Are Those Buttresses Flying, or What?

Still on a concert high from Sara Bareilles’s last night show at the El Rey.

Her voice is unreal and the performance was better than I could have ever imagined. I was kind of unsure what to expect since she is touring solo, without a band to back her up, but she carried the show and owned the stage. Switching between the piano, guitar, smaller guitar, electric guitar, and harmonium who even needs a band?

One of my favorite things about going to concerts is hearing songs you’ve heard before like you’re hearing them for the first time. I tended to skip over “Once Upon Another Time” (the only song to which she wrote the words before the music - while “crying on a plane and making people uncomfortable”) and “Bright Lights and Cityscapes” on my iPod, but hearing them live and the stories behind them made them new favorites.

Between each song, Sara would talk to the audience like she was talking to a friend, which I guess is what this tour was about. She let her guard down and embraced her weirdness and it was so raw and refreshing. She is also kind of hilarious, going on about writing “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” while whittling her guitar (which not many people play better than her) and drinking white wine on vacation in San Francisco.

Also, the chords for “Let the Rain” are apparently the same as “You Belong with Me” by Taylor Swift, which prompted a wonderful cover sans many of the correct lyrics, which kind of made it better.

I mean, how can you not have a crush on her?

Counting down the days to “The Blessed Unrest.”

But in all seriousness, someone give this girl a Grammy. Sara, thanks for an unforgettable night.

Brave Enough Tour - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles - May 14, 2013

JUST EAT THE CEREAL, RYAN!

Actually, it doesn’t really matter what you do…just keep on keepin’ on.

This is important.