On Thursday May 9th, the London-based indie folk band Daughter performed in Lincoln Hall. The band started out in 2010 as the solo work of Elena Tonra, but guitarist Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella soon joined her. They had released several EP’s prior to 2013 but it was just in March of this year that there first album If You Leave came out.
The concert took place in Lincoln Hall, a very trendy venue in Lincoln Park. The atmosphere was cheerful and relaxed. The opening act was a New York-based band Wilsen, which had been touring with Daughter up until Chicago. Tonra thanked Wilsen for opening for them in their previous concerts and she started tearing up when describing her feelings towards them no longer opening for Daughter. The songs Daughter chose to play were mostly from their album, but throughout the concert audience members shouted requests for their EP’s and songs including “Youth” and “Landfill” were very welcomed. Overall, the concert was very calm; Daughter commented that Chicago was probably their best-behaved audience. The obvious explanation for this circumstance is that every person who attended genuinely loved the band’s work and was in awe of Tonra’s gentle voice that was to a miraculous extent identical to what it sounds like on recordings. The concert lasted an hour and a half and was only interrupted by chats between Tonra and Haefeli on the subject of London weather or the state of Tonra’s voice or guitar pick.
The concert was 18+ but most of the audience members were in their late 20’s. What makes Lincoln Hall a fantastic venue is their cozy atmosphere that is created not only by the amazing live music that plays there but also by its layout. The entrance opens into a restaurant/bar space and the concert hall is not very large but is made up of two floors. The upper floor is a balcony with seats circling the room and the ground floor is standing space for the audience. The entirety of Lincoln Hall fits around 510 people making it a chic environment, perfect for concerts like Daughter. Even if you didn’t make it to the fantastic Daughter concert, and want to explore cool music venues in Chicago, Lincoln Hall is definitely a destination for you.
