REVIEW: VANCE JOY @ MGM MUSIC HALL 2/8

By: Olivia Pepe

Photo Courtesy of Ryan Kang

On Wednesday February 8th, Vance Joy took to the stage at MGM Music Hall in Fenway for his “In Our Own Sweet Time Tour”.The Boston show was the second stop in his North American tour which will span 23 cities in the next coming months. 

Supporting the Australian singer on his tour was Jack Botts, another Aussie who has yet to release his first album. Botts and his musical partner started out as buskers. The two played a forty five minute set of songs which will debut on their upcoming album “Sucker for Sunsets” which will be released on March 31st. Despite the fact that he hasn’t released music yet, Jack Botts and his partner performed with an impeccable ease that I’d assume comes from their many years of street performing. At the end of their set they invited the crowd to come say hi to them and said that they would be hanging out at the back of the crowd. This is something that artists often extend out to their fans at shows, however Bott’s was not an empty offer. As I exited the show Botts was in fact drinking a beer near the exit and engaging in conversations with concertgoers. It was refreshing. The ease and comfort he possessed on stage feels indicative of a successful career to follow. 

Shortly after Bott’s set concluded, Vance Joy took to the stage. He started with an upbeat song from his newest album “In Our Own Sweet Time”. He then played fan favorites from his most popular album “Dream Your Life Away.” The stage was modestly decorated with hanging sheets and colorful lights. Vance stood center stage with his band tucked into the shadows of the stage. 

Joy had a laid-back energy to his performance. A couple times he messed up the starting lyrics to a song and endearingly said “whoopsie daisy!”. 

While introducing his song “I’m With You”. Joy explained how he found the lyric “This rain changes everything” written on a painting he saw in a museum. He keeps a notebook with him at all times that he writes different lyrics that he eventually wants to use. Joy’s explanation of his songwriting process was a high point of the concert for me. I was grateful he decided to give the audience a glimmer into his creative process. He also talked about how much of his recent album was written in the midst of the beginning of the pandemic, a common talking point in the current era of artist’s first post-pandemic tours.  

Although both Joy and his band are very talented, the concert lacked excitement. Many of Joy’s songs sound similar in succession. And although he alternated between playing solo on some songs and then being accompanied by his band for others, the energy of the crowd seemed to continuously dull due to the repetitiveness of his set. At one point Joy tried switching it up by playing an acoustic cover of Abba’s “Gimme Gimme”, however the song seemed to be out of his range, leaving me questioning the song choice. Nevertheless in the spirit of his surname, as an artist Joy exudes a cheerful and kind energy that is well received by his audience.