Jesse Detor might have been the opening artist at El Cid in early December, but as soon as the doors opened to let the crowd into the venue, many of them rushed to the front of the stage in anticipation of her set. That enthusiasm for her music was reciprocated with pop-punk energy on her part. The rocker recently moved to Los Angeles, having grown up in Minneapolis and attended the Berklee College of Music.
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| Jesse Detor at El Cid |
There is only one question to be asked after seeing her performance for the first time: who is Sofia? The name is no doubt an alias, but who is this person from either Minneapolis or Boston. The name popped up multiple times during the set.
"Juno." I know Sofia's a blessing, more for me than for you.
"Mirror." I'm a version of Sofia.
"Sofia I'm Sorry." Tell Sofia that I'm sorry but I get what I want.
As Lilly Jay called Ariana Grande, who's not a girl's girl: Sofia or Jesse Detor? The introduction story to the song "Sofia I'm Sorry" might hold some clues, "Getting yourself in a very complicated love triangle and then complaining about it. Even if it your own fault. We've all done crazy sh*t that we regret."
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| Jesse Detor at El Cid |
I will have to say that I love the "When we watch a Winona Ryder movie" lyrics from "Sofia I'm Sorry." Okay, maybe who cares about the Jesse Detor and Sofia rivalry. What movie were they watching? Beetlejuice? Heathers? Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael? Edward Scissorhands? Reality Bites? It better have been one of those 5 movies or I'm questioning their 1980s / 1990s movie tastes.
What are some of the highlights from the set (outside of wondering about Sofia)? I loved the rapid fire lyrics behind the song "Sex Dream." Her backing band of bassist Sam Anderson, guitarist Emma Harner, and drummer Daisy Soper added to the on stage performance as Jesse Detor played off both her guitarist and bassist throughout the set.
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| Jesse Detor at El Cid |
I'm going to put the song spotlight on "Hands." It was the final song of the set and was introduced as being inspired by PJ Harvey's song "Legs." It is a song about ripping off the hands of boys when they use them in an inappropriate way. The song is from her debut EP Sofia I'm Sorry so it is possibly about the unnamed boy who is the third person in the love triangle. The song might be inspired by PJ Harvey, but the vocal screams are all Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Got to love a perfectly executed scream.
Side bar: since 2024, I've followed fellow Berklee College of Music alumni ZARA (more in the jazz genre). I was curious if they know each other. Well, they follow each other on Instagram. Perhaps they know that each has moved to Los Angeles.
Setlist: Once, Juno, Mirror, Sex Dream, Apartment Song, Lovelost, Sofia I'm Sorry, Hands.
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