Boston has been doing a superb job, as of late, at showing its support for live music. So many shows have been selling out, including last night’s show at the Paradise Rock Club for The Joy Formidable. This alternative rock band from the UK has had recent success with the frequent radio play of their song “Whirring” and only one album and an EP behind them. But that’s enough to get them big gigs like Glastonbury 2011 as well as a sold out crowd at a mid-size venue like Paradise.
The stage was decorated nautically, including a lighthouse, twinkling lights, a ship’s wheel, and treasure chests around their instruments and sound systems. They also had a gong on stage, which they have had at nearly every show they’ve played, as well as a new edition for this tour: an electric harp. We had to wait until the encore to find out what that was for, but it was worth it.
Ritzy Bryan, the lead singer and guitarist, looks like she is having the time of her life on stage, running around in her beautiful and interesting red leather cut-out dress. She made faces at her band mates, Rhydian Dafydd and Matt Thomas, and gestured to the audience to amp it up with her. The only problem was that the floor was very tightly packed and more than half of the audience had alcoholic beverages in their hands and were unable to jump around as much as I would have liked to have seen. Really, the bar at Paradise must have made quite a lot of money from the huge number of older patrons who attended this concert.
Between songs, Bryan took the opportunity to compliment Boston on its rowdiness and bantered with her drummer, Thomas, who could only reply with drum hits because he didn’t have a microphone. They openly swore at the crowd and each other, like it was part of their conversational vocabulary, which is something that makes Bostonians cheer even louder.
The set seemed to fly by and before I knew it they had left and returned a few minutes later for the encore. Bryan came back on stage with Dafydd to announce that they had finished recording a new album and played a new song called “Silent Treatment.” It was acoustic and slower than their other songs, but it holds a lot of potential as part of their new album.
Finally, a harpist came out and started plucking away to the intro of “Whirring” and the crowd was too mesmerized (or drunk) to start cheering yet. Then the rest of the band joined in and they finished the show with a powerful rendition of that song, including the breaking of a few guitar strings and the banging of the gong a few more times.
The Joy Formidable puts on a great live show because of their energy on stage. Bryan has a broad smile on her face as she plays her heart out on the guitar, and Thomas seems to go absolutely crazy on the drums. They were nearing the end of the last tour for their album The Big Roar, and they said they were glad to be wrapping up their U.S. shows in Boston. And I know Boston will welcome them back with their new album in the same way they did last night.
For more photos, check out the WTBU photo gallery.
By: Deanna Archetto