“Some kind of magic happens late at night when the moon smiles down on me and bathes me in its light,” Joshua Radin sang to the packed, purple-hued Irving Plaza ballroom on Saturday night. And the (artificial) moonlit atmosphere was indeed magical—soulful, touching, rejuvenating.
Out first, Cary Brothers set a romantic mood (to be complemented with a proposal a little later on in the show) with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Blue Eyes.” His approach is simple—just a guitar and a beautiful voice—but powerfully heartfelt. Adding some joviality, he joked, “You know, I’m just one guy,” and asked, “So how many boyfriends were dragged here tonight?”
Rachael Yamagata’s raspy, bedroom voice flooded the room with sexiness and a twinge of sadness. Before launching into “Worn Me Down,” a song about obsession, vulnerability, and twisted romance, Yamagata warned, “I’m going to start with my most depressing song. We can only go up from there.” Entranced by the melodic voice drifting up from the piano bench, we plunged into the helplessness and heartbreak of true love.
A laid-back and truly gifted artist, headliner Joshua Radin captivated the crowd with his more popular acoustic ballads—”Just One Of Those Days,” “You Got Growin Up To Do,” “Everything’ll Be Alright,” “Belong,” and “Only You” to name a few. Radin’s style is airy and delicate, and his performance was sweet, adoring, and sincere.
Article by: Heather McAdams
