“He writes songs I don’t think anybody else would ever write. I think he’s gotta be the bravest songwriter ever.”- Stewart D’Arrietta on Randy Newman.

Randy Newman is the kind of musician who created all those songs I know, but didn’t know they were his. Stewart D’Arrietta’s A Randy Kind of Feeling is an introduction to, and education about them.

However, the show is almost as much about D’Arrietta and I drew some strong comparisons between the two. Newman is an interesting choice for him and sometimes it's hard to tell what's part of the act.

He makes fun of the fact that neither he nor Newman are suited to the P-C-faint-of-heart. He’s a charismatic showman, and he jokes and banters with the audience, allowing them to engage or listen as they choose.

With just a small piano and a voice that moves between New-Orleans-jazz-gruff and New-York-crooner-smooth, D’Arrietta is an obviously talented musician.

He has a subtlety and ease that makes it hard to tell if he's efforting at all.

I went in not knowing what to expect from A Randy Kind of Feeling. It was genuinely interesting, very entertaining, and now I have a new thing to Google.