Hozier Captures Everyone's Attention and Heart at the Fillmore - i99Radio, Philadelphia's Alternative Rock!

Bayside returned to Philly this past week for a two night stand celebrating their music both old and new. i99Radio was on the scene to capture night one of two. For the first night, Bayside brought songs from their early years, 2004 to 2008. For many of us, it takes us back instantly to the songs of our childhood, middle and high school years, and the audience spanning Gen X to Gen Alpha came ready to rock.

Long Island, NY’s The Sleeping started the night off and brought their unique blend of post-hardcore and raw energy to the stage that really got the audience going. People thrashed around and sang along, and even a toddler hopping up on his dad’s shoulders to get a better view of frontman Doug Robinson, who climbed up to the barrier, putting his microphone up to fans to sing along with them, and eventually even crowdsurfing above their heads at one point. The band has been experiencing a revival since their reunion in 2022 and their fantastic newest album, “I Feel Like I’m Becoming a Ghost”, dropping in 2023.

Bayside then took the stage, kicking off their set with the classic track, “Montauk”, from their second self-titled album. Frontman Anthony Ranieri commented how their idea for the “Errors Tour” came about when they wanted to play 44 songs in each city, instead of just 22. He talked about how the band has so many songs that fans love from all across their career, but not enough time to play them all, so they thought, “why not just play 2 nights in every city?”

The night of classic nostalgia continued on, with the band delivering high-energy versions of much loved tracks from their third album, 2007’s “The Walking Wounded”, like “Duality”, “I and I”, and the ballad “Landing Feet First” (of which started a massive audience singalong). The band also reached far back in their discography, playing tracks from their first years as a band, like “Masterpiece”, “Guardrail” and “Kellum”, off of the first album, 2004’s “Sirens and Condolences.” The audience was audibly excited by this, as these tracks are very rarely played live. The audience cheered loudly and unleashed a constant stream of crowd-surfers to the front of stage as they ripped through these classic tracks. The “newest” songs they played for night 1 were tracks from 2008’s classic album, “Shudder”, like “Boy”, “No One Understands” and “The Ghost of St. Valentine”. Again, many of these tracks haven’t been played since the Shudder Tour in 2008 so hearing these songs was certainly a treat for the audience.

Bayside’s show at Brooklyn Bowl was a testament to how the songs we grew up with are forever engrained in our DNA, the music grows with us and becomes a part of us as we grow older, but we never forget the songs that influenced us almost two decades ago. The 1,000 people in the audience who turned up to sing every word of these songs that are almost 20 years old now proves this to be true and Bayside to be a band close to so many people’s hearts.

Photos by Dave Avidan

Many artists, musicians and bands believe they need to open their set with the most popular or loudest song, but Andrew Hozier-Byrne, better known simply as his mononym, Hozier, showed there is something to be said about keeping it quiet. Hozier’s soft, quiet vocals flooded the room of the Philadelphia Fillmore on October 3rd 2018 as he played his first song.

He stood tall (literally he’s over 6 feet tall) and opened the night with “Like Real People Do,” as he managed to capture the attention and heart of every single person in the room. He immediately set the ambience for the evening. It was clear, the night was going to be dedicated to the beautiful healing power of music.

Photo cred: Shaun Luberski

Next, Hozier ditched the guitar as he belted his latest single, “Nina Cried Power.” The protest anthem, which was inspired by Miss Simone herself, is directly off of Hozier’s New EP (i99 Radio Review here). It was nearly impossible not to feel the energy and passion exuding off of Hozier, the band and back-up singers. With the energy and passion radiating throughout the room, the audience could sense Hozier was thanking the legend, Miss Simone, for using her voice to advocate for change.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoUPFl5BUaT/?hl=en&taken-by=hozier

Throughout the night, Hozier created a perfect blend of old and new by following “Nina Cried Power” with the bluesy, rock track, “Jackie and Wilson.” It was obvious Hozier was becoming more comfortable in-front of the audience, through this smile and asking for crowd participation. The crowd happily complied as they sung in unison, “raise them on rhythm and blues.”

As the evening progressed Hozier’s comfort in front of the audience grew, as he figuratively and literally ‘let his hair down.’ He was not a man of many words but the music spoke for it self. Midway through the set, he performed one of my favorites off of the new EP, “NFWMB,” an acronym for ‘Nobody F*cks With My Baby,’ and described it as a “love song for the end of the world.” Song after song, Hozier effortlessly transitioned different guitars throughout the set. He gave the band a quick break and stood alone in the spotlight as he played an acoustic version of “Cherry Wine,” where he serenaded the crowd.

Hozier continued to give a taste of what is to come with the new album by playing two tracks off of the EP, which included: “Shrike,” the slow, build-up, rock tune, and “Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue),” which is very reminiscent of his debut album. After the two new tracks, he promised the audience we would know the next one.

Hozier stuck to his word and delivered, “Someone New.” The crowd snapped their fingers and sung along, as the track slowly built, sounding slightly different with less instruments than the recorded version. “Someone New” continued to progress and the seven-piece band eventually went into a complete jam session. It was extremely evident that the band has established an ebb and flow. They know how to work with one another while still highlighting individual abilities. Hozier was often at the forefront on these jam sessions, shredding away.

After jamming, the night took a surprising turn, when Hozier announced the band would be playing an unreleased track called, “Movement.” Hozier explained to the audience this would give them a taste of the new album. In addition, he admitted somewhat slyly that “Movement” was one of his favorites. “Movement” provided breathy vocals and a sexy R & B vibe. The audience was both impressed and surprised by the latter. If the evening had a theme, it would definitely be the perfect balance of old and new.

As if right on cue, Hozier eased from the new, “Movement” into the old “Take Me to Church.” Artists, musicians and bands often get asked if they dislike playing their most popular track, but this did not seem to be the case for Hozier. “Take Me to Church” felt spiritual, healing and like a total mind and body release. Hozier even exhaled when it was over, as if he had nothing else to give. It was truly powerful to witness.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and Hozier’s time at the Fillmore was ticking-away. After “Take Me to Church,” the night was capped off with an Encore of something old and new. The new, being a fun cover of Destiny’s Child, “Say By Name” and the old, being the long-awaited, “Work Song.” Hozier thanked his band, the opening band: Hudson Taylor, his manager, the audio engineer and every single person in the audience. As the audience trickled out the doors of the Fillmore, every person left feeling healed by the power of music.

Be sure to catch Hozier live! Check out tour dates here!

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Hozier Captures Everyone’s Attention and Heart at the Fillmore