“I like coming to Boston, always have. Feels like a homecoming, usually everyone is Irish and drunk,” exclaimed Foy Vance three songs into his hour and thirty-minute-long set, much to the delight of the crowd. This was one of many jokes he was to tell throughout the night, each used to segue into one song after another that had the crowd cheering.
The show kicked off around 9 pm, when a beanie-clad Trevor Sensor took the stage to get the crowd warmed up. Trevor’s set consisted partially of him singing his heart out, and partially of him prancing around the stage with his guitar. Once 9:45pm hit, Trevor was off stage and everyone was excitedly awaiting Foy Vance.
Foy Vance began his set by telling everyone “what an honor it was to be here”, in a Good Will Hunting-esque Boston accent. He took his seat at the keyboard, and then immediately started off with “Ziggy Looked Me in the Eye”. Vance’s mighty voice paired with the mellow keys of the piano had the crowd captivated and nearly silent, save for a few people humming along quietly so as not to disrupt the ambience Vance had created. Even the stage gave off an aura of comfort, the lighting alternated soft pinks and yellows, while there were four lamps sat on the edge of the stage.
From “Ziggy” he went directly into “Closed Hand, Full of Friends”, a keyboard piece a little more upbeat than the previous ballad. “Oh, I’m feeling alright now, yeah I’m feeling alright,” chanted Vance, and this time, more fans gained the courage to sing along. Once the song ended, and he leaned over to take a sip of his drink, he twirled his iconic London-hipster mustache, much to the audience’s delight. “Bangor Town” turned out to be his last keyboard song, and once it ended he grabbed his guitar, and that’s when the energy really kicked it up a notch.
Vance introduced his song, “Noam Chomsky is A Soft Revolution”, by telling a little anecdote about Noam Chomsky telling him to “f*ck off” but in the “politest way possible.” From this point on to the rest of the show, the cheering never stopped. The vibe in the venue continued to be relaxed, and every so often a fan would call out a song request or an “I love you!” Vance played song after song, and his guitar and band providing great background music for his captivating voice. The crowd loved every moment of it, but there were definitely two stand out points of the night that can’t go unnoted.
The first was before he played “You and I”, he told a story about being on tour with Bonnie Raitt. He talked about how she never did any TV shows, had any songs on the radio, or any big billboards with her face on it, yet she still managed to pack the house every night. This was because she spent years developing a close-knit relationship with her fans, and being on tour with her made Vance realize he wanted to do the same. He then shouted out into the crowd, “Now look at us!” Each time the chorus came around, he’d step off the mic and let the crowd sing it out.
Despite how great the rest of the show was, nothing could beat the surprise at the end of his three song encore. At this time, he stepped off the mic, and ad libbed onto the lyric, “A child is on the way,” by adding “March 2017.” Yes. Foy Vance announced that he was expecting a child, onstage at the Sinclair in Boston. The cheers reached their peak in that moment, and didn’t stop until Foy Vance was well off stage.
