Chloe Day

These have been sitting in my memory cards for a long time.   This is Chloe Day.  She performed at The Elbo Room 26 December 2007, I think.  A Wednesday, and at the time a normal night off .  But a day after Christmas is not a normal night, and I wanted to find something noteworthy for it.  I looked at the Reader to see how I can make it so.  I saw this pretty name "Chloe Day", and off I went.  The worst that can happen is that I don't like it and I go to Neo sooner than 1 am.  Some people that start a band choose a name,  even if that band has only one person.  But not Ms Chloe Day.  She just went on her own name and that's it.  And so that was intriguing to me.  I had my digital camera to record the event, and so off I went to pursue this night.  Some performances you have to go after yourself, research them on your own.   
There seemed to be less than 20 people or so, an intimate night, nice if the concert is good.  A slow night if I don't like it.  The band that opened before her did not suggest what was to come.  I did not like them.  The crowd trimmed to the lucky few.  I killed time skimming articles in the reader, the posters set up for Chloe suggested a larger turn out was expected.  One had an interview with her.  Before the end of the night I pulled two posters down for her to sign.  When the concert is good, you wanna remember it, frame it, display it.  You buy the CDs, the shirt...etc.  On she went.   She is this pretty blonde with long hair, she wore this grey glittery disco dress, with matching grey tie, and black fingerless gloves.   I noticed her a good half-hour before her show.  Chloe was easily the prettiest girl in the room...I guess by default that says something about the rest of the room.
   There is really no style of music that she does not own with each song.  I could say that if you like Portishead, you will treasure Ms Chloe Day.  She has her dark trip hop down with songs like "Dirty Little Secret", "Catnip", "Spoon", "Hands", all of these are on the CD Pixie Runway.  At first one is struck by how dance friendly these songs are and soon after the lyrics.  The words are projected so clearly and sweetly by her girly voice.  "Dirty Little Secret", gives a voice to that skeleton in your closet....the one you can't hide from yourself, but try to anyway.

If you were raised Catholic, this song will fuck with you.  I don't care if you are Lutheran now.

Secrets, once personified, can use the language of what is closest to you to fuck with you.    "I've seen the sin inside you/ Sat on the cross you bare", Chloe says this with the weight of 12 years of Catholic school.   I like "Catnip" 'cause it's the guy who in the end is taking the bait and is this close to being murdered, even as he thinks he is the killer.  The girl already has figured him out, has his money, and is about to take him out.  It's like the mouse took the cheese, then placed the trap in your morning paper.   Then there are the folk/electronic songs like those from Katie Jane Garside.   Yeah, and like Katie Jane, the songs are just so dense with thought provoking stuff.  Chloe, I think still writes stuff that is more resonant than mysterious.  Katie Jane is thought provoking because she is mysterious.   Either way when one tries to dissect a song or an artist through a song, you are actually dissecting your own thoughts.  The mirror reveals yourself always.  The artist just put the mirror in front of you.  I also keep that in mind when I go on about bands and music.   I shall write more on her later.  This post has sat as a draft long enough.