Photos and Review by: Lev Avery-Peck
Show photos HERE
Since emerging on the scene in 2013, Australian born Vance Joy has taken the music industry and audiences by storm. Joy’s soothing alternative rock vibes are loved by everyone and have sold out venues across the country and internationally.
His debut album Dream Your Life Away brings us acoustic folk-pop sounds with lyrics about romance. The album is full of folk songs that are easy on the ears. He digs deep into his past, pulling out lyrics about past romances and finding things to be passionate about. Joy sounds like a clash of Jack Johnson and Mumford and Sons.
In a packed Webster Hall in Manhattan, Joy displayed his incredible talent and emotion. He sounds just as good, maybe better, than he does on studio recordings. He keeps it simple with the core components of his songs, the vocals, the lyrics, and the melody. We want to hear the beautiful melodies and harmonies and that’s what we got. Many of his songs begin with just Joy and his guitar and then gradually bring in the whole band. Every time he switched to his ukulele the crowd got excited with anticipation of the next song. It was a journey of folky sounds and comforting harmonies, upbeat rhythms and slow ballads. But Joy never let things get too mellow either. After every ballad he brought the energy back up by rocking the next one. Switching from slower songs to faster tunes, he kept the audience on its toes and with him the whole time. These were clearly Vance Joy devotees: It took only the first note of every song to get the crowd wild with excitement.
You could tell Joy and his band mates truly love playing together. The obvious musical chemistry and their smiling at each other throughout the concert enhanced the already joyous feeling that Joy evoked. These guys are clearly in tune with each other and love playing together, and the audience felt that.
Alongside this great band, Joy was backed visually by a terrific lighting system, which enhanced the music and made the show an experience you just could not have on your home stereo, no matter how big your speakers or sophisticated your headphones. The show started out with darker colors—reds and purples— and transitioned into lighter greens and yellows as the songs flowed into each other. The lights matched the feelings of the songs and the evolving mood of the evening. It was exciting and engaging but also, like so much of Joy’s music, mellow and folksy.
Over a span of an hour and 20 minutes or so, Joy packed his set list with crowd favorites, like Play With Fire and Riptide. With all the excitement and energy it felt way longer than it was. A great part of the experience was that the crowd was just as into it as Joy was, with everyone dancing and singing along.
Vance Joy has created a unique folk music that has people of all ages running to see him perform. With romantic lyrics, ever so sweet melodies, and brilliant harmonies, Joy’s concert left us buzzing with happiness and humming his songs the rest of the night.
Vance Joy Packed Webster Hall in Manhattan – NYC
