Art & Authenticy

I never imagined that a Joseph O’ Connor could entertain me in such a manner. I honestly thought that I was going to spend a evening listening to a monotone reading of his work. But he proved me really wrong…He did not take very long to capture my attention. When he began to speak about Patty Smith, I was melting. I did not know how romantic he was. The way he described her, saying he and her were the only two in the room, made me think “These College guys are going to have to step it up because Joseph O’ Connor is a sweet heart. He even described how his heart would pump when she was near, and I didn’t even remember that men actually do still feel this way. Now it’s like, “Hey babe, you are fineeee!”

At first, I thought he was a little too into describing neighborhoods and the terrible conditions, because he already did a lot of that in the memoir about his father, but his performance convinced me. The way he said every line so passionately, I could tell that he loves to descibe places like Europe, Italy, and Paris. I suppose the fact that I was listening to him rather than reading it like I originally did made it even more impacting.

Joseph O’ Connor has rhythm! He had this way of captivating the audience with his vocal variety. When he started to rap, I could not believe it because he added it in out of nowhere, but it fit. Aside from the fact that he is romantic, interesting, and rhythmic, he is extremely funny. During the his amazing ending with the September 11 reading he said “Que Pasa” with a spanish accent. Any man who can be taken seriously while saying “Que pasa” and “Pakistani Mani” has true talent. He can speak in broken english and still sound professional; he hates perfect english, he says so himself in an interview with Robert Birnbaum.

He was able to relate with an audience with varying ages by mentioning, Nirvana, U2, Walt Witman, Edgar Allen Poe, and Baruch all at once. He appealed to everyone in the room, and is truly a full package.