Hozier live review: a crowd in rapture and a voice on song
Victoria Canal’s luscious ways were momentarily abated as she took pause to talk about Boygenius’ frolics on their current tour. Suddenly, screams arose amid the mellowed atmosphere. When Canal inquired who was gay in the room, a volley of cheers akin only to the moment Oprah Winfrey asks her audience to check under their seats broke out. “Of course,” she said, “it’s a Hozier gig.”
I was personally unaware of this connection to the LGBTQ+ community, however, what was palpable from thereon was a wholesome sense of goodwill in the air. Hozier is, indeed, one of the nice guys in modern music, and as he strode out and instantly embarked on ‘Eat Your Young’, it quickly became clear that he is a supreme live talent too.
With a large band of musical maestros from around the world, the songsmith – ironically from a small town in Ireland called Newcastle – blessed the Newcastle City Hall crowd with a beauteous wave of modern soul music. Thunderous yet tempered with literary wistfulness, this sent the wailing sell-out into rapture as he wove his ways through an array of tracks from his discography to date.
However, this was no ordinary flurry of hits, Hozier also brilliantly exhibited a sense of crowd control that displayed a level of curated care. Eight songs in, just as the temperatures soared, the band briefly scurried towards the wings, leaving their tall frontman to delicately perform one of the first songs he ever wrote: ‘Cherry Wine’. In this beauteous respite, he made ‘audience connection’ seem effortless by virtue of simple sincerity, he may well have played these songs countless times before, but his appreciation for the moment was evidenced by the awed aura he was able to instil.
It was also at this point that a peculiarity became apparent. When you go to as many gigs as a Music Editor, you develop a keen ear to the calls of the crowd, and Hozier’s assembled mass were the best sounding singers I’ve ever come across. In moments when he turned the microphone towards them, he was met in reply by a choral volley, with barely a bad note sent waltzing towards the rafters.
This would’ve certainly pleased Hozier’s ears, but no more than the riotous reaction that his new songs were met with. It is always tricky for an artist to tour new material before their album is even released, but the cheers that met his newest music is a sure-fire sign that his next album, Unreal Unearth, will be received well by his doting fans.
Alas, perhaps the main talking point pertains to the old favourites. He must’ve played ‘Take Me to Church’ thousands of times over the years, but in a live setting in a cherished venue, he managed to reinvigorate it to such a riotous degree that any notion of fading firmament attached to the track was eviscerated and you were reminded once more that it is a masterpiece, Dante’s Inferno set to blistering soul and brooding modern poignancy.
This crowned a supreme performance lapped-up by the adoring crowd, declaring that Hozier not only has the skill and class to put on a show, but also the hits to enrapture a sweaty mass.
