By By Elyssa A. Goldstein
After the surprise closing of The Downtown last week, The Crazy Donkey, located in Farmingdale, N.Y., opened its doors on Sept. 20, for the Josh Kelley and Michael Tolcher concert. The Crazy Donkey is primarily a bar, with rows of televisions lining the walls. The stage is relatively small, but both Kelley and Tolcher made it appear much larger with their respective stage presence.
Unlike many artists in today’s concert world, Michael Tolcher started exactly on time, after an introduction by a radio personality from Island 94.3, the station sponsoring the concert, who tossed large amounts of free T-shirts into the fairly small but energetic crowd.
Tolcher kicked off his set by emerging from the bathroom, climbing up the side of the stage and grabbing his guitar with a giant smile on his face. He opened with “Kings in Castles,” one of the many cuts he played from his debut record released on Aware-Octone, I Am.
The crowd politely bopped along throughout most of his set, but were clearly not familiar with the music. However, Tolcher commanded the audience with his incredible voice and vocal versatility. He growled in his lower range and effortlessly soared to a falsetto, all in the same breath. Never once did Tolcher hit a wrong note.
“Suggestion Box” was the only song Tolcher played that did not appear on his debut record, but the fans seemed to enjoy the new music and began humming along to the melody after a few choruses. The crowd moved on “No One Above,” an up-tempo funk groove about the joys of sexual relationships. “Miracle” was a true performance featuring quotes such as “What’s Going On?” by the 4-Non Blondes. The song was apropos to current events with its talk of natural disasters and lines such as ‘Well I can leave it all up to the presidents / relying on the people to believe false evidence.”
The audience went wild when Tolcher played the opening chords of “Sooner or Later,” a track popularized by its use as the theme song for the short-lived ABC teen dramedy, Life as We Know It. “Mission Responsible,” the current single, closed the show with a choreographed dance routine by Tolcher and his bandmates, which brought the whole crowd to a fever pitch. Tolcher thanked the audience many times for sharing in his music and greeted each and every fan personally after his set.
Josh Kelley took the stage about 20 minutes later to thunderous applause. He opened his set with “Hard Times Happen,” a gospel-rock number from his sophomore album, Almost Honest, released one month prior to the concert. He followed with the smash single, “Amazing,” from his debut disc on Hollywood Records, For the Ride Home. (The only other track Kelley performed off his first record was the lyrical ballad, “Home to Me.”)
When Kelley finally launched into the title track from his new record (after a brief guitar tune-up) the crowd fell silent and swayed with the intense emotion given off by Kelley throughout the number.
He continued his set with the opening track, “Walk Fast,” ditching his guitar and working the stage throughout the jazz-pop performance.
On the hidden track, “Heartache,” Kelley brought out his younger brother, Charles, to sing a verse. The younger Kelley had a rich voice just like his big brother, and the duet was a big treat for all who witnessed it. Kelley closed the show with his current single, “Only You,” which had the entire crowd singing and dancing throughout the bar.
Josh Kelley and Michael Tolcher truly provided a delightful, energetic concert of singer-songwriter-guitarists with catchy songs and incredible talent.
Due to the closure of The Downtown, Josh Kelley and Michael Tolcher´s concert was moved to The Crazy Donkey. (Image courtesy hooplapr.com)