Live Show: Sylvaine, Youth Valley
Location: Death Disco, Athens
Date: April 18th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Photos: Kostas Boudoukos

A few days ago I said that Sylvaine’s very special live at Death Disco was an opportunity for a musical group psychoanalysis and cleansing of the soul. I was basically referring to us as audience but ultimately this was true for both sides.

Already at 20:30 people started to gather outside the venue to catch YOUTH VALLEY who opened the night just before 21:30 with a slight delay. The five-piece with their distinct shoegaze, post punk aesthetic was a perfect fit for the night. In general they brought a calm and soberness on stage that matched their music and tied in with the beautiful and almost dreamlike setting that had been set up. As expected, the guitars and the keyboards prevailed while I would have liked the voice of the frontman of the band to be heard a bit more intensely, since as far as I could understand was very nice. To be honest this type of music is not my favorite. Moreover, the incredible anticipation for what was to follow prevented me from enjoying their set as much as they deserved. Despite this, the audience treated them generously and gave them a loud applause.

Setlist

1. Jean Moreas
2. February
3. Untouched
4. Pictures of You (CURE cover)
5. Veronica
6. Hurricane
7. Pegasus

A few minutes after YOUTH VALLEY’s set, SYLVAINE, aka Kathrine Shepard, got on stage to prepare the setting. Even at the stage of preparation, the eyes of the audience (the Death Disco was half full) were fixed on her. As if the preparation was part of the show. When everything was ready, she took her place in front of the microphone with only the amazing voice with which nature endowed her. The set opened with her new single “Dagsens Auga Aloknar Ut” from her latest work “Eg Er Framand” to continue with one of my favorite songs, the almost 12 -minute long “Fortapt” from the album “Nova” accompanied only by her guitar. And yet…12 minutes that seemed like seconds as the audience simply devoured every single sound coming out of her mouth, dumbfounded. Either in the melodic vocals or in the growls that seemed to come from her soul and not from her mouth. In between she thanked us for being there and confided that this is the first time she is doing a solo show without her band and she was quite stressed. She also promised us that her set would take us on a journey through her entire career and she promptly delivered on that promise with “Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart” from her 2014 debut self-titled album.

We returned to “Nova” with another favorite hit, “Nowhere, Still Somewhere” and “I Close My Eyes So I Can See”. And that’s what we did… the crowd was completely silent while looking around I could see people spellbound either with their eyes closed savoring the moment or with their eyes glistening with emotion. The artist herself was equally and even more moved, especially in her penultimate song, “L’Appel Du Vide” which she described as one of the most difficult, emotionally, songs. That’s why she avoids singing live. Concluding with tears in her eyes, she announced that there is still one more “If I can get my shit together” as she said. But after all, the traditional “Eg Er Framand” was not destined to be her last as while she started to collect her equipment, the audience just waited stoically and with prolonged applause demanded and earned an unexpected and truly spontaneous encore. And an acapella one at…no guitar, pre-recorded parts, etc.

Setlist

1. Dagsens auga sloknar ut
2. Fortapt
3. Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart
4. Nowhere, Still Somewhere
5. I Close My Eyes So I Can See
6. L’ Appel du Vide
7. Eg Er Framand (traditional cover)
8. Arvestykker

Can anyone get enough of this? Probably no. It was one of those concerts that I didn’t want it to end even though when it was over and I looked at the time I saw it was past 11:30 pm. Sylvaine deserves more recognition in my opinion but even so the infinite love she got from the audience  made up for it. Finally, I have to say that the 60-70 people who were at Death Disco must feel grateful as we experienced an acoustic solo show by Sylvaine for the first time. A musical experience of a lifetime…

Design and editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Links: SYLVAINE – Official Page
YOUTH VALLEY – Σελίδα Facebook
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