By Colleen Rockwell ’18
Staff Writer
British musician James Bay brought his fall tour to Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston Oct. 1. The concert was rain or shine as it was an outdoor venue with only a tent covering the seating arrangement and stage. The weather was rainy and very cold but that did not stop fans of the British singer from going outdoors that night.
Bay’s opening act was an American folk band named Joseph which consists of sisters Natalie, Allison and Meegan who hail from Portland, Ore. The trio sang songs from their sophomore album “I’m Alone, No You’re Not.” They were a great opening act and sang “SOS (Overboard)” and ended with “White Flag.” The sisters had powerful voices when they sang and the crowd cheered every time one of the sisters held a note for a long time. Joseph was all bundled up as were the crowd. They told the audience that there were hats and sweatshirts available for purchase at the concert merchandise stand.
After Joseph left the stage, it was time for the crew to set up for Bay’s entrance. Bay came onstage around 8:30 p.m. and opened with his song “Collide” and the audience cheered so loudly. Bay played guitar and sang “If You Ever Want To Be In Love.” Once this particular song ended, he said he would play the chorus of the song again and wanted the audience to sing along with him, and the audience did just that. Bay also played his smash hit “Let It Go” and the audience once again went crazy for the song and sang along with all the lyrics. He also reprised the song’s chorus for the crowd to sing along again with him just playing guitar.
James Bay wrote the song “Scars” for his girlfriend Lucy. Before he played the song for his fans, he played the chords of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” which showed off his insane guitar skills. Practically every time he played a song he would show off his guitar skills. Singing “Scars” live sounded like the recorded version as there was so much emotion behind the lyrics. Bay brought the band Joseph back up on stage with him again to help him sing the rock song “Take Another Piece of My Heart.” After he sang with the trio, he thanked them once again for coming on tour with him.
For the finale, Bay sang his other popular song “Hold Back the River” and the audience went crazy. After he finished, he and his band took a bow and thanked the Boston crowd. Despite the bad weather and the freezing cold temperature and winds, Bay really shined on stage, leaving the audience wanting more.
