Josiah Leming – Live at the Bitter End in NYC – Video and Review

Josiah Leming, originally of brief American Idol fame, put on an incredible show in NYC this week. Check out my review of the intimate set he played at The Bitter End.

My friend Tomwattie and I got to the venue (The Bitter End) about an hour early, most due to the fact that we had purchased meet and greets. Not surprisingly, the bouncer or doorman or whatever at the place was 100% rude and gave us no information. Luckily, I checked my email and later realized Josiah had posted about the M&G details on his Twitter.

I bought both of Josiah’s albums on iTunes and was always a huge huge fan of his music since his brief stint on Idol, so meeting his was really the right way to start off the night. It was only a handful of others, and he showed up right on time. He was so personable and easy to talk to, SO GRACIOUS to his fans, and very very nice. He pulled us all into a little circle and signed us posters for the event that he had printed. He personalized them and everything, and even chatted with everyone. I got two awesome pics with Josiah, and a third with Josiah, Tomwattie, and I. They came out perfecttttt. I couldn’t have envisioned a better meet and greet.

Afterward, we walked to the venue WITH Josiah, which was pretty awesome. When we got back to The Bitter End, the same asshole bouncer dude was still there. He remembered us and we went straight through. We sat in the very front, at the table with a 2-drink-per-person requirement. In my opinion, that’s super dumb, but whatever. OneLove was the “opener” of the concert, and he was quite excellent. Very bluesy/indie sound going on and I loved it.

When it came time for Josiah, everyone was silent (except for some annoying girls in the back that kept screaming for his to sing “Come on Kid” from his debut album) and he REALLY knows how to put on a show. I couldn’t have envisioned it any better. He has a rich and meaningful sound to his voice that is hard to not fall in love with. He sang two of my favorites (“Maybe” and “Too Young”) and my all-time favorite (“Fuck Up”, which sounded incredible). He was on for about an hour, and he even did an encore! He totally killed it on the keyboard even if he looked like he’d tip over on his little stool at least a dozen times. I totally dug it! I bought a physical copy of “Another Life”, his second album, after his set and he signed it to me. Such an awesome night! Look out for Josiah to drop a third album sometime next year