This Time It All Started With…
my obsession with Sara Bareilles’s music. Again.
Enter: A live album featuring a marriage proposal, Sara’s phenomenal sense of humour that makes you want to burst out in laughter and, of course, amazing music.
Did I mention there’s a bunch of guest artists who feature on the album? My personal favourite is her duet with Emily King on “If I Can’t Have You”.
I mentioned in a previous blog post that her live album, “Brave enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse” (2013), was my ultimate favourite but now I think “Amidst the Chaos – Live From the Hollywood Bowl” takes the cake.
Why you ask?
Because throughout both these live albums, Sara Bareilles’s personality comes alive and bubbles up in a way that is contagious. Both her humour and her love for life comes forth and invites you into a warm and welcoming embrace.
My personal favourite feature of these albums is the conversations she shares with the audience between each song. Ms Sara shares stories ranging from what she wrote the upcoming song about to her experience with falling in love with her current boyfriend over a summer in Boston.
To her, the audience aren’t just random people who pay to come and watch her sing. To her, they are individuals she sees as friends with whom she can share her love for music as well as her thoughts.
In her own words spoken during her performance at the Madison Square Garden: “My whole goal tonight is to enjoy myself and to help you enjoy yourselves. And that we all up here [on stage] have the fucking time of our lives.”
The songs on this album ranges from her old music (e.g. “Love Song” and “Gravity”) to some of her old hits (e.g. “Let The Rain”, “Uncharted” and “Brave”) and even includes some of her Broadway hits from Waitress (e.g. “You Matter To Me”, “Bad Idea” and “She Used To Be Mine”). In between her hits she shares some of her new music from her latest studio album, Amidst the Chaos (2019).
As usual, I find it very challenging to identify one specific song from the album that I like more. It sounds unrealistic but every song that features on this live album plays a special part in my heart.
“Love Song” (track 5) is the first song I ever heard by Sara Bareilles. “King of Anything” (track 17) was the song that made me want to discover more of her music. “She Used To Be Mine” (track 13) is the Broadway piece that every female lead wants to perform. “Poetry by Dead Men” (track 2) is one of many songs I wish I wrote. “Armor” (track 6) is a power anthem for all women around the world. “If I Can’t Have You” (track 7) is one of those stereotypical songs I imagine would play in one of those corny 2000s romantic comedy movies (like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or My Best Friend’s Wedding).
All these songs I just mentioned are phenomenal songs. But…the one song I would say perhaps beats them all would be “Eyes on You” (track 3). I’m not sure if I am the only person who feels like this about certain songs, so bear with me if it’s weird…
I tend to either link a song with a certain feeling or moment in time. Almost like when you smell a certain perfume it takes you back to Grade 2 when you had Mrs Rosenbaum as your teacher.
When I listen to this song, I immediately think of a pop rock song that the lead character would shout to in her room whilst holding her hairbrush in a late 90s movie like Freaky Friday or even a Lizzie McGuire movie.
I found a YouTube video where Sara Bareilles explains the story behind “Eyes on You” (click here to watch the video).
Sara Bareilles wrote this song not long after the elections in the US. She shares how she joined a meditation group to help release her pent-up emotions.
In the opening verse she mentions numerous names: Tandy, Johnny, Geraldine, Sara, Jessie, Molly, Joey and Emily. In this video she explains that she wrote about people in her life at that time and about people who she met in this meditation group she joined back in 2019. Everyone mentioned in “Eyes on You” are just normal people who were trying to find new ways to cope with what was happening in the world.
To me, the way she lays out each character and explains to you (in a simplistic way) what has changed or developed in their lives, is a pretty cool characteristic of the song. For every character she mentions both a positive and a negative that the character either experienced, created or survived.
Essentially, she is listing people who are trying to survive in a world that is chaotic but exciting at the same time.
It just shows you that everyone who crosses your path might come across as having it all together - “living their best life” - but behind closed doors our lives tell a different story.
It would be a crime for me to not advise you to listen to this album in order. That way you get to experience the setlist and her stories as it was intended.
So, dear reader, grab your headphones, escape to your favourite park or coffee shop and enjoy the show!
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