Hozier makes embarrassing joke at Hershey concert: ‘Sometimes the intrusive thoughts wins’

Folk and soul singer Hozier performed at a nearly sold-out show at the Hersheypark Stadium on Sept. 19.

And he began his set by saying how grateful he was to be performing “in this very beautiful part of the world, in this very, very warm evening.”

The night wasn’t unseasonably warm by any means, though his comfort was likely impacted by his wardrobe choices.

“I wore a sort of chocolate-colored suit,” he said, before adding a local reference. “It is a suit made of pure chocolate. Underneath that is another suit made of pure peanut butter.”

An appeal to the locally-made candy bars, particularly Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, is usually a sure bet for Hershey crowds. And it was no different at this show.

“I know the easy crowd-pleasers,” Hozier admitted as the crowd cheered. “I did my research.”

As he often does at his concerts, the Irish singer then shared a related idiom from his own country “when you want to insult somebody: ‘he’s about as useful as a chocolate tea kettle’.”

But apparently feeling as if the anecdote wasn’t connecting with the crowd, Hozier elaborated. Which is a sure sign that a joke has gone over well.

“Like a teapot, you know,” Hozier said. “Because it would melt. If I wore a chocolate suit it would melt, so.”

The singer, apparently feeling awkward about the bit, pantomimed playing his guitar and looked back to his band for support.

The moment was a humorous one, and could only endear the artist to the already-enthusiastic crowd. But the incident was enough to stick with Hozier, as he brought it up a few more times throughout the show.

“I promise I have no more chocolate-related Irish sayings,” he said a bit later. “I’m not going to confuse you with those anymore, I promise you.”

As further explanation, he offered: “Sometimes the intrusive thoughts wins, you know?”

“You could be in a room with five people and you’d be mortified afterwards, or you could be in a space with 30,000 and you just have to laugh it off,” he said. “What do you do? But it’s a real saying.”

And after a few more songs, he took one last jab at himself for (what he was convinced was) his chocolate-themed faux pas.

“Imagine offering a strange, apropos of nothing, silly point to a group this size and it not going over all that well,” he laughed.

But judging by the crowd’s response throughout the night, Hozier was a hit, both musically and with his presence on stage.

And his humility also extended to a lengthy list of thank-you’s at the close of the show, not only to opening acts Amble and Gigi Perez, but to the individual members of his own band, the road crew, tour managers, designers, audio security, the camera team, lighting and audio techs, all by name.

Finally, he thanked the audience for choosing to spend their hard-earned money, and their time, to see the show.

“It’s great to see you all, thank you so so much,” Hozier said. “The fact that you’d buy a ticket for this show means the absolute world. Thank you so, so much.”