Foy Vance at Hoxton Hall, London, gig review: Music from an artist who means what he sings

Foy Vance performs at Hoxton Hall in London (Matt Spracklen)

In the sauna-like heat of Hoxton Hall, Foy Vance is explaining the logic to the date of his album release.

“Friday the 13th… I wanted to give the album the worst possible start,” he shrugs. “It’s an Irish thing.”

Vance has a good crowd tonight; the venue is full but not crammed, and fans – some wearing fake moustaches – peer from the balconies down at the small stage as he gets things moving with “Upbeat Feelgood”, a foot-stamping, head-nodding jam that does what it says on the tin, before the setlist is essentially forgotten and he really gets going.

Foy Vance at Hoxton Hall (Matt Spracklen)

Songs from Vance’s new album The Wild Swan are obviously the focus for the evening but he manages to cram a few other gems in as he hops between the keyboard and his guitar: "Closed Hands, Full of Friends" from 2013’s Joy Of Nothing, along with an an obviously emotional cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain”.

“She Burns” off The Wild Swan is one of the tracks where Vance’s talent as a writer really shines; the simple guitar hook joined midway by a shimmering drumbeat so the song builds gradually, ahead of "Ziggy Looked Me In The Eye" where his husky cries of “revolution” recall Tracy Chapman, then to the bluesy “Noam Chomsky Is A Soft Revolution” that should feel jarring against his typically gospel-fuelled folk rock… only it doesn’t.

Brief pauses between songs show Vance’s humorous side; before he begins “Unlike Any Other” he cracks a joke about the song’s subject (she’s in the audience) which, rather than detracting from the heartfelt emotion in the track, gives his audience a generous insight into his history, and consequently the idea that they understand more of what he’s singing. It’s a gift in the form of music that’s real and honest by an artist who means what he sings, and that feels like quite a rare thing to be able to do today.

The Wild Swan by Foy Vance is out now. Photos by Matt Spracklen