VANCE JOY Brings His ‘Lay It On Me’ Tour To LA’s Fonda Theatre!

Last night, (Thursday, October 5th) the Atlantic Records Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy was welcomed with warm arms at the Los Angeles venue, The Fonda Theatre. As part of his “Lay It On Me Tour”, Vance Joy began this run of dates only last week in Vancouver.

Before he hit the stage, the RCA Records also Australian songstress, Amy Shark entertained the audience with her brand of indie pop tunes. For an opener, the venue seemed very crowded already and eager to see the newcomer. Her casual and laid-back attitude was the perfect aperitif to Vance Joy’s equally relaxed demeanor. Despite it being a short set, it was easy to get an idea of what Shark was all about through her banter in between songs. She was silly in all the right places. Throughout her set, she continued to thank everyone for being there and to those who were singing along, she thanked them for following her career. Shark sang songs off her debut EP “Night Thinker,” including “Weekends” and closed the show with her latest radio single, “Adore” and changed the final lyric to “LA, I adore you.”

Vance Joy was in a word, ‘effortless.’ From the very first note to the last, he appeared completely at ease on stage. It was as if he was just playing for a few friends at a party in their living room. He opened the set with his hit single “Fire and Flood” found on his debut studio album “Dream Your Life Away.” From there, the charming singer moved on to other older tunes “From Afar,” “Wasted Time” and “Red Eye.” Next, he introduced the audience to a few brand new songs, “Take Your Time” and “Call If You Need Me” and they happily listened.

It was especially endearing to hear all the background stories on the songs and how Vance Joy came up with the ideas to write them. For example, his single,“Snaggletooth,” from his debut EP “God Loves You When You’re Dancing” was written after he found out that the pop singer Sia, at one point had a snaggletooth and got it fixed.

A big highlight of the show was when Vance Joy performed a truly fun cover of Lionel Richie’s hit “All Night” mashed with Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” It was creative and certainly got the crowd singing along and moving all over the floor. For the encore, everyone put up their phones to record when he sang the two favorites “Rip Tide” and “Mess Is Mine.”