Finally into sing of things

New York Post

To be blunt about it, it took James Blunt most of his Beacon Theatre set to finally turn his outing into a sharp-edged show that engaged the crowd. The 37-year-old former British army captain, who served with NATO in Kosovo a decade ago, still has boyish good looks, loads of charm, incredibly good posture and a don't-give-up-the-fight attitude. After a shaky start that relied on a series of mid-tempo rock ballads, the singer, who was strapped into an acoustic guitar, offered a sarcastic plea to the crowd to get up and get moving: "I have a s - - - load of miserable songs -- you can sit then."

Then Blunt launched into his upbeat "Carry You Home," giving NYC a huge shout-out as the capital of the world. Still, only a handful of fans actually stood, briefly, before plopping down.

James Blunt - KFOR Kosova

Undaunted, Blunt pushed harder as he sang in his reedy tenor, which is inspired by the distinctive style of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. Blunt's performance was consistently passionate, even during the slower material. His emotions rang loudest when delivering the heartbreak in "Goodbye My Lover," a tune for which he dismissed his five-piece band and performed solo, playing a shiny black upright piano.

And while the fans didn't follow Capt. Blunt's orders to stand, the sold-out house did deliver some outrageously beautiful, choirlike vocals during a number of tunes. Finally, 14 songs into his set, Blunt connected with the fans, getting them to shake as he laid down his lusty funk 'n' roll song "Turn Me On."

That was the night's turning point. There were no more "miserable" songs, and no more questions about how he has managed to sell more than 20 million albums. His energy and the quality of his songwriting explained everything.

Warm-up act Christina Perri, whose debut record is out next month, was surprisingly confident, considering how green she is -- it was her second show on her first tour, she said. Perri's a singer/songwriter with an earthy voice and a few very pretty love songs. She's perky, attractive and grateful to have given up waitressing a year ago after her song "Jar of Hearts" made the charts when it was featured on "So You Think You Can Dance."

Expect to hear more from her in upcoming months.