It’s weird to listen to an artist obsessively for a long time and never really know what he looks like. I own and adore all of Josh Rouse’s albums but I could’ve shared a cab with him and never known it.
So it’s odd to watch this live clip and discover that he looks like a cross between Kyle MacLachlan and k.d. lang as he plays in front of what looks like a display of children’s books. So much for our musical heroes being larger than life.
But that’s what’s cool about these live clips. They make it abundantly clear that these great musicians are just regular people plying their trade the way countless buskers have before them.
‘His Majesty Rides’ is a great little song from Rouse’s wonderful Subtítulo album. It’s very well produced, with African percussion, a jazzy little keyboard line and heavy drums complementing his acoustic guitar. It’s nice to hear it stripped down to just the guitar here but still maintaining the sweep and swing of the original.
Meet Me In Montauk 
I think I did share a cab with him.
That’s a quirky bookstore; I see more model cars and other gizmos in there than books. And how many people are there? I was thankful that we could hear a few claps at the end, as I was beginning to think he was playing by, and for, himself. Which is a compliment, of sorts. There is an intimacy to the way he performs that song that seems unlikely given his surroundings. Nice song. Talented guy.
And he paid the cab fare, too.
what is a “busker?”
I agree that Rouse is very talented, and he is another one I generally enjoy a lot when he randomply pops up on my IPod courtesy of the Clay collection. I am surprised to see you put him in the “hero” category, though.
Perhaps you did not recognize him in the cab because, due to a lack of commercial success and faltering book store attendance, he was the one driving the cab:)
Well, hero is a strong word for any musician, but he’s definitely one of the artists I listen to and enjoy the most in my entire collection.