This month marks the ten year anniversary of the Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES' debut album The Bones of What You Believe.
On the eve of the anniversary their front woman, Lauren Mayberry debuted a slew of songs from her upcoming solo release. She graced the stage of a sold-out crowd at Lincoln Hall in Chicago and shed off a little bit of her hard-shelled exterior for some vulnerability and expressed her femininity in a fun personable fashion.
Admittedly, my tenure in the music industry was nearing a halt when her band was hitting the scene, so I have not had an opportunity to shoot a performance by them. Needless to say I was excited to jump at the opportunity to capture Mayberry on her own. Intrigued and eager to see what she had in store for us, I was not disappointed. The evening’s set felt like a series of vignettes in this intimate setting of Mayberry getting an opportunity to bashfully share a side she usually keeps to herself.
The stage was set with floral arrangements around her supporting bands instruments and similar to a piano bar night club hung a tinseled sparkly backdrop. Mayberry in her signature glittery eye makeup and wore a dress that would easily be seen on a runway or red carpet. Not meaning to objectify the singer but she was gorgeous and had every eye following her around the stage as she unblinkingly made eye contact with us all as she serenaded us with a piece of heart.
Two fun highlights in the 45-minute set were her covers, first for everyone to sing along with, Madonna’s “Like a Prayer." Her second choice was to pay tribute to Chicago and one of the OG “girly sound” indie female rock artists, Liz Phair’s “Fuck and Run.” Mayberry also appropriately placed her current single “Are You Awake?” in the middle of the set. All in all, it was a successful introduction to what the singer has in store for us and feel lucky to have gotten to witness it in such a convivial manner.
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Setlist:
Bird
Change Shapes
Mantra
Undo the Knife
Shame
Like a Prayer ^
Are you Awake?
Crocodile Tears
Fuck and Run +
Sorry Etc
^ Madonna cover
+ Liz Phair cover