Joshua Radin

Basically one of the best decisions I've made while in this country was to go to the Joshua Radin concert last Tuesday. It was with great anticipation that we approached the Roundhouse for what was Joshua Radin's largest headlining concert.

After maneuvering our way pretty close(these Brits have no idea about the art of maneuvering) and two mediocre opening acts our shoes were sticking to the beer on the ground, and the smell of weed was slowly increasing.

(Side note-is weed legal in Europe? Because it is everywhere. Disgusting.)

It was at that moment that he appeared.

Him. Joshua. Joshua Radin. The Joshua Radin. My lover.

(I wish)

He started out with one my my favorites-No Envy, No Fear-before telling us in his much deeper than anticipated voice how much it meant to him to play here, and for us, and how great we were-at this moment I swear he looked right at me as if to say

"Nicole, I'm talking to you. Thank you for being here."

I can't just make this kind of stuff up people.

He proceeded to play my favorite of his-Everything'll Be Alright. It was beautiful, and by this point I may or may not have felt a little misty eyed.

The night continued in much the same fashion:

Joshua played a song amazingly well. The drunk man standing next to us sang along way too loud. We enjoyed Joshua. Joshua looked right at me. He spoke in his attractive voice. He took a swig of his whiskey. We fell in love.

Repeat.

Much like lather, rinsing and repeating. Just this time I get a better result than clean hair :)

It's true that I did not get a song dedicated to me like Grace or Molly (two other girls here with BYU), or a kiss on my hand like my friend Morgan, but those looks I got do not lie.

I loved Think I'll Go Inside and She Belonged to Me, which you can hear on his new album. They both mention England where he has been spending lots of time the last few months. It's cool to me to hear him sing and mention things that mean so much to him, that also mean a lot to me now.

And, when he talked about Brand New Day I felt that I could totally relate. He explained how he had been depressed, writing songs on his couch in his underwear for 4 years(I may have oh oh-ed at the nothing but underwear comment...) and one day he just woke up and the world was beautiful, and he was ok. Sometimes it just takes time, you know? Time to heal.

That is one lesson I can definitely appreciate.

Overall, I was super impressed with his talent, graciousness, and his love for the audience. It was one of the very best concerts I've ever been to and I'm so glad that I got to go!

And of course he is too, since we're in love and all ;)

(thanks for being patient with my little girl style crush!)