By Saiba Haque, Second Year Politics and Philosophy
From Last week’s performance at the Marble factory, it is clear to see why many may find solace in Dayglow’s music. His music sounds fantastic on the studio recorded versions that we’re used to, and safe to say that they certainly did not disappoint in their live renditions of their songs.
The concert was initially meant to be held at the O2 Academy, but the venue changed to the Marble Factory, which I see as a complete win. As the show went on it became very apparent that Marble Factory was the perfect venue for this gig.
The show started off on a great note with Far Caspian opening for the night. As newcomers to the music industry, their opening was very promising; with stellar instrumentals, and quintessentially indie vocals, Far Caspian warmed the crowd up perfectly. Although there seemed to be a slight technical sound error on the frontman Joel Johnston's microphone, it did not take away too much from their euphoric performance.
Coming all the way from Austin, Texas, Sloan Struble (aka Dayglow) uttered his first words on the mic, and we were caught off-guard immediately by his very American accent. As a performer so new to the music industry, it feels like Dayglow has been performing for years. Sloan is exceptionally charismatic and confident when performing. The charm and humility in his anecdotes mid-performance persistently drew the crowd closer to him. He would often endearingly and jestfully refer to the crowd as “Bristol” in between songs, upon which the crowds would soar with cheer. He would often mention how exciting it was for him to perform in Bristol, whilst maintaining a friendly conversation with the crowd throughout the show. Sloan knows exactly how to hype up a crowd.
The setlist consisted of songs from his recent album ‘Harmony House’ and also his previous and first album ‘Fuzzybrain’. Dayglow started off the show strong with the first song from ‘Harmony House’, ‘Something’, then ‘Medicine’ from the same album. He then moved on to some songs from ‘Fuzzybrain’ and continued to alternate between songs from both albums. My favourite moment was when they started playing ‘Can I call you tonight?’ - the crowd screamed with joy as phones went up in the air to record this momentous occasion. It felt like everyone was having a “coming of age” movie moment in real-time, which was very surreal to see. Throughout the whole gig, Sloan exuded confidence on the stage with the natural charisma and chemistry he had with the crowd.
Close to the end he again endearingly mentions how he can’t wait to be back in Bristol again. Just when we thought he was ending the show with his last song for the night, ‘Balcony’ from ‘Harmony House’, the crowd starts chanting him back (but let’s be fair, we all know what’s going to happen). The band comes back on stage, for not only one extra song, to send off the crowd, but three! Two of which were covers: first the Alt/Rock classic ‘Take me Out’ by Franz Ferdinand, then he slightly slowed things down with Everybody ‘Wants to Rule the World’ by Tears for Fears.
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Dayglow finally finished the show with yet another crowd-pleaser from his first album: ‘Run the World’. This gig was so good it left me wanting more. I definitely look forward to Dayglow’s next tour. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, I would highly recommend giving Dayglow a listen, especially if you’re into alternative/Indie or bedroom pop music.
Featured image: Saiba Haque
Did you catch Dayglow at the Marble Factory?
