Ah man I'm behind on these things. Ive been busy doing uni and other stuff. I will get them all done before the festival season though!!!
Anyway so Joshua Radin is solo singer songwriter from Ohio, USA. If I'm entirely honest i didn't know a ridiculous amount of his music when i went to this gig. But i looked at it from 3 angles.
1. The stuff i did know i do genuinely love.
2. He's on the brink of getting big and this could be the last small venues he plays.
3. I heard he's fantastic live. I never pass on that opportunity.
I was however a bit worried... with his recent fame... would it have the Owl City effect (as its now formally known) where i love a band/artist then go see them live to be surrounded by Radio 1 loving 12 year olds....
So Manchester bound me, Kit and Mads went! Usual deal for a Manc gig... Nice drive through the peaks and pre gig Subway/McD's. We got into the queue just in times for doors. I'd never been in academy 2 before.. 1 is the big one (see Owl City entry) and 3 is the small one upstairs which i had the delight of seeing Bromheads Jacket in on their, essentially, last ever tour. When walking into academy 2 it felt like I'd walked into a school hall. Stage at one end, long and fairly evenly rectangle with a high rise roof. Basketball court sized to a tee. The sound of the room could of gone one of two ways.
First on were 3 very English girls in the form of 'The Staves'. 3 sisters from Watford, they throughout the night felt like Joshua's younger siblings. The three beauties boast angelic, enchanting harmonies led by nothing but the acoustic guitar of older sister Jessica. It was enchanting in its vocal perfection to watch and really did seem to blow, the more mature/musically respectful members of, the audience away.
Next was a long, blond, electric guitar mistress sandwiched between two bearded musicians, who came out right on cue to inject a little bit of funk rock into the now serene audience. Her name was 'Lissie'. The three of them on stage very much reminded me of a country funk rock Blondie. No other way to explain it. Kudos goes to the 'bassist' of the three who somehow managed to play an entire drum kit at the same time as slapping the hell out of his bass. The Staves and Lissie were the perfect mix of support for Joshua Radin.
After an agonising 40 minute wait Joshua Radin took to the stage. Now it was a long time ago now so I'm not going to go into details of the night but just concentrate on the bits that truly stood out for me. Firstly the stage banter.. Never have i seen someone take the stage quite like this guy. He's funny, charming and has the talking voice that quite literally made underwear fall off the women in the room. His reactions to the crowds heckles and constant little stories in between songs didn't get old. At one point someone shouted something at him to which he responded 'YEAH! ... People shout things at me and i have no idea what they mean. Yet everybody in the room laughs... its a British thing I'm sure'. HAIL BRITANNIA!
Onto the music and simply his voice. The man must have a massive set of lungs on him. At various points throughout the night he simply stood away from the mic and filled that School Hall room with his booming yet perfectly pitched voiced. Most gigs i go to its all about the music and sing alongs. This was a performance of his voice. The music mealy backed him along. With an outstanding performance of songs such as 'Brand New Day', 'You Got Growing Up To Do' and the song as made famous by Scrubs 'Winter' the night was a calming one that made me thankful for just experiencing it. Speaking of his ties with Scrubs... the only complaint i have of the entire night was the group of idiot teenage boys that stood in the middle holding a sign simply saying 'WE LOVE SCRUBS' and shouting crap all night... morons, provide me a noose and i will happily kick away the chair.
The inevitable happened with the big song and sing along of the night been the one that's had some radio time 'I'd Rather Be With You' ... to even Joshua explained his shock in this all of a sudden fame and love for that song. He explained that the entire UK tour was because of the sudden love for the song and he wanted to share the rest of his music with the fans.
As a whole its safe to say it was a great gig. He was a thankful man to his fans and he gave his whole heart in his performance. He said himself he loves the UK crowds comparing us to the US ones because we 'just listen and enjoy'. The man has a cracking voice on him and I'm 99% sure he impregnated a few women in that room without even trying.. maybe even a couple of the guys too.
Peace
x
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