Review: Bryce Vine brings big pop to a small town

The hour-long set covered his hits and then some

Bryce Vine Twitter | Photo Courtesy
The opening act put a spotlight on a local Grand Forks boy band.

To the average music listener, Bryce Vine may only slightly ring a bell. But for the majority of younger college students, he’s instantly recognized for a handful of hits that have been on repeat for years.

When Vine announced that he’d be touring and making a stop in Grand Forks, many jumped at the chance to get tickets. What was most shocking were the prices; a measly $30 for general admission and $10 for club or suite level seats.

Warming up the stage was a small-town act known as Silver Warehouse, a locally grown boy band that began in Grand Forks. While the crowd wasn’t extremely interested in seeing anyone but Bryce, Warehouse put on quite an opening act. Both intimate and explosive, the band delivered slow ballads, rock anthems and catchy pop tracks.

Once the moment came that all fans were waiting for, Bryce came out guns blazing. He began with a lighthearted track that most would know, “On The Ball”. Once the ball got rolling, the artist didn’t let the crowd down from there.

Performing a blend of old and new, the crowd was pleased with seeing the songs that they came for, as well as giving them new tracks to look up after the concert. While he may only have three to four stadium-chanting hits on the charts, Vine had more than enough of a back catalog that would keep the crowd going with other songs interspersed between the chart-toppers.

Furthermore, Vine went as far as to perform songs that came out within recent days or weeks. Knowing that few would know the songs, and most wouldn’t know the words, the concert resembled more of a listening party than a group in unification at times.

It wasn’t until the end of the show that Vine waited to perform the majority of the hits that his fans came for, including “La La Land”, “Drew Barrymore”, “Guilty Pleasure” and “Sour Patch Kids”.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel for songs that would keep a college concert going, Vine’s set lasted for a mere hour. While this length would have been devastating for most other concerts that range between $60 and $100, the cheap ticket prices left fans feeling satisfied with the price of admission for a good time with friends.

Despite running shorter than expected, most had left satisfied that they got to see a concert for the first time in nearly two years, as well as seeing a college-oriented artist perform the hits we’ve all come to know and love from him. While it may be quite some time until Vine returns to N.D. again, fans will be waiting for another low-priced, great performance from him.

Review: 3.5/5

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