Vance Joy
November 28, 2014
Fonda Theatre- Los Angeles, CA
Like most people, Riptide is the first song by Vance Joy that caught my attention. I remember listening to KROQ one evening on my trek home from work in LA traffic when the tune came on the radio. It was immensely refreshing to hear the station play something other than the Red Hot Chili Peppers and that one Nirvana song they play at least once an hour. Just a few weeks later, a cover of Riptide by the one and only Taylor Swift popped up in my Facebook feed – I had no idea how fast Vance Joy and his hit single were escalating up the charts. Vance Joy is currently on a headlining tour before he embarks as direct support for the Taylor Swift 1989 World Tour, and I was lucky enough to witness such a beautiful show.
Label and tour mate Jaymes Young opened the show on Saturday night at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. I hadn’t listened to Young’s music before the show and I’m kind of glad that I let his live performance be my first impression. His charisma radiates from the stage and compliments his soulful voice beautifully. While being an indie/rock artist, I feel that some of his songs have an R&B influence to them, you’ll especially hear it in Habits of My Heart. I hear hints of Justin Timberlake and Ed Sheeran in different tracks, but his style is so diverse that it’s also like nothing I’ve ever heard before. This guy is definitely one to watch.
James Keogh, better known as Vance Joy, opened his set with Emmylou. Unlike Jaymes Young, Joy seemed very shy and timid amongst the sold out crowd at The Fonda. He spoke to the audience with not much more than a whisper, which did not stop the ladies in the room from swooning over his handsome stature and his incredible talent. Red Eye seemed to be a crowd favorite and the more fans sang along to the music, the more comfortable he seemed to get on stage. Joy traded his guitar for a ukulele to accompany him on stage for an older song, Play With Fire. One of my favorite moments of the night was when the band played Georgia, a beautiful ballad off Vance Joy’s debut album, Dream Your Life Away.
Vance Joy closed the night with their hit single Riptide, followed by another favorite from the album, Mess is Mine. If you ever want to see a ‘feel good’ show, I suggest picking up tickets to an upcoming Vance Joy show. As I mentioned before, he will be joining Taylor Swift in early 2015 and I’m excited to see what comes for his future. We all know what happened to Ed Sheeran…
Review by: Rachel Martin
Vance Joy
Jaymes Young
