By Natalie Murphy
When Mt. Joy went to social media to ask their fans to wear Halloween costumes to their concert, their very dedicated Fayetteville fans listened and delivered. The crowd didn’t miss a beat, going all out in full hair and makeup corresponding with their costumes. One group of guys even wore matching banana suit costumes. Everyone seemed happy to be there and filled JJ’s Live with an energy that was unmatched.
The opener, The Brook & The Bluff, also dressed up and did a great job getting the crowd excited for Mt. Joy. The Alabama band performed their hit songs “Shelby” followed by “Misnomer” and “Everything is Just a Mess” to open the show.
They had great stage presence as they danced and jammed out to the crowd-wowing riffs played by lead guitarist Alec Boltons. The lead singer, Joseph Settine, had amazing stage presence even while dressed in a nun costume. The rest of the band wore ‘70s disco getups and channeled it in their performances.
The band’s sound felt old school at times and they had great harmonies. They did a cover of “Something” by The Beatles and got the crowd to dance with them, leading the audience in a “step-touch” for their song “Off the Lawn.”
For their closing song “Halfway Up” they snuck in a “Woo Pig” that got the crowd cheering.
With a combination of Halloween and school spirit, it is easy to say that the crowd was in for a special treat as they awaited Mt. Joy’s performance.
The fans gave the Orange Blood tour a warm U of A style welcome by calling the hogs, not once or twice, but three times. A staff member in a hog costume even led the crowd in the call on stage before introducing the band.
Mt. Joy members made a grand entrance in matching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumes to the show’s theme song and fully committed to the bit by passing out pizza boxes to the crowd.
“We are really thrilled to be here,” said Mt. Joy lead singer Matt Quinn. “It is our first time playing in Arkansas and I am already digging the energy. Let’s have some fun.”
The group opened the concert with their song “Lemon Tree” off of their new album, “Orange Blood,” that came out this summer. After getting an enormous applause from the crowd, they continued the show by performing their hit song “Strangers” from their 2020 album “Rearrange Us.”
When the group sang “Evergreen,” they gave it a fun Halloween flair, mashing it up with “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon followed with a jazzy piano instrumental by their keyboardist Jackie Miclau who was absolutely fantastic.
The band played their album’s title track “Orange Blood” with its vibey California acoustic melody into their song “Ruins” that had a bluesy guitar and piano solo.
Next on the set list was the electrifying “Sheep” which was a crowd favorite, awarding them with a roar of cheers and applause when it was over.
“Bathroom Light” was perfect for their Halloween show as fans chanted the beginning lyrics, “Find me a lane to drive through, in a Halloween costume.”
Mt. Joy also did a rendition of the Grateful Dead’s song “Fire on the Mountain.” While their performance of this song was wonderful, it featured a tedious instrumental that didn’t seem to hold the crowd’s attention as much as their other songs.
Throughout the show, the band showcased the incredible drums by the talented Sotiris Eliopoulos. Each musician got to have their own solo and Quinn also took the time to introduce the rest of the band, giving them well deserved credit for making their songs so special and heartfelt.
The show continued with their song “Jenny Jenkins,” which is a more mellow acoustic song that seemed to gratify and captivate the audience as they sang along to the chorus “One by one, two by two Ms. Jenny Jenkins. You know I wouldn’t change things, even if I made it.”
Before singing “Julia,” Quinn introduced the song with a funny one-liner saying, “This song is about getting high in a restaurant.” Towards the end of the song they did a mashup of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers and “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley which had the crowd singing along. After the song, they directed the crowd’s attention to Miclau for her great work on keys.
As the show was nearing its end, still in Ninja Turtles costumes, Quinn joked, “Thank you for putting up with our BS.”
They closed the concert by playing their song “Silver Lining,” another crowd favorite, and walked off the stage, but that wasn’t enough for the fans.
The audience cheered and cheered for an encore and did what they knew best and called the hogs until the band walked back out on stage.
In the encore, Mt. Joy played “I’m Your Wreck” and then invited the opening act, The Brooks & The Bluff, on stage to sing “Johnson Song.” Both bands paraded around the stage dancing and singing with tambourines in hand.
The final song of the night, “Astrovan,” was in high demand from the crowd throughout the whole night. It was a great choice to finish the concert with and kept the crowd entertained until the very end.
Quinn closed by saying they had an amazing first time in Arkansas making it likely for their return back. They also thanked the opening act for being lovely tour mates and the crowd for giving them a nice welcome.