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OneRepublic And Sara Bareilles At The Greek Theatre: Review

Alicia Dewell |
September 12, 2013 | 10:58 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

It’s hard to say which is more impressive about Sara Bareilles, her vocals or her personality. Luckily, both were on their best display as she serenaded a captive audience at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening.

Sara Bareilles charmed and moved the crowd throughout her set. (Photo by Alicia Dewell/Neon Tommy)
Sara Bareilles charmed and moved the crowd throughout her set. (Photo by Alicia Dewell/Neon Tommy)
Beginning her set with the powerful "Chasing The Sun," the talented singer-songwriter started the show on a strong note. Throughout the night, this high quality never wavered.

While her demeanor makes it easy to envision her playing in quaint coffee shops, casually befriending those she entertains, her powerful vocals easily fill outdoor venues like the Greek beautifully. And, even in a large space, she manages to engage with her audience, making the ~6,000 seat space feel downright intimate.

Throughout the night, Bareilles played a well-chosen mix of songs in her repertoire, both new and old. Her band consisted of a bassist, a guitarist, two cellists and a drummer. Additionally, Bareilles frequently accompanied herself on the grand piano center stage.

Returning to Los Angeles, her home of 14 years, after recently moving to New York, Bareilles knew her audience and capitalized on this. During her ballad "Manhattan," the lines "You can have Manhattan, I’ll settle for the beach, sunsets facing westward, the sand beneath my feet" were met with applause.

Bareilles’ unique blend of raw talent, vulnerable lyrics, and powerhouse personality culminated in a show that, despite being an hour and fifteen minutes, felt way too short.

One of the many highlights of the show was during "Gonna Get Over You" when she broke from the song for a couple of breaths to sing, in the most beautiful voice, "Motherf*cking douchebag" over and over. Somehow Bareilles makes the expletive completely adorable.

Her official set ended with her latest single, the upbeat empowerment anthem "Brave," which had audience members singing along to every word. 

Returning for her encore, Bareilles summed up the general sentiment of the show, saying "You can hand someone the Emerald City but there’s no place like home." In keeping with this theme of heartache and growth, Bareilles finished her set even more strongly than she began it, with a powerful and moving cover of Elton John’s "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Set list:

"Chasing The Sun"
"Gonna Get Over You"
"Many The Miles"
"Love Song"
"Hercules"
"Gravity"
"Manhattan"
"Uncharted"
"Eden"
"I Choose You"
"Cassiopeia"
"King Of Anything"
"Brave"

Encore:

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Closing Wednesday’s show at the Greek, headliner OneRepublic delivered an energetic and engaging set. From performing the majority of their opening number, "Light It Up," behind a closed, white curtain, to the flamenco-y guitar solo that somehow led into their single "Counting Stars," OneRepublic definitely kept things interesting.

Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic have come a long way from "Apologize." (Photo by Alicia Dewell/Neon Tommy)
Ryan Tedder and OneRepublic have come a long way from "Apologize." (Photo by Alicia Dewell/Neon Tommy)
Ever the performer, lead singer Ryan Tedder carried the evening with his constant energy and distinct vocals. His bandmates, who delivered more stoic performances, provided a necessary, stabilizing balance to a show that could have otherwise bordered on erratic. 

Throughout the night the group performed many of their most popular songs including "Secrets," "All The Right Moves," "Stop And Stare," "Good Life," and "Feel Again." At one point, Tedder reminisced about playing every venue on the Sunset Strip in the past ten years. They have put in the work, and they have the hits to show for it.

During a piano and cello based rendition of their first single "Apologize," OneRepublic briefly covered the chorus to Macklemore’s "Same Love,"which segued into a conversation with the audience about the power of music.

Succinctly, Tedder concluded that good music makes you feel things. He followed this sentiment with a touching story about a friend whose engagement coincided with his military deployment. This story inspired the song "Come Home," which had audience members fighting back tears.

However, the highlight of the set, without a doubt, was the band’s full length cover. What started out as Tedder sitting alone on stage with a piano, turned into a soulful, mesmerizing, and deeply confusing rendition of Kanye West’s "Gold Digger." Weirdly enough, Tedder’s vocals shined in this number, maybe more so than in any other tune. The band gave little time for crowd-members to pick their jaws up off of the floor before returning to their own music with the feel-good "I Lived."

Running short on time, the band performed a few more songs before returning quickly with an encore. They ended the show with "Life In Color" and "If I Lose Myself Tonight" before thanking the audience and disappearing into the night. 

Setlist:

"Light It Up"
"Secrets"
"All The Right Moves"
"What You Wanted"
"Stop And Stare"
"Counting Stars"
"Apologize/Same Love"
"Come Home"
"Gold Digger"
"Can’t Stop"
"I Lived"
"Good Life"
"Feel Again"

Encore:

"Life In Color"
"If I Lose Myself Tonight"

Read more of NT's show reviews here.
Reach Staff Reporter Alicia Dewell here.


 

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