Only a mere few hours before the gig, tragedy struck. Chloe Moriondo found out their whole band had been struck down with Covid-19, meaning that they would be unable to take the stage at The Bodega, and she would have to face the crowd alone. Gemma Cockrell gives her take on how the 19-year-old singer fared in this unprecedented situation.
Demonstrating a bold ‘the show must go on’ approach, Chloe showed the fearless attitude that teenagers can often conjure, and they took to the stage with apparent nerves, but a bold determination not to let her fans down. She was instantly reassured by the crowd; from their reaction it was clear that this turn of events did not bother them one bit - they were just relieved that they were still able to see one of their favourite artists on stage.
The result of this was a set performed entirely by Chloe herself, giving them a chance to flaunt their skills on the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and ukulele. But first, we got treated to a set by Frances Forever, who you will probably know from the song Space Girl that went viral on TikTok in 2020, which was included in their setlist. It was probably the only material of theirs that the crowd was familiar with, but their set also included some surprises, with some unexpected high-energy crescendos that could be likened to the latter half of Billie Eilish’s hit song Happier Than Ever.
''Some of her most upbeat, pop-punk infused tracks were given a novel interpretation''
Due to the nature of Chloe’s set, these moments of full-band extravaganza were few and far between – not to any fault of Chloe’s, of course. Some of her most upbeat, pop-punk infused tracks were given a novel interpretation, and inevitably they did lose some of their angst when performed with just a singular guitar. This left more to be desired in some cases, particularly Take Your Time, where Chloe’s vocals were unfortunately unable to soar as freely as they do on the studio version.
These unprecedented times led Chloe to bring out their ukulele, an instrument that she admitted that she hadn’t played to an audience in a while. To match the nostalgia that the instrument holds for her, she took the opportunity to honour some of her early material, including their most popular song and fan favourite Silly Girl. While the set did lull in terms of energy around midway through the performance, Chloe’s connection and devotion to the crowd never wavered.
''The crowd was left feeling like they had witnessed something very special and rare''
Chloe took the opportunity to preview a new song at the gig titled Sammy, which she explained was an ode to her dear pet dog. Hearing it performed acoustically, it is impossible to know what the studio version will be like once it is released, but from what I have read online from reviews of shows she did with her full band, it falls in line with her discography thus far and it will be appearing on a new EP that she will be releasing soon.
Closing the set with three back-to-back songs from her latest album Blood Bunny, the crowd was left feeling like they had witnessed something very special and rare. The acoustic set, instead of bringing disappointment to her fans, actually exposed some of Chloe’s greatest qualities, enhanced by the intimate and cosy environment of The Bodega. Some of her more energetic tracks may have lost some of their punch, but Chloe powered through and proved that if there is any word that can be used to describe them, it is unstoppable.
Gemma Cockrell
Edited by: Amrit Virdi
Featured image and in-article images and videos courtesy of Chloe Moriondo via Facebook and YouTube.
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