Live Review :: Vance Joy :: Anson Rooms, Bristol - Sep 29 2014

Vance Joy 

Anson Rooms, Bristol

September 29 2014

Words/Photos: Pollyanna Sheehan


Vance Joy (whose real name is James Keogh) is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Australia. He was originally scheduled to play at Bristol’s Thekla, but due to the high demand for tickets, the gig was upgraded to the Anson Rooms at Bristol Student’s Union. Following the success of his universally popular single ‘Riptide’, and the recent release of his debut album ‘Dream Your Life Away’, it really does come as no surprise that the event was a sell-out. Hopefully, future tours will see Vance Joy playing even larger venues as his dedicated fan-base continues to grow following this extensive tour.

First onstage was the singer-songwriter Ezra Vine, who graced the stage with a solo set including some 50’s inspired songs like ‘Wherever This Door Goes’ and a cover of Patsy Cline’s ‘Strange’, both of which were popular with the crowd. His exuberant performance featured both electric and acoustic guitars as well as plenty of crowd interaction and humorous introductions to some songs. Finishing with ‘Celeste’, his most recent single, it was clear that Vine had won over the crowd who were enjoying his smooth and soulful vocal. It won’t be long before he’s headlining venues of a similar capacity as he proved to be more than worthy of the task!

After a short turn around, Vance Joy appeared on stage followed by a three-piece band. Without an introduction he launched straight into ‘Emmylou’ from the EP ‘God Only Loves You When You’re Dancing’, which he released earlier this year. He continued to play three songs back-to-back, before finally, but very briefly, introducing himself to the excited crowd.

It was a slow start to the set, but this allowed for Joy to showcase the wistful emotions surrounding love, which is a theme that strongly features on the album. He demonstrated this during a beautiful rendition of ‘Georgia’ as he sang ‘I never should have told you/I never should have let you see inside/Don't want a trouble in your mind’. This was both the standout track from his set, and from his debut album. Featuring some stunning Jeff Buckley-esque guitar melodies as well as goose-bump inducing harmonies provided by the band, it added extra character and momentum to Joy’s performance during the evening.

Following this, Joy seemed to be truly in his element: enjoying the crowd as much as they were enjoying watching him. As he was seemingly much more settled, Joy found time to interact with the crowd, sharing jokes and personal anecdotes before introducing some songs. Fantastic performances occurred mid-set, including: ‘From Afar’ and ‘Wasted Time’, which mesmerized the crowd and served well as to excite them before the last songs of the set were performed.

Without an introduction or the hassle of an encore, Vance Joy, with his band, leapt straight into his notoriously upbeat and catchy single ‘Riptide’. Upon hearing the first few chords, the crowd erupted; triumphantly dancing and singing every word, much to the delight of Joy. It was impossible to remain immune to the euphoric vibe that was emulating during this song – this was clearly what the crowd were waiting for. Following ‘Riptide’, Joy announced his final song would be ‘Mess Is Mine’, which saw the crowd joyously clapping along, and provided an idyllic end to what was otherwise a truly enjoyable evening.