I had a good time at what is probably my last music concert of 2023, despite the annoying chatterboxes at the bar.
I’ve never heard of this Irish musician and singer-songwriter before my friend, a fellow music lover, brought him up as a potential live gig. I can’t say that his music – a bit of folk, a bit of soul, a bit of blues – blew my mind after I sampled it on YouTube, but sometimes you just get a feeling that a singer might be really good live, even if you don’t exactly fall in love with their songs. I’m happy to say that my hunch proved to be right, and I even ended up a little bit more in love with Vance’s music, as well.
The Croxton was already quite full when we arrived, so we hovered at the back and listened to King Cedar, an Irish folkster whose soulful voice was frankly much better than his original material. Right around this time, we noticed that a small but loud bunch of patrons near the bar were blabbing all through the opening act. Despite our hopes, they wouldn’t shut up for the main act either; you’d almost think they walked in by mistake when they were really looking for a pub. Vance himself visibly lost patience when he sarcastically inquired if the gig was getting in the way of their conversation.
Luckily, Vance’s powerful, distinctive voice, with a bit of rasp and growl, managed to drown out the chatterers most of the time. He started the show with a couple of piano ballads, before grabbing the acoustic guitar and coming closer to the centre front of the stage. His rather impressive, Salvador Dali-like moustache was perfectly visible even from the very back of the room, and he has the charm, stage presence and engaging banter of a natural born performer and storyteller.
I recognised some of the newer songs I listened to prior to the concert, but the tour was actually the anniversary celebration of Vance’s 2013 album Joy of Nothing. Even though I was unfamiliar with most of the songs, they are really easy to get into and groove along with. Vance also threw in a couple of surprise covers. Nothing Compares 2 U was a nice tribute to a fellow Irish artist; it’s of course hard to compete with the heavenly vocals of late great Sinéad O’Connor but I thought that he did a good job. After closing the night with Guiding Light, Vance left the stage to the sounds of the crowd singing the chorus over and over, before he came back one last time to perform a heartfelt cover of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror.
After my post-Covid rush and the rising cost of living I feel myself getting more conservative with live music, but this night was a good reminder that sometimes it’s worth taking a chance.
yggdrasille.com 