When we found out that DNCE were bringing their ‘The Greatest Euro Tour Ever’ tour to London, we just had to pop along and check out the ‘Cake By The Ocean’ stars in action.
The sold-out gig at Hoxton Square Bar was their first ever UK show, and some fans had lined up for hours beforehand just to be as near as possible to the crazy quartet. Once doors opened at 8pm, the crowd filed in and the room soon filled up with an eager audience.
DNCE had no support act, but the pure excitement in the room passed the time – as well as taking in the stage layout which consisted of enormous balloons spelling out DNCE as well as cardboard cutouts of Daniel Craig, David Beckham, Robbie Williams and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.
An hour or so later, it was time for the show to begin as the band launched onto the stage to perform the self titled track ‘DNCE’. This confirmed what we already expected – the band are absolutely insane live! The energy on stage and in the room was electric as Joe, Cole, JinJoo and Jack performed the opening track. Joe and Cole were practically in the crowd at one point, which just made the screams even louder.
They moved on to ‘Pay My Rent’, the first song they performed from their EP SWAAY, which also got the crowd jumping. It’s a great track on record, but even better live! There was plenty of stage interaction in between songs, with the crowd cheering at Joe’s every word (which wasn’t surprising). The band then asked if there was a doctor in the room, before performing ‘Dr You’, which was also a hit with the crowd.
The next song on the setlist was ‘Toothbrush’, which also features on SWAAY. Cole introduced the song by asking for toothbrushes, and we’re pretty sure that most of the crowd would have chucked him some there and then if they could! The song provided a bit of a chilled moment for the audience, as the rest of the songs had been pretty full on until this point. Nonetheless, DNCE’s energy remained as strong as ever.
Everyone loves a medley, and DNCE didn’t disappoint when they pulled a 90’s medley out of the bag. It seems like they’re fans of bands with initials for a name, as the medley consisted of two classic TLC songs, ‘Waterfalls’ and ‘No Scrubs’. Joe even threw in a bit of Sisqo’s ‘Thong Song’ at the end which quite frankly, is exactly what’s been missing from our lives.
Next up was ‘Naked’, to which the band members subsequently lost some items of clothing too (it was so hot in the venue, they must have been roasting on stage). They also mixed in The Police’s ‘Roxanne’, which saw Cole jump into the crowd halfway through and make his way onto the bar at the back of the room to perform! He then ran back and joined JinJoo and Jack for a huge jam on stage.
DNCE then performed ‘Good Day’, with the crowd jumping along to its anthemic chorus. ‘Body Moves’ was next, which merged into a cool cover of ‘Kiss’. Joe demonstrated his falsetto vocals whilst Cole and JinJoo danced behind him. During the break-down, Joe did a bit of dancing himself, swinging the cardboard cut-out of Cheryl from side to side! This was followed by a snippet of James Brown’s ‘Sex Machine’, which allowed each musician to take the spotlight by performing some epic solos.
With the show nearing its end, it was time for DNCE to perform ‘Jinx’, another song from their debut EP and a big crowd favourite. Cole even played the kazoo to make the track sound as authentic as possible. Whilst nobody wanted the gig to come to an end, the band saved the best ’til last and went out on a high as they performed ‘Cake By The Ocean’. Every single person in the crowd jumped around like crazy, singing along to every word of their debut single. ‘Cake By The Ocean’ is one of the catchiest jams we’ve ever heard and since hearing it live, it’s been firmly ingrained in our brains! At the end of the show, we were treated to a confetti shower, as our new favourite band bowed out to Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’.
DNCE put on a phenomenal show, and it was clear to see that they enjoyed every second of being on stage. They received the warmest welcome from the crowd and being there to witness their first ever UK gig was something quite special.
We think it’s fair to say that a lot of the crowd were there for Joe, with many of them being long-time fans of the singer since the Jonas Brothers/Camp Rock days, however there was also a lot of love in the room for Cole, JinJoo and Jack. Cole had the crowd in the palm of his hand with his wild stage antics! The audience lapped up Jack’s drumming, whilst JinJoo just oozed a sense of cool from head-to-toe, we want to be her! Together with the fact that Joe Jonas is the perfect showman with his flawless vocals and looks to match, DNCE have created the most awesome recipe for success.
DNCE said that they would be back in the UK in April and we’re already SO hyped – for the time being we’ll have to make do with SWAAY being blasted on repeat! If you haven’t seen them live before, get yourself to one of their shows – you won’t regret it! Their stage presence is electrifying and they will bring the biggest smile to your face with their catchy songs.
They are fun, creative and crazy but also have talent in abundance – with a support slot on Selena Gomez’s tour coming up, and ‘Cake By The Ocean’ gaining platinum status in the US, we don’t want to jinx it but we think DNCE have a super bright future ahead of them!
Have you seen DNCE live? Did you love them as much as we did? Share your thoughts @CelebMix or leave a comment below.