Yellow Days @ Brighton Music Hall 3/19

Photography by Liana Snow

Review by Simone DiNota

The phrase “Yellow Days” evokes images of a perfect summer evening in late August, but it’s also the stage name for UK-based genre-bending powerhouse George van den Broek. On tour for the release of his newest studio album, “Rock And A Hard Place,” van den Broek delivered a stunningly raw performance at Brighton Music Hall that transported audience members back to those sweet yellow days.

Van den Broek began his music career at age 18 and has since released six studio albums. With inspirations ranging from Ray Charles to Mac DeMarco, van den Broek has created a rich sound that effortlessly blends blues, jazz, soul and psychedelic rock.

A solo-act jazz pianist, Rue Jacobs, opened the show. He was timid at the microphone, but held his own at the piano. Van den Broek likely chose Jacobs to highlight his jazz roots, but Jacobs lacked the stage presence to do this very effectively. 

A seven-piece band, including a saxophonist and trumpet player, took their places. Soon after, Van den Broek made a grand entrance to “Let ‘Em In” by Wings, sporting an all-white outfit and confident, yet relaxed demeanor. Any expectations about what he might bring to the stage were subverted when he opened his mouth to sing “Glitter & Gold.” His gravelly, booming voice, clearly the influence of Ray Charles, took up the entire room. 

When van den Broek spoke to the crowd after the opening song, his voice assumed the velvety tone of an old-school radio host or jazz club emcee. He shook audience members’ hands before moving into “Sharon” and one of his most popular tracks, “A Little While.” Van den Broek transformed “A Little While” from a low-fi recording to a jazzy dance beat on stage. Some couples began twirling each other in the audience.

Van den Broek ran through songs from his most recent album like “Daylight Miracles” and “I Cannot Believe In Tomorrow”  before he took to the piano to play “California.” His vocal rasp felt especially vulnerable when layered over the light piano melody. Another standout piano piece was “Worried I’ll Break Your Heart,” which was very DeMarco-esque. During this track, Van den Broek adjusted some kind of synthesizer that allowed him to add echo to his voice and play with funky electronic sounds. 

Van den Broek’s voice retained its boldness throughout his set and so did his stage presence. During particularly intense sections of songs, he would stomp his foot and sometimes slowly drop to a knee, as if motivated by the power of his vocal ability. He took a quick break during “Can’t Fight The Tears,” where he gave band members a chance to perform solos, though he consistently shouted them out throughout the concert. 

Van den Broek ended with “You Didn’t Leave Me,” a track that was both psychedelic and soulful. The song started out with dreamy synths and ended with van den Broek’s gut-wrenching riffs. Van den Broek thanked the audience and said his farewells, but they weren’t ready to see him go just yet. Much of the crowd stayed and chanted until van den Broek was back on stage, but this time, alone. 

“I’m not supposed to do an encore,” said van den Broek, which seemed genuine. Clearly, he hadn’t planned to return to the stage with his band. Van den Broek picked up his guitar for another song where his voice dripped with emotion against a simple melody. He blew the audience a kiss and said his final goodbye, but the crowd was still slow to leave. Perhaps they didn’t want to break the spell in which, for a few hours, they were enjoying the sunset on a late August evening.