John Lloyd Young

Café Carlyle, NYC, February 19, 2019

Reviewed by Elizabeth Ahlfors for Cabaret Scenes

John Lloyd Young cannot completely get away from his breakout performance in Jersey Boys, and why should he even try? He always draws a coterie of fans; for them, he opened with Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and his finale, “Sherry” (Gaudio).

His fans are devoted and the audience has a good time.
online pharmacy https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/new/furosemide.html no prescription drugstore

Patter? Not too much, but who cares? Just bring on as many songs as the show will hold.

The excitement in the room is infections for the performer and the audience.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fiddle with it, and Young’s shows concentrate on ’50’s, ’60’s, and ’70’s songs. This show, his eighth in the Cafe Carlyle, adds one legit oldie, “I Have Dreamed” (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) from The King and I, and Young sang it with passion and authority. It makes one think about the possibility of this “Jersey boy” singing any Broadway show tunes, because he has a voice that is secure and strong, easily flowing from lower depths to falsetto. He holds his final notes effortlessly and controls the nuances of his voice. 

He apparently has an affinity for other languages, and he did a good job getting the audience to sing along with “Wa Yao Ni Do Ai” in Mandarin. The song is not as unfamiliar as it first seems. It was written in the bebop age by Jon Hendricks as a jump tune, and it was recently featured in the film Crazy Rich Asians. Young’s tight band added a Kansas City vibe, led by versatile music director Tommy Faragher, Paul Socolow on bass, Eric Kalb on drums, and newcomer to the group, Stew Cutler, stunning on guitar, notably on Sonny Bono’s solemn “Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” In Spanish, Young delivered the lovely “Usted” by Gabriel Ruiz—a notable delivery, again boosted by the emotional accompaniment of Cutler’s guitar.
online pharmacy https://www.mydentalplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/new/desyrel.html no prescription drugstore

 

It is fun to hear Young bring back some of his greatest-hits covers, like “The Spy” (Jim Morrison), “Show and Tell” (Jerry Fuller), and “You Only Live Twice” (John Barry/Leslie Bricusse) where he creates an aura of danger and tension. Especially passionate is “Lose Control,” a song Young wrote with Faragher. He has been using sunglasses as a prop, donning them for certain songs; I am not sure for what effect, but his fans seem to love it all. 

John Lloyd Young easily commands this room with songs delivered with drama and passion—everything his fans love and they like that just fine.