Here is the Duluth Official Road Reporter review from Josh's Straight To You Tour by cathedralbells! Want to enter to win for a chance to be Josh's Official Road Reporter? Get all the contest details HERE.

Let me start off by saying that I lost a lot of sleep over Josh this week. First, he tweeted that he was in Atlanta on Sunday night and I was so happy that he was here that I just had to listen to his music and was too excited to sleep. Monday night I was so incredibly nervous and scared that the Duluth show would be canceled like Greenville was (I am so sorry to those of you who were planning on going).

Finally, on Tuesday night there was no hope of sleeping due to the fact that only hours earlier I had found out that I would be meeting him on Wednesday! Not only would this be my first Josh concert, but I also had front row seats AND got to meet him. I felt like I was dreaming. I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop up at any moment and tell me I had gotten Punk’d. Thankfully, he never did. :)

When I met Josh I joked around with him about posting a bad review, but I said I’d go easy on him. He was wonderful and played along. Don’t worry Josh, I think you will like this review. Of course, the show was INCREDIBLE. Elew was very impressive and as Josh said later on “he does things with the piano that I didn’t even know were legal!” No matter how many times I’ve heard Josh’s songs or watched videos of his performances, there is just no comparison to seeing him sing live. With his albums and videos it is easy to see how he puts himself in the moment and really feels what he is singing, but it is even more apparent in person. I remember him singing a really high, long, and powerful note during one of the songs and looking over to my friend and simply saying, “wow.” There aren’t many words that can accurately describe seeing him perform- especially from the front row.

As always, there was plenty of audience interaction and Josh’s humor shined through. After he took the main stage for the first time, he started speaking about trying to be intimate in a large arena and a woman let out a loud “oh, yes,” and then Josh laughed and said not like that, but he did say that he loved every last one of us. Soon after that Josh went back out into the crowd and found a terrified and star-struck eleven year old girl and asked her what her favorite concert was that she’d ever been to. All she could muster was an “I don’t know…” so then Josh said “well, I have about 17 more songs to sing for you. Do you think I can win you over by then?” Josh also told us about how he is now collecting camouflage t-shirts with wolves on the front so that people know he is “part of the wolf pack.” He also spoke about how polite we are in Georgia and said in a perfect southern accent “Would you like some sweet tea?”

When Josh took questions from the audience the first one asked about what his CB radio name would be if he was an ice road trucker. He said that was one of his goals in life (to be an ice road trucker) and that his name would be Alf (apparently when he was younger a mean camp counselor made him say something in a really high-pitched voice that made him sound like that character, so now he wants to embrace it). He proceeded to pretend like he was talking on a CB radio and then asked what her name would be. She said “BamaGirl” but he heard “BambiGirl”…he liked what he heard much better and thought it was hot (insert more pretend radio talk). He was also, of course, asked to do a duet (he said Duluth was “polite yet ballsy”), but this time they did not sing “The Prayer.” Instead, the next question asked for a shout-out for a girl’s 17th birthday, so they both sang her Happy Birthday. The woman he sang with was very impressive and even harmonized with Josh! I know I’m missing at least one other question, but there were so many little comments to remember!

Later when Josh went out into the audience to find people to bring onstage he found a couple celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary, a 19 year old college freshman (“Where my single ladies at?” Then he sang a bit of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” Priceless.), and “his eleven year old” that he spoke to earlier in the show. He poured the couple wine while softly singing “I’m going to get you hammered” and when the woman jokingly asked if he needed to see her ID, he replied, “No, but not because of what you think- I’m just loose like that.” When he came to the teenager, though, he asked her age and then sang “Two glasses of milk…” He sang “Broken Vow” and “Per Te” while they were on stage.

I believe Josh basically stuck to the same set list, except he played “Wandering Kind” and “If I Walk Away.” My personal favorites were “War at Home,” “Higher Window,” and “Voce Existe Em Mim.” I also really loved standing up and dancing with the ladies in the first several rows to “Weeping” and “Machine.” At one point during the concert I waved to Tariqh and he waved back and gave me a peace sign! Josh’s whole band is incredible, but I especially enjoyed one of the violinists who I believe to be a new addition to the band. She is a rock star! She was getting the crowd going and rocking out to EVERY song, even singing along occasionally.

Lastly, I would like to thank Josh and everyone at FOJG for the wonderful opportunity to meet Josh and write this review. Josh- you are an indescribable talent and I can’t wait to see you again live on your next tour! I apologize for my poor photography skills, but here are a few photos!