Daughtry

Daughtry

Aug 26, 2007

Commodore Ballroom

Absent Element was an unknown small rock band in the town of Burlington, North Carolina, fronted by Chris Daughtry, but with the help and exposure from popular reality show, American Idol, Chris was thrusted into the public spotlight and fans and record executives took notice. One month after his elimination he signed with 19 Entertainment/ RCA records, and formed the new band Daughtry.  They released their self titled debut album on Nov 21, 2006, which became the fastest selling rock debut album of all time.  

After touring all summer, the boys of Daughtry rolled into town with Ohio natives Small Town Sleeper to play their first show in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom. Sleeper’s Front man Troy Brown’s raspy vocals were great, but the bands overall sound was much too generic. They sound like the Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox twenty, and Third Eye Blind all rolled into one with Hinder’s Austin Winkler on vocals.  The tracks or “stories” as Brown referred to them, sounded too much like every other alternative rock band. A lack of originality, made Small Town Sleeper appear as recycled material.

With only one album under their belts, Daughtry’s set was pretty limited and short; they played all the tracks off their debut album except for the slower track “All these lives”.

They opened the night with “Crashed” followed by the heavier rock tune “What I Want”. Chris’s vocals were strong and powerful while he belted out power ballads and clear while he launched into his falsetto for the track “Breakdown”.

The band had good stage presence, but they were minimal on the in between banter with the audience.  Drummer Joey Barnes donned a Canadian flag cape, after a fan upfront threw the flag onstage.  While, Chris frequently reached out over the sides of the stage to shake hands with the crowd before a female upfront pulled his arm, sending him downward, where he proclaimed” That’s the first time I’ve fallen off a stage”.

The song garnering the best response was definitely the bands first single “It’s not over”, which they preformed halfway through their set. With the recognition of the opening chords, the audiences erupted into cheers, as Chris joked, “Oh, you know this one?” and encouraged a sing-along. The band slowed down the pace, and exited leaving Chris with an acoustic guitar, and drummer Barnes to cover Pearl Jams “Black”, which got the cell phones swaying and a few lighters flickering, as Chris remarked, “There’s like one lighter! I thought those things were obsolete.”  

The break-up track and fourth single “Over You” closed the night, with Chris moving away from the microphone declaring it was the audiences turn, letting them sing out the chorus of the track before saying goodnight. Fans eager for more started stomping on the springy ballroom floor, until the band reappeared after a quick change of sweat soaked t-shirts. They preformed “Home” and “There and Back” before bidding Vancouver goodnight.  

Chris Daughtry has come a long way from playing bars in his hometown, to traveling across the globe and performing along side the likes of Bon Jovi and Nickelback. He owes his Cinderella story success to the karaoke reality show American idol, which opened the doors for Daughtry, allowing him to quickly garner success, and an audience willing to listen. Daughtry continues to tour across America and Canada until early November.