Live music galleries: Daughter [2013]

(I got the idea for this series while sifting through the ‘piles’ of digital photos on my laptop. It occurred to me to share some of these great pics from some of my favourite concert sets from time to time. Until I get around to the next one, I invite you to peruse my ever-growing list of concerts page.)

Artist: Daughter
When: August 2nd, 2013
Where: Mountain stage, Osheaga, Jean Drapeau Park, Montreal
Context: Ten years ago this summer, I attended Montreal’s Osheaga arts and music festival with my good friends Tim and Mark. It was an unforgettable weekend and we saw countless amazing performances over the festival’s three days. I’ve already posted photos* from some of the weekend’s sets and plan to share a few more of these in the months leading up to this year’s edition, which I will sadly not be attending. Some of these posts will have fewer photos than my normal galleries, including today’s, but this should not be taken to be indicative of the quality of the performances, but of the difficulty of obtaining quality pics while being so completely in the moment.

I had been listening to Daughter’s debut long player, “If you leave”, pretty much on repeat leading up to and in anticipation of the weekend and it grew on me by leaps and bounds with each listen. Its haunting melodies and soft tones seem perfect for early mornings, especially those accoutred with a thick layer of fog. Indeed, the album is awash in subtleties, the guitars and drums understated, as if played in a vacuous space, and frontwoman Elena Tonra’s delicate vocals exude just the right hint of sadness. Tonra was all smiles that afternoon, however, apparently not expecting such a large crowd so early in the afternoon. Listening, you could have floated away on the breeze, like the bubbles someone in the crowd kept blowing. They finished with their excellent single, “Youth” (see below), to crashing crescendos on a gathering wind. Tim likened them to a cross between Florence and the Machine and shoegazey type music and Mark described it as “Lovely, ethereal yummy.”
Point of reference song: “Youth”

*Past galleries from this festival weekend have included the following:

• Frightened Rabbit
• New Order