Yet another winter tour kicked off in Arizona this week with Bryce Vine bringing that West Coast sunshine to the first date of the Motel California Tour. Tempe’s Marquee Theatre filled up with a solid crowd of fans looking for the warmth that Vine brings to every show and this first night exceeded expectations.
Opening the night was R&B singer Jayo with his own take on bouncy, sunny tunes and his smile alone lit up the room. Attendees crowded the barricade to sing along to “worst case scenario” and much more. Jayo sauntered up and down Marquee’s stage, encouraging the crowd to dance and clap along to get them properly warmed up for Vine’s headlining party.
Bryce Vine has a seemingly boundless supply of energy and that’s never more evident than in his lengthy setlists. Wednesday’s set was a whopping 26 songs that included his new single and tour namesake “Motel California” first- setting the tone for the dance party to follow. Vine’s devoted fans know every word to every song and Vine recognized that with his huge grin from the stage as he looked out into the audience.
Between favorites like “Margot Robbie” and “Sunflower Seeds”, Vine introduced a selection of unreleased material to the setlist and got fans even more excited for upcoming new music. Twenty songs in, Vine treated the room to his feature on Loud Luxury’s “I’m Not Alright” and showed no signs of slowing down.
All good things sadly must come to an end and it was a great disappointment to the fans to say goodbye to Vine as he closed his set with the triple punch of “Drew Barrymore”, “La La Land” and “Sour Patch Kids”. Phoenix absolutely loves it when Vine comes for a visit and his eager audience is ready for the next time his Los Angeles charm shines on Arizona again.
