Written by Sydney Haas
I may be on a plane to the San Francisco bay right now, but the only bae on my mind is the one I saw at The Showbox in Seattle on Sunday—James Bay, that is. After a beautiful set from opener David Ryan Harris, who displayed an amazing ability to incorporate humor, heartbreak, and love into the seven soulful songs we saw him perform, and after some eerie overhead music between the two acts, Bay welcomed Seattle to his concert series with his latest hit, “Pink Lemonade”. His full set was balanced between new songs from his upcoming album, Electric Light, and his classics heard on Chaos and The Calm. Fans passionately sang along with his older songs while patiently and excitedly listening to the unreleased tracks which we won’t be able to hear again until May 18th.
James Bay was certainly not alone on stage. He had two beautiful backup vocalists to accompany him with harmonies, as well as a drummer, a pianist, and a guitarist. One of the most compelling moments of the set for me was when his bandmates came together behind him to hold onto one another as he sang the slow, heart wrenching lyrics “we slide into the arms of someone else”. At this point, Bay had abandoned his guitar, but the motions of his hands beautifully powered his vocals, and the second he dropped his hand after the last note, his bandmates separated and returned to their spots while he exited the stage for a brief interlude. This moment was beautifully concluded by a short video playing behind the stage that was led with an Allen Ginsberg poem. While his voice alone is enough to captivate an entire crowd, these visuals added elements to the performance that made it impossible to look away and ignore the solemn beauty before our eyes.
Bay performed classics like “Let it Go” and “Hold Back the River” (during which, I might add, it was almost impossible to hold back the river of my own tears) to conclude the set, then returned for a brief encore in the form of my personal favorite off of Chaos and the Calm, “Need the Sun to Break”. He reminded us between songs that his first album was released just over three years ago, and he is ecstatic to be playing new music, but there was also an emotional power he brought to the stage when reminiscing on and embracing his roots.
While he remained deeply engaged in the music he was playing, Bay was not afraid to also engage with the audience, encouraging us to sing along, and it was clear that he loved to pause for a moment to take us all in. He would take these moments between verses and songs, open his eyes and make eye contact with the abyss before him, smiling at the sound of our cheers at times and at others, our near-silent anticipation. He didn’t rush from song to song but created an atmosphere where we were hopeful for what was to come. This audience was made up of a wide range of people, from high school and college-aged students singing out their heartbreaks with their friends to middle-aged parents who were excited to be entertained by today’s pop music.
James Bay is releasing new music periodically up to the release of his new album, and just this week he released his latest music video for “Pink Lemonade”, as well as an acoustic version of a new song called “Us”. In my preview for the show, I linked his music video for “Wild Love” as well! His new album will offer his fresh take on songwriting, but, given the sneak-peak I was able to get at this concert, he certainly stays true to the sweet, emotional depth of the lyrics heard on many of the tracks on his first album. When he tells you to “Let it Go”, he sure isn’t talking about his music! You don’t want to miss out on Electric Light, and watch out for his next Seattle concert this October!
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SYDNEY HAAS | A Spring break with every “bay” imaginable | KXSU Video Reporter