All of the female members of our family seem to be in love with Mr. Andrew Hozier-Byrne from Ireland, so when the 25-year-old visited Minnesota twice in 2015, it was a given we’d be on the hunt for tickets. When he played First Avenue on February 20, we were only able to get two tickets, so Colleen took MK as a birthday present. When he announced a return visit to The Roy on September 10, we were able to get tickets for all four of us to go (despite some annoying Ticketmaster glitches).

Minnesota favorite Caroline Smith was a late addition to the bill as a solo acoustic opener, which I liked a lot. It wasn’t the greatest environment for her, but the crowd was mostly appreciative by the end of the set. After a relatively quick intermission, Hozier took the stage and did a 13-song set before a short encore. Since he only has one full album and a couple EPs, this was about what I expected. The Beatles cover was very nice, but I thought the version of Take Me to Church was a little too quick and routine (especially compared to this excellent French club video).

Overall, though, we had a fun time. None of the pictures really turned out very good, but there are more after the jump (along with a setlist from setlist.fm). I’ll blame Ticketmaster for the bad pictures, since my first row balcony seats were mysteriously “claimed by other fans” by the time I clicked through the choose from map feature. When this happens three times in a row, you end up with really bad seats at the end (if you get any at all). I guess I should know this by now, but wouldn’t it be more helpful for everyone if they just turned off the map option when tickets first go on sale?

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