Vance Joy does not pull in the kind of crowd that you might imagine would be wowed by a ukulele or an acoustic guitar. In fact, at the Birmingham date of his sold out UK tour, the place was rammed with fresh-faced teenagers and 20-somethings who were not only unlikely to know any of arch-folkie Richard Thompson’s tunes but also unlikely to have heard of the bloke at all. Joy did, however, conform to folkie type with his woolly hair, unshaven look and grubby denim shirt – a no-nonsense approach that he applied to his music as well.
Bounding on stage with a three-piece backing band of bass, drums and keyboards, Joy laid straight into “Emmylou” from his 2013 EP, God Loves You When You’re Dancing, and the gorgeous “Red Eye” from this year’s debut album, Dream Your Life Away. Joy brought far more heft to these tunes than on record and suggested that time on the road has added more than a touch of Americana to his sensitive folk-pop sounds. However, while the band may have filled out the sound and nudged up the volume, they didn’t ramp up the tempo, so there wasn’t a great deal of bouncing about in the audience.
'My Kind of Man' owed a substantial debt to '70s boogie-meisters Lynyrd Skynyrd
After an initial blast as a four-piece, Joy was left on stage for a short solo slot and gainfully took on Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and his own “My Kind of Man” – whose lyrics, he revealed, owe a substantial and unexpected debt to '70’s boogie-meisters, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Unfortunately, this acoustic interlude also involved some battling with a chatty crowd.
With Joy’s solo spot finished, the band returned for a more rocking “Wasted Time” and “Best That I Can” which were both given a hefty kick with thunderous drumming and a wall of strummed guitar. While this still didn’t get the audience dancing, it at least got them clapping and swaying along.
At this point, the ukulele made a return and Joy hit the opening chords of “Riptide”, his best-known tune. This was met by much screaming from the audience and an enthusiastic singalong with a bit of head-bobbing near the stage. Joy then strapped on his guitar for the last time and struck up a lively take on “Mess Is Mine” before bolting for the exit without playing an encore.
Vance Joy is something unexpected: a young man selling out venues playing folk-pop and folk-rock tunes to a young audience that wouldn’t consider going anywhere near the Cambridge Folk Festival. On stage, things were a bit more boisterous than on his recent Dream Your Life Away album and he certainly managed to steer well clear of Coldplay-like blandness, which can often be the default live setting of sensitive young men with acoustic guitars. All this bodes well for when he goes into the studio next time around.
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