds reverberating around the room. I sink in to the main crowd to join a couple of companions when the other supporting act, Bear’s Den, come on stage. In a very good way, they are all like a very cool Mumford and Sons, except that all of them have beards and weren’t expecting such a voluminous and supportive audience, who were also probably as equally surprised too.
Guitar strumming and folky sounds have had the crowd consistently on their toes, building up to the climatic headline act, Daughter. After consuming a cider, I belt in to my friend’s ear affirming that this is the best thing to do on a Sunday night, wishing through hindsight that we should have done more things like this at university. Then we nauseatingly gaze ahead realising for the millionth time that we graduate very soon. We decide to let the music do the talking and lean against the bar, remaining totally passive to the mesmerising presence of the trio on stage, who are all completely absorbed by the sounds they’re creating. Daughter’s tone is somewhat melancholic but it sounds so uplifting to listen to as the lyrics are laden with so much honesty. Almost like an upbeat version of the xx, Elena’s voice glides alongside Igor’s prolonged, echoing guitar sounds whilst Remi keeps the entire performance tight with the drums. There is an extra guitarist on the left of the stage towards the back, mysteriously appearing through the wavering breezes of the smoke machine, keeping the music in balance with subtle noises creeping out of the keyboard.
The entire performance feels like you are at a festival at night, with the odd lively fan jumping up and down fanatically whilst the rest of us are joyfully swaying along to the songs off their new album, ‘If You Leave’. The band’s interactions with the audience makes it feel like we all know each other, with Elena admitting how conscious she feels for not ironing the blouse she’s wearing, the crowd responds in woops and cheers. The performance ends on two of their older songs ‘Youth’ and ‘Home’ from their 2011 EP ‘the Wild Youth’.
As the night draws to a close, everyone is in a mellow, cheerful mood, feeling very warmed by the humble and modest nature of Daughter. Everyone shuffles upstairs, with a single row of young teenagers still standing waiting earnestly for an encore, which never happened. Feeling like an exclusive press person, I knew that Daughter had to zoom off to London that evening to get their visas sorted for America in the morning. The perks of BURN FM!
