Pure fun: a night with George Ezra

George Ezra seems like the boy next door: all smiles, soft sweaters, and a soft almost-Cherub like face. His voice, however, matches that of an old blues singer, a force that could knock the same boy off the very ground he stands on.

Ezra recently stopped by the Fox Theater in Oakland in support of his 2018 Staying at Tamara’s tour. Ezra created a wonderful night filled with quirky stories, booming vocals, and guitar riffs that would make even Bob Dylan proud.

Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan started the night off with a set that was remnant of singer songwriter Matt Corby. The set remained minimalist, but still had the brooding, melancholy singer-songwriter feel to it. After an impressive performance, Kahan left the stage leaving his bandmates to finish out the song without their leading man. This may be personal preference, but it seemed like a poor move on his part, leaving me thinking he was just another singer with an ego too large to appreciate the soul of what he was doing.

George Ezra started his set off with the crowd favorite “Cassy-O” warming the audience up to a night full of dancing and singing. Showing no preference for either album, Ezra performed a wide selection of pieces from both his debut and sophomore albums. No matter what song he performed, Ezra smiled through the entirety of the piece; it was endearing and made it clear that this was his passion. The crowd matched Ezra’s passion throughout the entire show; surging and cheering for every lyric, guitar riff, and everything in between.

George Ezra

Before each song, Ezra told the audience the story of each song’s conception. Most of the stories boiled down to, “I was on a trip in Europe. So I wrote a song about it.” I noticed myself becoming annoyed with these stories because it seemed to take up valuable time that could be used to slip in another song. However, I realized Ezra was able to create a personal relationship with nearly every person in the audience that night because of his stories. His silly and sometimes strange tales of travelling (such as buying a bottle of rum off a man in a park in order to watch Eurovision) invited the audience to be with him for that story, just as much a character within the piece as himself.

Something I appreciate about Ezra is his commitment to his roots (think Tom Waits and Lead Belly); the show was absent of any techno-beat, synth lead, or large bass drops. Ezra was able to recreate pop music that focused on raw music ability rather than large techno-gimmicks, proving that contemporary pop can, in fact, be just about the music.

I left the show smiling, I felt happy and a sudden need to take a solo trip through Europe and write music about it. Is Ezra experimental and pushing any boundaries within music or his live shows? Not at all. Does Ezra put on a fun, uplifting show however? Most definitely.