Live Review: Joshua Radin – Shepherds Bush Empire 19th March 2009
Okay, I’m tired, dealing with a dose of man-flu and have to be up in about 5 hours to go back to uni, so this may well be a shorter review than many are used to.
Joshua Radin. He’s a genius, basically. I went to Shepherds Bush tonight knowing one song only of his (Star Mile – I know, I know, joining the club), and came away thinking that he could well be up there with Ben Folds in the “US singer / entertainer”. Instead of the usual ploughing through tracks with little explanation, he explained the story behind many of his songs, with some incredibly amusing tales to boot. By the end of his 80 minutes on stage, I felt like I knew him really well, from his ex-girlfriends (two ex-girlfriends, two records…) to his taste in women (bookish, with an eco-conscience if possible). Basically, everything came down to love for him which had all the girls swooning and the few guys nodding in agreement.
Being American, he proclaimed Shepherds Bush Empire to be one of the most beautiful venues he’d ever played (having clearly not played Union Chapel), and gave the acoustics a go by doing two tunes completely unplugged, sounding sublime.
Supporting was Maria Taylor, a name that many won’t be familiar with, but one you should be. Cute, amusing and lighthearted, she won some brownie points from me by having the spontaneity to have a guy who was at the Birmingham gig sing backing vocals “‘cos life is spontaneous, right?”.
Hmm, maybe that review isn’t so short afterall, just not the best quality. Were you there last night? What did you think of Josh Radin and Maria Taylor? Leave a comment below.
Pictures after the jump.
3 Responses
20th March 2009
I was there; Fourth row in the middle.
It was AMAZING.
HES AN ACTUAL REAL PERSON!
Haha, nice review.
Maria Taylor was great too.
x
20th March 2009
haha, I saw you two dancing away from up in the balcony – seemed you were having a good time, and much better fans than the ones on the front row who talked through the whole thing! x
22nd March 2009
I was there, i think its great that he too was overwhelmed. He looks like a good guy and cannot believe he has only been doing this for 5 or 6 years.
some old women split her drink on me and didnt even say sorry, they were talking all the way through about their brittle bones or something until this awesome irish lady told them what’s what and they shut up.
and you’re right about union chapel