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  • London Show Review - By Road Reporter Yvonne!

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


    What a fantastic pleasure to be the Road Reporter for the London, Ontario show at the John Labatt Centre. It was a very long trek for me, London is about a six hour drive from my current hometown of North Bay. I met some brilliant fans outside the venue, one shared my birthday, which was the day after the concert, so I invited her to attend the Meet and Greet with me (Happy Birthday Alana). We chatted a bit with Josh's security guard, Darren, while we were waiting. It wasn't long before we were standing in line waiting our turn to meet Josh.

    I was first and it was stellar. He was so friendly and just happy, he smiled the whole time. I've always thought he was gorgeous, what a dreamboat... anyways, we got a picture and then he signed my Illuminations CD. I told him how fantastic the concert the night before in Toronto was. I had entered to win the contest for Toronto but there was some kind of mix up and I got London – so I ended up at both shows because I was not going to give up meeting him after all these years of listening to his music! In any case, it was very expensive but totally worth it and definitely made for a birthday I will never forget.

    Pianist Elew opened the show. He is a startlingly talented musician. His style is intriguing and semi-bizarre, as he only stands at the piano, sometimes he even reaches into the piano to create a different sound. He certainly has a sense of humour, which was widely enjoyed by all. His selections were so varied, from Katy Perry's “Teenage Dream” to the Young and the Restless theme song. The sound was so full, sometimes it sounded as if two pianos were being played. It was a thrill to watch and very captivating. Elew was an excellent choice to open for Josh's Straight to You tour and I hope to see/hear him in action one day again. I hope that his career is very successful and fulfilling for him.

    The stage was set very differently from previous tours. There were two stairways up to the main stage that Josh could use to get into the audience and he really did use them, going into the audience multiple times. There was also a second stage with a piano. I think that the set did convey what he wanted, which he said was to be more intimate. Most of us have attended concerts where there is an eight-foot tall stage that is further guarded by arena fencing and a string of venue security guards. This was much nicer, it didn't scream “you stay down there, I'll stay up here.”

    The Straight to You show was a perfectly blended set list of old and new. Enough old to be nostalgic and take us all back to when we first fell in love with the tune (February Song, Alejate), and enough new to celebrate a finely crafted singer/songwriter album that has us on the edge of our seats wanting more (Bells of New York City, Higher Window). The show had a relaxed vibe, aided by the stage set-up, but mostly created by Josh and his easy-going banter between songs. It was not rushed. There was an assurance that you were getting the best imaginable concert out of him and his no-words-can-describe-how-awesome-they-are band.

    “Voce Existe Em Mim”, which Josh played segments of drums at beginning and end was a show stopper. It may be in Portuguese but it translates emotion as only music and Josh can – profoundly. It was a body-rocking, feel it in your gut performance. I loved it. “War at Home” is a very touching song, it's so honest and relevant. Without getting political, on a human level – war is so excruciating for those who survive and come back to a world that has not seen or felt the devastation that these soldiers have. Josh explained the song and his inspiration for writing it following a visit to a veteran's hospital. He sang “Awake”, which he did not sing in Toronto the night before, nor on the “Awake” tour (my mom is still complaining about that years later), so it was really fantastic to hear it in person, as it has always been a favourite of mine.

    Encoring brought out a gripping, pull-on-your-heart amazing rendition of Neil Diamond's “Play Me”. Not going to deny it, I did not know of this song before this evening (queue the young-en remarks – and keep them coming, can't believe I'm 28....) I love it and the way Josh sings it. I've since bought the song on my iPod and will hold out hope that Josh records this song one day for an album. Josh also sang the classic, everyone-knows-the-words, “You Raise Me Up”. The audience gave it a good go at singing along.

    It was a whirlwind of excitement. The best part was that Josh and his “peeps” are really nice people, they are real world, kind people. In Toronto I was so lucky to have met the musical director of the show and the best guitar player ever, Tariqh Akoni. After the show in London, since I was by myself anyways, I braved the crowd over by the buses. Darren (security) was out there and I heard him say that Josh would be coming out and that “believe it, if he could, he would want to meet everyone and sign an autograph for all”. That's pretty great.

    Straight to You is, in my opinion, Josh's best tour yet. He was divine.

    Best wishes to Josh with the relaunch of his foundation, The Find Your Light Foundation, which champions music education – funding is so lacking in most, if not all, countries he has fans in. Music education cannot be undervalued. Also, thank you to Josh for sharing your unbelievable talent, which has brought comfort and familiarity to so many fans in sad or scary times and happiness and reflection in good times. I'll love your music forever.

    It was a joy, thank you to the Fan Club for this opportunity.

Submitted by jgSarah on