In silence with Chet Faker. Live at the Hoxton

Chet Faker, real name Nick James Murphy, is one of those up and coming musicians all of the cool cats listen too. Most people know murphy as the guy who’s vocals they hear on Flume’s “Alone.” Over the last year Flume and Faker have also releases the Lockjaw EP and, more recently, Murphy dropped a solo album Built on Glass, one of the more interesting albums to hit the shelves this year.

During a phone interview in late April Murphy told us that Built on Glass was a personal album, a self-discovery in a sense. Something about this humble personality made me particularly curious about what the live show would be like…

On Monday night Chet Faker played an early sold out show at the Hoxton. Two hours into the night Marphy’s set was finally set up and his lonesome figure in a plain t-shirt and a toque emerged on stage. For about an hour he played tracks from Thinking in Textures and Built on Glass as well as some tracks from his collaborations with Flume while chatting up the audience.

Two songs in, however, over a “which album is better” debate with a near by couple we all realized that we heard everyone around us but Faker himself. Hoxton is not a venue set up well for bands. They host a multitude of DJ and electronic music events that are a blast almost every single time but live performance are not their forte. In this case in particular, with Chet’s soft beats and gentle vocals the sound got lost barely making it’s way to the center of the room.

An air of disappointment spilled out on the street just after ten. Those who have know his music knew he was not the one to blame.

Here’s to hoping next time Chet Faker is in Toronto he will play the Mod Club or the The Danforth Music Hall.