Mustard Service, Ryan Wright, and JW Francis Play in Syracuse
The three indie bands paid a visit to The Song & Dance on October 6th, entertaining the 315 crowd throughout the whole night.
Words By Sofia Quintero / Graphic by Olivia Nguyen
On October 6th, Mustard Service, with the support of Ryan Wright and JW Francis, played a show at The Song & Dance. Syracuse serves as one of many stops on Mustard Service’s college town Variety Pack Tour, and one of the East and Midwest shows that Wright and Francis opened for.
Ryan Wright started the show by displaying gorgeous vocals. She sang with the support of a drummer, guitarist, and bassist. The emotion with which Wright performed added more power to the story being told in her lyrics. Singing about boy drama and personal struggles with identity, those who relate to the lyrics can truly feel more connected to the singer. Wright ended her set with an amazing performance of her unreleased single, “What’s Not To Love,” which is expected to be released on November 3rd.
The second opener, JW Francis, put on an incredibly lively set where he maintained constant interaction with the audience, singing happy birthday to crowd members and having fans start off songs for him. A key feature of Francis’ set was a soundboard that he messed around with, playing pre-recorded sounds of him saying various phrases. As for the music, JW Francis fits into the genre of indie pop. He played a magnificent setlist and gave fans the opportunity to buy a mixtape of unreleased songs after the show.
Mustard Service took the stage shortly after, starting with “Intro to Zest Pop,” the first track from their 2017 debut album. The rest of the setlist featured fan favorites across all of their albums, including “Homie” and “Daddy Dookie Brown.” Mustard Service put a great amount of energy into their performance, making it hard not to dance along to each song. “The Dominoes” was one of the highlights of the night, with the crowd’s energy reaching its highest during the track.
In between songs, frontman Marco Rivero Ochoa and the band would share Syracuse-related fun facts that they googled just before their performance. It was evident that Mustard Service is a group of best friends having fun on stage through the way they cracked jokes and danced around with each other. Toward the end of the show, the band invited Ryan Wright and JW Francis back on stage for an electrifying cover of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers.
As they packed up the stage, Mustard Service was available for fans to approach them and share any stories or gifts they may have. For those lucky enough to snag a setlist from the stage, this was a perfect opportunity to get it autographed. Ryan Wright and JW Francis also spent time by the merch table for the fans who wanted to talk, get an autograph, or take pictures. Big touring artists rarely choose to spend a night in Central New York, so the personal attention that all three acts showed to their Syracuse fans made the experience all the more memorable.