You’re going to have to cut me some slack on this one. I generally cover blues, rock, or classic rock shows. Maybe some alt-rock. Heck, I even covered a heavy metal show not too long ago. What I have never done is cover a show with an individual artist playing acoustic guitar. Folk music? Not exactly my jam.
So, when the opportunity came to cover a live show with someone named Joshua Radin, I wasn’t sure how interested I was. But then I met the man. Well, not literally. I did a phone interview with him, which you can read about by following this link… https://denverentertainmenthub.com/2023/08/24/joshua-radin. I enjoyed that interview so much that I decided to shuffle my schedule around to allow me to cover Radin’s show this past Wednesday night at the Bluebird. And man, I am glad I did.
Radin is, without a doubt, one of – if not the – most authentic musical artists I have ever met. The songs he writes and performs are about real life. They are heartfelt, earnest, and sincere. They tell stories drawn from his journey through a life that, just like all the rest of ours, has had its share of ups and downs.
It is that authenticity, combined with his soft, breathy vocals, and his excellent guitar playing, that draws people to his music. It is what has powered the man through ten albums since 2006, generating a legion of adoring fans who will tell you that his music means something to them.
Those fans packed the Bluebird on Wednesday night, and Radin made sure they got their money’s worth. Taking the stage at 8:50 pm, he delivered an 18-song, hour and 15-minute set that, while drawing from his entire catalog, focused on his older material.
Radin opened the set with the fantastic “Here, Right Now,” from the 2019 album by the same name. It is a wonderful song to open a set because it’s about being present in the moment, setting aside anxiety and fear about the future. If there was any message Radin was trying to deliver to the crowd about the evening to come, this was it. Live in the moment.
Radin dug deep into his catalog, with nearly half of the original tunes in the set coming from his first two albums, 2006’s We Were Here and 2008’s Simple Times. “You Got Growin’ Up To Do,” “Brand New Day,” “No Envy, No Fear,” “Vegetable Car,” “Today”, and “Winter” were all met with sighs of delight, as various members of the crowd got to hear their personal favorites.
One of my favorite moments of the night came when Radin was introducing “No Envy, No Fear.” He talked about how difficult it was for him, in the early days of his musical career, to get past his fear of performing in front of people. Fifteen years later he is a consummate pro who laughs, jokes, tells stories, and engages actively and (seemingly) effortlessly with his audiences. He is so confident and composed that he admitted to the Bluebird crowd that he did not have a setlist for the evening’s show… that he would make it up as he went along based on his interaction with the crowd.
He took requests. At one point he took a poll… sad songs or happy songs? (Happy songs was the winner, but he still snuck some sad songs in.) Acknowledging that it appeared tonight must be a date night for a lot of the crowd, he pulled in some romantic songs.
Interestingly, Radin played but a single song from his most recent album (actually an EP), though the world will tell me so, vol. 2. That song was “Over The City,” a beautiful tune about the conflict between the allure of the city versus the authenticity and simplicity of the countryside.
I will admit I would have liked to hear more from the new EP. The five songs (there are actually six, but one has two different versions included) are all outstanding. It is an excellent collection that chronicles his world-wide journey of self-discovery, where he wrote and recorded songs at various stops around the globe.
Radin has an expansive catalog, filled with enough incredible music to fill setlists for multiple live shows. Even so, he still manages to sneak in a handful of covers. On this night there were three… “Only You” (Yaz), “Bring It On Home To Me” (Sam Cooke), and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (Bob Dylan). Those latter two were part of his three-song encore, with “My, My Love,” from the 2013 album Wax Wings, sandwiched in between.
As impressive as the music was, Radin’s interactions with the crowd deserve an additional mention. He treated the crowd like a collection of old friends gathered for a backyard cookout. Over the course of the evening, he was funny, thoughtful, playful, serious, and earnest. Looking back on the evening, the word I keep returning to is “charming.”
Back to the notion that this was a concert that fell outside my wheelhouse…
There’s not a lot of dancing at a Joshua Radin show. What there is, is a lot of swaying, particularly from couples with their arms wrapped around each other. It’s an enchanting site to see… the bliss on the faces of the audience as they soak up the emotions elicited by this exceptionally talented artist. Radin delivered a wonderful gift to the Bluebird audience, me included, on this Wednesday evening. Being pushed outside my comfort zone has seldom felt so good.
Story and photos by Rick Witt www.rickwittphotography.com
