{Vance - Joy to the ears}

Public Holiday eve for me was Vance Joy night! After slugging away at work for a day that felt like it might never end, I raced home, threw on my dancing shoes and trekked into the valley. I was off to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones and listen to a seriously good looking guy with the voice of an angel play some tunes from his EP God loves you when you're dancing.

A new friend of mine making a new friend in James (Aka Vance)

No doubt you've all heard of Vance Joy (James Keogh), his lovely folk tunes with pop influences have seen him go from unknown fresh talent to sell out artist almost overnight. Fans and critics alike have thus far had nothing but pure praise for this Melbourne based artist who has enjoyed support slots for Julia Stone and Of Monsters and Men as well as playing at SXSW.

Too much fun was had catching up with old mates and then meeting new ones before the gig and sadly I didn't get a chance to hear the first support act (a rarity for me!) I arrived just in time to see the second, Mosman Alder. The venue was pretty packed and we stole a sneaky vantage point standing on a chair. The music good and the band have talent but the tracks had a sameness and the band members spent more time starring at the floor than making eye contact with crowd. As a result we lasted maybe two songs before climbing down and letting the rest of the set provide the backing track to our chatter.

When it was just about time for Vance to hit the stage we quickly scrambled back up to our prime viewing position and waited.  His performance was just beautiful. This guy has an exquisite voice and is one hell of a story teller with his songs taking us all on a stirring journey of unrequited love, heartache and more. A band provided back up for some, but not all of the set and James seemed more at ease on stage alone with his guitar. I think it would be fair to say that he had everyone (or at least every woman) in the crowd captivated. 

The highlight of the night was definitely when he whipped out the ukulele to play Riptide, the crowd seemed to enjoy the whole set but this final song had them going wild! It seems that Vance Joy is the man of the moment - and I would say this is going to be one hell of a year for him! If you get a chance to see him defs don't pass it up! I'm in love!!

Happy ANZAC day and Lest we forget, 

KT