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 Vance Joy |
 Jaymes Young |
 Vance Joy |
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Review and photos by Mary Andrews Vance Joy along with his tour opener, Jaymes Young, had an enthusiastic, sold-out house to welcome them. Both artists are exciting newcomers to the singer/songwriter genre. Vance Joy has an international phenomenon on his hands with the song “Riptide,” which has proven one of the most popular singles of the year with a 5-week streak at No. 1 at Alternative US Radio.A fellow music writer was complaining on social media that popular music has lost its substance today. He went as far as to call the music of today a “rotting corpse.” He was referencing the stars of the big arena shows. Another description of the music business mentioned in the conversation was that the record companies no longer sell music, they sell a visual youth "culture," and a very perverse "culture." Present day artists are devoted to dazzle, sparkle, and be raunchy. My answer to this accusation is that you are obviously looking in the wrong places for musical talent. Vance Joy and Jaymes Young are great examples of what is right about the music business today. The huge audience at the Marquee Theatre clamored for and got quality and substantial music without gimmicks and hype! Jaymes Young and his band opened the show with “Habits Of My Heart” a Sufjan Stevens remake. This is also the title of Jaymes new EP release. His revival of that song instantly caught the young audience’s attention and he maintained that attention for the duration of the set! His approach to music is to write the lyrics first and then the music. His belief is that you capture the emotion and the music will follow. The set list was a combination of music from his previous release, “Dark Star” and “Habits Of My Heart,” The subtlety of his songs and his mesmerizing delivery certainly worked for this crowd! For a complete set list, click. Vance Joy aka James Keogh soon took the stage with a three-piece band and began the set with “Emmylou.” The audience was captivated for the whole set. There were no gimmicks. He was dressed in jeans and a blue shirt. Sounds plain, but he is quite strikingly handsome. It was obvious that he is still surprised by the fan reaction of screaming and adoration. Also, the audience was singing the words to more songs than “Riptide.” Vance shifted between playing the acoustic guitar and ukulele during the set. His voice is passionate and clear. His songs are heart felt and catchy. He is the “whole package.” The encore of “Stand By Me’ was a brilliant choice to close the evening. For a complete set list, click. Vance Joy and Jaymes Young both defy my friends’s impression of music today. Atlantic Records is supporting both of these artists. Vance will start doing arena shows by opening for Taylor Swift in the spring. My friend needs to look in the right places for quality new talent. The talent is out there. |
 Vance Joy |
 Jaymes Young |
 Jaymes Young |