The sold-out crowd at Webster Hall was chanting “Mt. Joy” before the Los Angeles-based folk rock band took the stage for their headline show Saturday night (Oct. 5), and their voices didn’t stop ringing out until well after Matt Quinn, Sam Cooper, Jackie Miclau, Michael Byrnes and Sotiris Eliopoulos had exited stage left.
During one of Miclau’s keyboard solos, two grown men screamed “I love you!,” though their actions along with everybody else’s in the room rendered vocalizing those words unnecessary. The fellowship amongst the band was also palpable, especially when Quinn and Cooper met in the middle of the stage, each completely lost in the notes ringing from his guitar.
It would be cliche to say that Mt. Joy embodied joy during their approximately one-hour set, but it would be inaccurate not to describe their performance like that, so when faced with the choice, well: Mt. Joy personified joy in every sense of the word.
All of that said, two songs stand out more than the others.
The group brought out Liz Vice, their opener, to lend her vocals to their upcoming Oct. 16 single titled “Rearrange Us.” Their brand new offering was followed by their most-streamed track “Silver Lining,” and the energy swelled to envelop everybody every time Quinn began singing the chorus.
That seemed to be the end of the show for a few minutes before Mt. Joy reappeared for a curtain call and two more songs. After those, when they were actually done, fans were in denial, dancing across the floor for as long as the venue staff would allow them.
Photos by Megan Armstrong (@documeg) for Early Bird Music:
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