Live Rewind: Jon McLaughlin & Sara Bareilles at The Great American Music Hall - 8.31.07

The first concert I attended that featured pianos rather than guitars was at the co-headlined Jon McLaughlin & Sara Bareilles tour at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on August 31, 2007. I discovered Jon McLaughlin by a music blog and quickly found his songs on his Myspace during the early spring of 2007. His intensely personal and heartfelt songs struck a chord with me during my abroad experience. At the times when I felt low and alone, his song "Human" put things into perspective. It is a special thing when a song is able to connect with a life experience and give it meaning. When I heard he was playing at The Fillmore during the spring, I was bummed to miss the show, but when I heard news of this co-headlining tour, I was thrilled to get the chance to see this young talent live.

The first-half of the concert was Jon's time to wow the crowd with his exceptional piano skills and emotive vocals. His first single "Beautiful Disaster" off his debut album Indiana is a touching piano ballad that showcases Jon's strength of offering an emotional, heart-tugging experience, aided with a powerful and yet simplistic chorus.

The Indiana native also played "Human", "Industry", "People", and a cover of The Beattles' "Hey Jude". Prior to his performance of "Human", I was extremely annoyed with how disrespectful some of the Sara Bareilles fans were. Even if they clearly were there for Sara, they should've kept their mouth shut because their noise tried to ruin the sense of intimacy the song called for.

That certainly didn't deter Jon from delivering an awesome performance, and he definitely showcased his skills on this one.

Jon plays a rousing "Hey Jude".

After a brief intermission, Sara Bareilles came on to roaring applause. She wore an emerald green dress and simply sat at the piano and started playing songs off her major label debut Little Voice. The Eureka, California native was "Miss Popular" throughout her set. A pocket of individuals even yelled out "UCLA" to grab her attention, since it was her alma mater.

Sara's first single "Love Song" is an upbeat ode to not giving in to her record company's demands that she write meaningless hits for the sake of love. I did not love her album the first time around. After a second listen and definitely seeing her live, I discovered her songs to be undeniably well-crafted and catchy.

Here is Sara in a breif clip during "Love Song":