Sir Chloe confesses secrets to St. Louis with Venus & the Flytraps

I remember the first time I had ever heard a Sir Chloe song… It was 2020 and, like most people during the pandemic, I was cooped up inside scrolling through TikTok videos late into the night. I paused when I heard Dana Foote’s voice, aka Sir Chloe — a stage name adopted in 2017. It was a haunting lullaby that echoed around the four corners of my room. And then, suddenly, someone was calling my name — it was Dana.

“Michelle, Michelle — you are a monster from hell.”

I can’t speak for other Michelle’s out there, but I was flattered to hear a song which spoke so highly of me. Not only that, but the song was good — really, really good. Sir Chloe was mesmerizing to me and I needed to hear more. Fast-forward to five years later and here we were — a late-October evening in St. Louis. It was my second time getting to see Sir Chloe perform live at Delmar Hall. 

To warm up the night was opener Venus & the Flytraps, a gritty indie pop/rock duo from Nashville, Tennessee. With a team of instrumentalists by their side, Ceci Tomé and Brenna Kassis shared lead vocals, instantly pulling in the audience with their quirky and eccentric presence. Their music gives off this grungey, feminine garage band type of vibe, with an effortless, laidback rhythm that’s — at the same time — so precisely laid out. Seeing their performance for the first time, their music sounded like the perfect blend of Beach Bunny and soccer mommy, with raw yet playful lyrics paired with a jagged, unfiltered sound.

This day of the tour happened to coincide with Venus & the Flytraps releasing their second album, ‘Demonette’.

The LP is a unique variety of songs, ranging from the girly playfulness of “Be Aggressive” to the achingly angsty songs like “Sorry I Was Born”. What I loved so much about their performance was the carefreeness they shared with the room; it was a subtle nod to adolescent innocence. I couldn’t think of a better pairing to join Sir Chloe on tour. 

After the opener, I sat on the outdoor patio chatting up a woman who told me how she did a meet-and-greet at the beginning of the night — meeting Sir Chloe for the first time. Apparently, Sir Chloe asked everyone there to write a confession on a piece of paper that they could either share out loud or give it to her to read later. Dana herself shared a confession with the group. “Was it a confession, like a real genuine confession?” I asked the woman. She told me that, yes, Dana shared something personal, they all had, but I didn’t ask to know more as I knew that wasn’t a confession meant for me to hear. I’ve never had the opportunity to meet Sir Chloe for myself, but hearing this story didn’t surprise me… it just made me happy to know she’s exactly the type of person I thought she would be. 

It was just about time for Sir Chloe to go on, so I gathered my things and hurried inside to get a good spot.

I stood and watched as her black leather jacket and familiar bob appeared onstage, followed by a sea of cheers, my voice excitedly echoing with the others. The STL stop was one of many for Sir Chloe as part of her Forgiving Tour promoting her newest album, Swallow the Knife. Throughout this night, she sang many of her newer releases, including “Passenger” and “Candy”, while also giving the crowd some of their favorites, like “Sedona” and “Company”. Whatever song was played, the energy of that room continued to grow and pulse.

Simply put, Sir Chloe is an indie/alternative rock band… but nothing about Sir Chloe is simple. Often offering sharp sounds and cutting lyrics, her music is like a blade that keeps twisting… although the pain is too good to pull it back out. Dana writes her songs with a clever ability to remind you of places you never realized you’d ever been until you hear her words. When I think of a Sir Chloe song, my mind turns to languages and words that are untranslatable in any other language but its own. Sir Chloe speaks in a language that cannot be translated any other way… when you hear her music, somehow, you know exactly what she means.

It was a great concert and, even after the encore and the house lights came up, the room continued to move with an endless buzz.

While I didn’t participate in the meet-and-greet, I wanted to share my own confession, just as Dana did that night. My confession is that I used to hate my name for the longest time; I was so tired of strangers serenading me The Beatles well into my 20s. Until, one day, I heard this one Sir Chloe song… Suddenly my name didn’t sound all that bad anymore. I finally found myself a new anthem.

Photography by Sean Rider; recap article by Michelle Zigler

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