“Hi I’m Audrey and I’m on the list; she’s my plus one.” I’ve always wanted to be able to say that.
Victoria and I had initially gotten tickets for Tom Odell‘s concert on October 3, but a few days before the concert, the venue got moved from Union Transfer to Johnny Brenda’s, which is a strictly 21+ venue. So all the 21 and under folks got to choose between either getting a refund or getting tickets to any other Union Transfer concert. After a few emails, I sorted out exchanging my Tom Odell tickets for James Vincent McMorrow tickets, and had the pleasant surprise of having an additional plus one. Since I had planned to see Tom Odell with Victoria, it was only right to bring Victoria as my plus one for James Vincent McMorrow! Victoria was also able to exchange her Tom Odell tickets, and since she was my plus one, she was able to choose a different artist to exchange her ticket for, but unfortunately she didn’t get a plus one–I guess I lucked out! (Victoria exchanged her tickets for Jack Garratt.)
Victoria and I arrived early so we got a spot right up front and had lots of time to chat. We were talking about the tri-co (tri-college consortium of Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges) when a couple beside us jumped in and introduced themselves as Swarthmore students. As we were acquainting ourselves, they spotted two more students from Swarthmore, and we all had a good rant about American politics and how much we needed this concert as a distraction.
Up first as the opener was Dan Mangan. Between his songs he’d talk to the audience, tell part of a joke before trailing off adorably, and in the middle of that, he gave a shout out to Twitter user @phillyparttwo. @phillyparttwo was the best audience anyone could ask for. He sang along with all of Dan’s songs, eyes closed, cheered at the end of every one, and snapped pictures throughout. We all needed something to take our minds off the chaos of America, and I could see that Dan’s beautiful music did that for him, and it did that for me too. My favourite song of his was Road Regrets.
I wasn’t sure what James’ concert would be like because his music is so mellow, which is the kind of music I tend toward, but it turned out to be very high energy and even intense. I love listening to his studio recordings on Spotify, but I gotta say that his live performance beats them! He has one of those unique voices you can’t believe is real, but I was there, and yup that was his real, amazing, voice. That plus the drums and bass amped up in a way studio recordings can’t quite capture, accentuated by pulsing lights that bring laptop screensavers to shame… This is why people pay money to go to live concerts.
Victoria and I snagged spots front and center, but we were surrounded by tall people so it was a little stressful. At my height, I couldn’t help but notice and appreciate James’ style–his hat, his cuffed pants, one rolled up a little higher than the other. After his show, I felt so inspired to wear a hat.
He played my favourite songs including Get Low, We Don’t Eat, If I Had A Boat, and Cavalier, and he played Victoria’s favourite song Rising Water. Some of my favourites from his live performance were I Lie Awake Every Night (0:20), Gold (1:49), One Thousand Times (2:49), and Evil (3:29).
The most powerful moment of the show had to have been when he sang Lost Angles (1:20 on my snap story, please watch until you hear some guy in the audience shout “preach!!”). I know that everyone left the concert with these words in their head: don’t let fear control you. Thank you James and Dan for a great show and for the healing power of music.