Show Review: Daydreamers
Photo courtesy of Lucie Bailey (@lucie_bailey on Instagram)
On Friday 11th April, I attended Daydreamers first headline tour at Bodega in Nottingham. A blend of pop and indie sounds, Daydreamers are the perfect band to be the soundtrack to kick off your summer. I can’t lie, I went into this show with minimal knowledge about the band, having heard a few of their tracks on social media, however, I came out of the venue definitely a new fan.
The night began with a set from Elle Coves. Elle’s set was the perfect start to the show, with a softer acoustic tone to her songs, yet her voice powerful enough to instantly fill the room. Her songs were nothing short of relatable, even quoting “when I crush on people, I go a bit crazy”, which, we’ve all been there at one point or another. Her ability to hold the audience’s attention was nothing short of impressive, which can be difficult for a support act in any regard, let alone with an acoustic set. She covered the iconic Wheatus song ‘Teenage Dirtbag’, putting a welcome softer spin on it which, naturally, had the whole room singing along, even allowing them to take over one of the verses and applauding at the response. Her final song featured a catchy hook for which she brought in the classic call and response, which was warmly received by audience members. The perfect way to warm up the crowd for the main act. I was lucky enough to meet Elle at the end of the show, and she was so lovely, and genuinely appreciative for everybody who took the time to speak to her. I would definitely recommend giving her a follow on social media.
The main act of the night did not disappoint. Opening their show with ‘Beach House’, there was an instant newfound energy in the room from both band and audience. Lead singer Riley wasted no time in engaging with fans through encouraging them to dance and holding eye contact with those in the front of the crowd, he was a natural performer. However, this isn’t to say the rest of the band didn’t follow suit, it was clear that the entire band were enjoying themselves from the very first verse, truly taking up the stage and knowing how to put on a show. Despite being their first headline tour, the show had such a natural flow to it, with Riley even throwing in a few stories in between songs that felt more like chatting with friends than a script.
Throughout the night, it was clear to see how much the audience were enjoying themselves, with people of all ages jumping around and dancing, truly looking carefree. Around halfway through the set, the band announced that bassist Aurora had made friendship bracelets to give out to the group that they believed to be “dancing the most” which encouraged friendly competition between audience members. After a few songs, they were given to a group that had previously caught the attention of the band, who were VERY well deserving in my opinion. One thing I noticed was that the bracelets were able to go straight to the chosen winners, with no argument from those around them, it was lovely to see the obvious sense of community and respect within this crowd. This wasn’t the only wholesome interaction I have witnessed within their fanbase or between band and fan, with Riley even being comfortable enough to enter the audience for a song or two, which goes to show how genuine the connection is. A real representation of what live music stands for.
When making notes throughout the show on what I wanted to speak about in this review, I must’ve written the word “Vocals” about fifty times. Live performances will always differ slightly to recorded and released tracks, whether that be an intentional change or simply on the account that they cannot be edited as heavily, but both the lead and backing vocals from the band were incredible throughout the night. This was perfectly highlighted in the duet of ‘Hope You’re Happy’ that Elle was brought onto stage to duet with Riley, as their voices blended beautifully and filled the room. The audience engagement didn’t slow towards the end of the set, as a debate was started between whether the song was a “Love song” or a “Broken hearted song”, with a third option being added by an audience member as a “Screw you” song, asking fans to cheer for their chosen answer in a light-hearted game providing a break between songs.
At the end of the main body of their set, before there would typically be an encore, a little bit of a fourth wall break occurred as the stage was too small to actually leave and come back. Rather than scrapping the idea of an encore altogether, the band played into the opportunity, telling everybody that after this song they would pretend to leave, while actually crouching down on the side of the stage and then “return” to finish the set. The crowd were eager to play into this, excitedly chanting for “more” as the last notes were played, and the band made their “getaway” to the side of the small stage area.
The encore consisted of 3 songs, including a cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight’, which a fan had printed off the lyrics to and the band graciously accepted. Covering such a well-known artist can be a risky move, however this was executed perfectly, with their own indie take being put on the iconic track.
The set ended with ‘Call me up’ which had its time on social media not too long ago and was the perfect track to end the night. The energy at the end of the show was just as high as the beginning as disco lights took over the room and the audience took over the song, making the most of the time they had left to sing along.
Overall, this night was every concert goer’s dream (excuse the pun…) from the perfect curation of the setlist, the consistent crowd interaction and the energy in the room, I would recommend a Daydreamers concert to anybody who gets the opportunity.
Find Elle on Instagram and TikTok @ElleCoves
Find DayDreamers on Instagram and Tiktok @Daydreamers_uk