Music
25 May 23

Live Report: Sir Chloe lead a hypnotic, rocking show from The Academy's Green Room

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Playing The Academy's Green Room last night, Sir Chloe started off their European tour for I Am The Dog with a bang and support from Fya Fox

“What is a dog to a shepherd; what is a dog to a sheep?” And what, exactly, is a rock act like Sir Chloe to Dublin’s music venue the Academy? It's clearly a killer show.

While it might have been the Vermont band's first show of their 2023 European tour, it wasn't their first time in Dublin. Returning to old ventures in new haunts, the last time they played in the Irish capital they took Whelan's by storm.

Celebrating the drop of their debut album I Am The Dog, the first large collection of music Sir Chloe has dropped since their “album-length EP” Party Favors in 2020, the band was well-welcomed by an eager crowd. The Academy’s Green Room is a different musical beast from Whelan's, with beaming neon blue lights across the ceiling and a boxed-in stage. Doors opened two hours before Sir Chloe took their place in the spotlight and even before 7:30PM people were already swarming the barriers.

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Thankfully, they didn't spend the whole two hours aimless - the Hot Press Hot for 2022 artist FYA FOX rolled up to the stage as the opener with an amazing set of her own around 8PM.

A softly serene but powerful pre-show act, she stepped out on-stage dressed in a sheer camo top and striped pants, ordained in pink lights. Just stepping on stage sent the crowd into a hush, allowing her to start 'White Lies' without fanfare.

While her next song was about a break-up her friend went through, she was quick to reassure her third song, 'Like Loving Jesus' was “not what you’d think.”

"It’s basically a metaphor," she explained from where she sat at a keyboard.

Followed by what FYA FOX said was "probably most popular track to date," the stunning single 'Numb,' she then sang her latest release. Standing on-stage, mic reclaimed in her hand, she sang the closure-seeking 'Ghost.'

Hyping the crowd, the "alt-pop princess" then divulged that the six song on her roster for the night was about a guy she was dating pre-Covid who told her she would never make it in the music industry.

Fya Fox supporting Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Her emphatic “Yeah, fuck him” and confident dancing before the crowd were as powerful of a revolution against anyone who doubted her as the song was - especially against that boy she was singing about on stage.

Closing out her set with 'Dishonest,' a currently unreleased track, and 'BUSY,' she set stage for a phenomenal night, garnering rambunctious cheers by the end.

The alternative rock act Sir Chloe, in contrast, took the stage with a bit more fanfare. The lights went out, and that was all the permission the Green Room's audience needed to start cheering. When the lights returned, Dana Foote, the band's frontwoman, stood dead centre.

With her black hair fringe cut to her chin and a striped black suit, Dana, and the rest of Sir Chloe, commenced their show without a single word - all the while giving major Joan de Arc vibes from her appearance alone, although dead-set and focused expression helped. Between rocking beats, resonating guitar riffs and a pulsing drumbeat remained the taunting, searching question that haunts their first track of the show and I Am The Dog alike: 'Should I?'

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

An amazing guitar solo finished off the song, before changing the tone to the hypnotic opening chords of 'Untie You,' a track from their album-length debut EP Party Favors.

"Don't you feel special?"

Masters of the room, silence befell the room when Dana took off her guitar for a scant few seconds before returning to the mic to finish the song. Not an instrument or voice from the pit broke the moment, held hostage with wide eyes and worship.

Then, for 'Animal,' the Green Room's audience joined in, their joined in voice overpowering the mic's amplified call.

"I tried to love you but you're not my type / Tried to pretend but it don't feel right"

And like the animal Dana compared herself to, lit in the red stoic lights she and the rest of Sir Chloe brought to life an unquenchable hunger in the room through their music - a hunger pleading for more.

Taking a quick moment to deliver an introductory speech before playing 'Salivate,' Dana was hard-pressed to find a moment between boisterous cheers.

"Hi," Dana started. "I'm Sir Chloe, thanks for being here tonight."

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

"This is our first night of our tour. Last time we toured Europe, this was actually our last stop so we're right where we left off. Since we last saw you, we released an album. We're going to play a combination of old and new songs for you."

Taking a moment after to lead into the next track of the evening, Dana once again took the mic to talk about a ravenous, cherry-lollipop themed single.

“As is customary there is at least one love song on each of our records. On Party Favors it was 'Sedona.' And on I Am The Dog, it's a song called ‘Center.'

During 'Know Better,' people's heads were bobbing across the room, transformed into a singular mass unable to contain itself. Compounded by hands in the air and bodies rocking back and forth, Sir Chloe brought to Dublin a resonating energy that could not be restrained.

“Thank you, that song was called ‘know better.’” Dana said afterwards. Then, with a knowing, sly and shy little grin, she introduced the next. “And this song is called ‘Leash.'

Clutching the mic, her white guitar hanging at her front, she was a hypnotic force upon herself, just as the rest of I Am The Dog album is. Her rendition of 'Hooves’ similarly garnered screaming cheers as she leaned out into the audience, bobbing her head. Dana took upon herself the room's energy, waltzing around the stage and twirling her microphone's wire in her opposite hand like a power untold.

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

The next single was what Dana disclosed to be her personal favourite from the album, a little song called 'Obsession.’ It came before the title track of their recent release, the haunting, lulling, crying piece: 'I Am The Dog.'

Staying true to their earlier promise of playing work both old and new, Sir Chloe then returned to a recently referenced piece, the love song off of Party Favors, 'Sedona.' You could feel the Dublin crowd's love for the band and their music in the way they sang along, putting their heart and souls into sharing their love for Sir Chloe's music.

The phones coming out in mass to film during that particular track didn't hurt to convey just how much 'Sedona' meant to the average concert goer at the Academy either.

The audience's absolutely enraptured attention and response to 'Sedona' could have been called a defining moment of the night if the reverent response to Sir Chloe's music hadn't already become a theme of the performance.

Amid the mini-speech before 'Cake,' Chloe warned of the night's imminent close.

“We have two more songs for you,” she said, gaining a mournful response from the crowd. The audience's energy just kept peaking, and the cut off “JUST ANOTHER-“ at the end of the song didn't help sooth the crowd in the slightest.

Nor did the opening chords to 'Michelle,' which saw someone deep within the tightly-packed space scream “YES!” If there were a lot of phones out before, it was something else entirely then. Every hand in the room had the bright light of their camera pointed towards the Vermont band, ready to record the soulful and emotional lyrics as the song became an powerful, echoing anthem.

“Michelle, Michelle / You are a monster from hell.”

Sir Chloe at The Academy Greenroom on May 24th, 2023. Copyright Abigail Ring/ hotpress.com

Like a heaven-sent miracle, Chloe began to take off her guitar only to double back and offer a sheepish confession.

“We actually have one more song for you. Oops. This song is called 'Feel Again.'”

Even that wasn't the end, though, the crowd begging for an encore badly enough that Sir Chloe didn't just play one more song - but two. Suffice to say, the room's chants of "One! More! Tune!" didn’t leave anyone disappointed.

'Easy On You' soon led into 'Too Close,' ending the first show of the tour with a bang. Dana was bowed over herself by the last few chorus of the final song, belting the lyrics as she and the rest of the band built a symphony not just of instrument and voice, but deeply felt emotions that everyone could understand.

“I think it’s time for your to go"

Although there were so many iconic moments from Sir Chloe's enthralling performance at the Academy, there was no one defining instance. The band's resolute and straightforward character brought The Academy's Green Room to its knees throughout the whole night, setting an auspicious tone for the rest of their upcoming European stretch.

After all, there are some shows you can say are a good time. Then there are some shows that define a good time. This was the latter.

Check out the rest of Sir Chloe's tour dates, here:

May 25th - Belfast, UK - Limelight 2

May 27th - Leeds, UK - Live At Leeds (Festival)

May 30th - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms

June 1st - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall

June 2nd - London, UK - Heaven

June 3rd - Brighton, UK - Patterns

June 5th - Bristol, UK - Thekla

June 6th - Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute 2

June 7th - Glasgow, UK - SGW Galvanizers

June 9th - Paris, France - Le Trabendo