The Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida filled up with people of all ages Tuesday night as they waited to witness a special kind of magic. It was a hipster crowd for the most part, where men walked proudly with their buns and beards, and women rocked their combat boots and flannel. The crowd's style wasn't all they had in common; they'd come to the same venue on the same night for a much bigger reason.
As the opening act, an Icelandic band called Low Roar, came out to perform, they set the scene with their eerie and dark music. Purple, blue and red strobe lights put the crowd in a sort of relaxed trance and the singer's voice held a unique, almost soothing, pitch, if it wasn't so unnervingly different in its nature. Low Roar is definitely a band to look out for, and their organic sound will make you really feel... You won't be able to help coming back for more.
After another half an hour of stage set up, the main act appeared with his band on stage. The height, the curly hair pulled back in a bun and the shy voice tinged with an Irish accent put the crowd over the edge.
Andrew Hozier-Byrne began his concert, and with it, so did the magic.
He opened with "Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene," and although it isn't a big one compared to the other hits on his self-titled album, the audience still went wild as they sang along. The songs with the most response from the crowd were "From Eden," where he ties biblical references to an "all-or-nothing" kind of love, "Like Real People Do," which is speculated to be about two lovers and their romantic pasts, "Someone New," explained by Hozier himself as a futile kind of romance, "Work Song," a hit that tells the story of salvation and true love, and "Take Me To Church," the radio hit about homophobia and religious persecution.
If you're looking for slower tracks that still hold the same intensity of his bigger songs, I'd recommended "Cherry Wine," "Run," and "In A Week."
Not unlike Sam Smith, John Mayer and John Legend, Hozier is a master at singing live, completely beating out his studio versions with the rawness of his voice as he stood before hundreds in the audience. There is so much soul and truthfulness in his voice that is only caught by a fraction in his prerecorded tracks. To see him live is truly an experience a person should have at least once in their lives.
Hozier left with his band and came back for an encore, singing three more songs from his album. Arguably, the most interesting part of his concert was hearing his stories before each song, where he either explained the exact moment that led him to write it or the exact meaning of the song itself. While there are always different analyses and opinions of a song's true meaning, having the opportunity to get them from the creator himself cannot be matched.
Leaving the Florida Theatre that night was tinged with a mix of awe and incredulity, and it was evident in every face passing the lobby to get to the exits. People knew that they had witnessed music in its purest form, the kind that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you hope for a kind of love you'd only dreamed about. Somehow, Hozier was born with the talent and ability to do just that. To make you dream, and to make it feel full of possibility–– a promise as more than a promise, but an inevitability for something great to come.
