Concert Review: Billy Raffoul Is A Millennial Springsteen At Irving Plaza
Billy! Billy! Billy! That is the name my mind repeated as Billy Raffoul gleefully shattered my soul.
From tracks “You Be Love” and “Difficult”, Raffoul felt like a Millennial Jesus doing a sermon on The “Irving Plaza” Mount. Lord, knows he has the “Jesus” hair, which made many spectators wild and some of us wonder his hair product. Yet, it is how he sings that is deeply intelligent and fosters comparisons to the likes of Bruce Springsteen.
Like Springsteen, Raffoul is a smokey-voiced, young guy putting into words the angst of ”twenty-something ambition”. He contorts his mouth and face as if every lyrical emotion is forcefully being pushed out of his soul to amp his connection to the audience’s spirit. There is no group whom understands more the desperation to get to that “magical place” where you are the person you want to be then a batch of “twenty-somethings” who wish splurging on a concert was not an a rare exception but a common luxury. Most of us approach our day with a quiet, gnawing sensation that we are not living it to our fullest.
Billy Raffoul – Dark Four Door (Frank Ockenfels Photoshoot)
The irony is that in obsessing whether we do not enjoy life, we, actually, do not. Raffoul’s songs such as, “Dark Four Door” or “Driver”, express the disappointment, acceptance, and reanalysis of what is joy and love in our life and relationships. With a soulful guitar backing him, he makes acoustics feel epic like a tiny boat coursing through a tsunami, which is, exactly, how life can feel. Yet, he knows he is creating some amazingly poignant and dramatic music, or, at least, that is what his body says as he drops to his knees from the exhirilathon of his own arrangements. Still, all that talent falls back on that on his excellent, distinct voice.
Billy Raffoul – Difficult (Audio)
I ADORE Billy Raffoul’s voice. I underestimated how rich and akin to his record it is when heard live. He has been sincerely blessed with a voice that could sing out loud a Geico brochure, to a crowd, and have them walk away saying, “Wow, one of the best tracks of 2018!”. Yet, he is lucky. To have a voice that is recognizable and instantly attractive is the foundation of some of our most legendary singers. From Frank Sinatra to Freddie Mercury, their powerful lyrics became universal in magnitude because they had voices that, automatically, made you stop and listen. Billy Raffoul will make you stop, listen, and feel. For More Information on Billy Raffoul Click Here.
Billy Raffoul – Driver (Audio)
