Jude Takes a Sad Song and Makes It Better

You might not expect an artist who refers to Italian painter Botticelli in one song to quote Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” in another--let alone pull it off.

But in his show at the Roxy on Tuesday, singer-songwriter Jude made his every quirky tangent seem natural.

First performing solo with acoustic guitar, then backed by a trio, the L.A.-based musician sang in an agile, guileless voice that soared into flawless falsetto for emotional or comic effect.

While the 80-minute set evoked everyone from Jonathan Richman to Nirvana, it mostly proved that Jude’s image is his own.

The songs, drawn largely from his 1998 album, “No One Is Really Beautiful,” focused on two subjects the Massachusetts native apparently knows well: romance and Hollywood.

Using everything from sports metaphors to Dylan-esque wordplay, the 28-year-old wove tales of heartbreak and ambition that were at once catchy and substantive.

The fame-hungry fared worst, as such cautionary tales as “Charlie Says” exposed broken dreams and condemned dark deeds with cynical humor.

The love songs were often regretful, but were limned with wit and vulnerability that made such sad stories as “I Do” more wistful than alienated.

Which just goes to show that after years of seeing stardom from the fringes and love from the trenches, Jude has his priorities straight.