by Danny Munro

The ‘Loverboy’ singer kept the sold-out crowd on a high from start to finish in his highly anticipated homecoming gig. 

Originally hailing from Garthamlock, just five miles east of the iconic Ballroom, Joesef’s largest headline show to date was always going to be a momentous occasion and the soulful singer did not disappoint. Donning an immaculate pin-striped suit and backed up by a well-oiled 7 piece band, the night got underway with the anthemic ‘Does it Make You Feel Good?’, each word of which was roared back by the energetic Friday night Glasgow crowd. 

Joesef kept up the high tempo start to the evening, following up with ‘I Wonder Why’ and ‘Think that I Don’t Need Your Love’, pausing between each number to marvel at the baying crowd stood in front of him, often appearing visibly shocked at the sheer number of people who had turned out not just to watch him, but cheer him on so ferociously. The magnitude of the occasion was clearly not lost on the 26-year-old, who took to Twitter in the early hours of the following morning to apologise for crying mid-set, saying that: “nothing could have prepared me for that glesga”.

After rolling out a couple of slower ballads in ‘Play Me Something Nice’ and the currently unreleased ‘We Stand Close’, Joesef strutted back onstage, now sporting a see-through mesh vest – a far more classic look for the singer. His confidence shone through as he and his band successfully tackled a cover of ‘Thinking of You’, in a style most similar to that of Sister Sledge’s, a real party track which showed off Joesef’s range and his ability to carry out funkier numbers. 

Despite still not having a delph of music available on his streaming platforms, Joesef made excellent use of his time on stage and ensured there wasn’t a dull moment. The second half of the evening proceeded to take a sombre tone, his latest release, ‘Fire’, followed by ‘Kerosene’ were capped off by the tear-jerking ‘Comedown’, arguably Joesef’s most stirring track, which racked up an impressive 2.2 million views on YouTube late last year and was appreciated greatly by the almost 2000 punters in attendance. 

Unsurprisingly, the night finished on a high. Joesef’s biggest hit, the euphoric and triumphant ‘The Sun is Up Forever’ rang around the hall, proceeding ‘Limbo’, an earlier Joesef tracked that was enjoyed by both the hardcore fansand the more casual listeners in the crowd. Finally, the curtains closed, and the house lights went up – but not beforeseveral crowd-led renditions of the hook of ‘Loverboy’, an agreeable, poppy number which was bookmarked by an explosion of pink confetti from the stage. Not every night on this tour was as grandeur as a sold out night at the Barrowlands, in Edinburgh and Newcastle, the tour played to capacities of 600 and 300 respectively. But as the ‘Loverboy’ hook spilled out on to the Gallowgate as the merry crowd made their way out of the venue, it was not hard to imagine in the very near future, venues of the size and stature of the Barrowlands Ballroom, in his hometown of Glasgow and much further beyond, will be all too familiar to Joesef.