Esten opened his set with the country-rock tune “This Town is Ours Tonight,” where he showcased his husky, baritone voice as he played the electric guitar. “How ya’ll doing?” he asked. “It’s so good to be here,” he added, praising the venue for being gorgeous.
He went on to dedicate the acoustic “One More Time” to the bartenders in the house, which ironically enough is a song that he wrote to a bartender. After switching guitars, he raised his red solo cup and paid homage to the late David Bowie with “Heroes,” as green and orange lights dimmed from the stage. His rendition of “Heroes” was haunting yet empowering and he did the lyrics justice.
“Do we have any Nashville fans here today?” he asked, and the entire venue burst into a raucous response, which was easily a resounding “yes.” Esten shared that each Friday, he releases a new single on iTunes, and his latest song is “Spin the Wheel,” where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. He went on to thank his guitar tech for tending all of his instruments, while out on the road, and during his tapings of Nashville.
“Thank you very much,” he said, and immediately broke into another new single “Down at the Lost & Found,” which featured acoustic guitar and yellow laser lights gracing the stage.
Esten shared that he has been an actor since 1989, and that math is not your friend when you get older. Most impressive about the multi-talented entertainer is that in his entire career, he only had one agent, who was present in the audience tonight at The Paramount. In addition, he noted that he loves getting to play the character Deacon Claybourn so much, especially since he is “so human,” and whenever his character is good, he is really good, and the same holds true for his character’s bad side, where he can be very bad.
He fulfilled a fan’s song request, where he sang the soothing “Dream With You” to Billy, who dedicated the tune to his ex-wife, who was present in the audience. This was quite moving, especially since the singer revealed that Billy still loves his ex-wife.
Esten picked up the pace with his “little love song,” the upbeat “I Love You, Beer,” where his band member Cory played fiddle. This song goes out to anybody who likes or loves beer. It was followed by “From Here On Out,” which is a Deacon song from Nashville, which he began and ended solo in an acoustic fashion, as his band joined him briefly midway through the song.
He continued with yet another Deacon tune, “Like New,” which was more mid-tempo and upbeat, and he went into the crowd and took selfies with people and shook their hands. “You are a very handsome crowd,” he said complimenting, his Long Island fan-base.
Esten picked up the pace with the up-tempo “Playing Tricks” and the slow-moving ballad “No One Will Ever Love You,” the latter of which he dubbed as his favorite song that he ever sang with actress Connie Britton.
After extolling his “unbelievable band,” he went on to perform the traditional-sounding “Cold Comfort,” which he would like to think was inspired by such country legends as Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings. This old-school tune had neat steel guitar instrumentation and it was reminiscent of a Kris Kristofferson country classic.
It was followed by “Through the Blue” and the brand new song “Buckle Up,” which he performed tonight for the second time ever. Ever-gracious, he expressed his gratitude to everybody in the audience, and gave a special shout-out to his college roommate who was present as well. He closed on a liberating note with the sassy “He Ain’t Me,” which had a fun groove to it, and “A Life That’s Good.” For his encore, he returned to tip his hat to the “Boss” himself, Mr. Bruce Springsteen, with a killer version of “Thunder Road.”
The Verdict
Overall, Charles Esten was able to put on a pleasant concert for his New York country fans at The Paramount. His rich voice was very versatile, like a quiet storm, and he was able to convey a wide spectrum of emotions through his music and storytelling. He showcased a charismatic and vibrant personality while on stage, and that resonated well with his listening audience, who inevitably loved him in return. Esten and his band are worth seeing live whenever they are in town. His show garnered 4.5 out of 5 stars.
For more information on actor and singer Charles Esten, his music and his touring schedule, check out his official website.
