As I enter the CEPSUM for the first time, I could hear the voice of opening act Kevin Garrett (yes I was a little late, parking was a nightmare) but with a voice like his it just keeps drawing you in as if some alternate force was dragging you deeper and deeper into the astronomical crowd surrounding the stage. As I made my way up into the seats, I was quite taken back by the amount of people just having conversations with the friends around them as if nothing on stage was even happening. But don’t worry, glares were given to the rude people beside me.. Montreal is pretty known for not giving too much of a damn for the opening acts, but for the people who did care, it’s quite a shame that they weren’t able to get the full grasp of of this amazing artist and his breathtaking talent. Well let me tell you my friends, from all I took in of this one man band I can tell you that this one will not be an opening act for very long !
Up next is what the crowd has been waiting for. The lights turn off and an insane light show commences as the band plays in the background.
James Bay starts it off with “Collide” which gets this show in its feet, which is followed by “Craving” and “When We Were On Fire”.
When “If You Ever Want To Be In Love” plays the crowd is almost louder than James himself. He takes a moment after the song to replay it with just the crowd singing the chorus. I think he was quite taken back by our ability to sing on key and with clarity.
He takes a minute to tell the crowd:
“Every time I’ve come to Montreal…This specific place.. I’ve gone away like ‘literally that was the best crowd'”.
Us Montrealers should be proud to have that effect on most bands that play in our beautiful city, with our enthusiasm for the bands we love.
His show continues with his latest hit “Let It Go” which makes the ENTIRE audience stand, which no other song before that had done, Along with “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” which he did not song a single word of, rather; he let the crowd do it for him.
Hundreds of paper hearts are held up in the air reading “I Love You” as “Scars” begins to play. It touched the hearts of all in attendance that night, even James had to step back from the mic for a moment to compose himself showing that this song cuts deep in his heart.
“Get Out While You Can” and “Move Together” we’re some of the songs that ended the show.. Or so we thought. The crowd was relentless and kept chanting “Olé Olé Olé” to get him to return.. And so he did ! For his 3 encore songs “Incomplete” “Proud Mary” (Which only had oldies like me singing out loud) and “Hold Back The River” James Bay gave the rest of his energy, which never faltered throughout the night.
As he exited the stage for the final time, it’s pretty safe to say that everyone in attendance had an unforgettable night. If I could tell James one thing it would be this.. ‘It was more than a pleasure to spend my night watching you spill your feelings out on stage and giving Montreal another show to remember.’
Set List:
Collide
Craving
When We Were On Fire
If You Ever Want To Be In Love
Need The Sun To Break
Running
Let It Go
Can’t Help Falling In Love (Elvis cover)
Scars
Move Together
Sparks
Best Fake Smile
Get Out While You Can
Encore:
Incomplete
Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revivial cover)
Hold Back The River
Review – Brittany Salmaso
Photo – Steve Gerrard
