Mandy Moore: Highline Ballroom in NYC
June 3rd, 2009 by JayveeLast night, Mandy Moore played a special acoustic set at the Highline Ballroom here in NYC in support of her new album release Amanda Leigh. Full disclosure: I am not and have never been a Mandy Moore fan. In fact, the only song I know from Mandy is “Candy.” (um, is that dating myself much?) But last night, I left the show with a new respect for Mandy’s growth as a musician.
Backed by only a guitar and piano, Moore crooned her way through all 11 songs from Amanda Leigh pausing only briefly to (minimally) interact with the audience. While the crowd clearly wanted more banter, Moore was set on delivering a strong vocal performance and showcase her new sound. I have to say, the acoustic instrumentation of last night’s performance paired with Moore’s throwback vocals suit her just fine – I much prefer her unplugged.
While the tunes are catchy, there wasn’t much diversity in sound. At times, I found myself wondering if she started a new song or if I was caught up mid number. Either way, I was impressed with Moore’s ability to break away from the “pop” persona and shift to a more folk-rock sound.
The crowd favorite was the lead single “I Could Break Your Heart,” especially after Moore confided that she has to work “very hard” to sell this image since she doesn’t see herself as “a heartbreaker.” This confession prompted the audience to adorn the songstress with “I love yous,” which she shyly returned.
Be sure to check out pictures from the performance here as well as clips of “I Could Break Your Heart” and “Fern Dell” below.
Tags: acoustic performance, amanda leigh, best buy promotion, candy, fern dell, highline ballroom, i could break your heart, mandy moore, nyc
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hey – I was there too! Guessing from the videos you were the guy in front of me that was asked to stop filming
. I put all my videos up at youtube.com/styleitonline
She actually didn’t perform all 11 songs – she left my fave from the album out, “Everblue”, which she replaced with “Wild Hope”. I find this very curious.
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 am
Hey Sarah, your videos look great! Actually, I didn’t have any problem filming. Perhaps you were too close to the front, I was off to the side. There were tons of folks filming it seemed!
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
OMG Mandy was so amazing! What a great show, and way to stick to her plan. I do love that she played Wild Hope, turning it more into a slower folksy song also. Great night Mandy! We’re so proud!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm
[...] Round Table has a couple of videos online so you can watch it [...]
June 4th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I’ve only heard good things about that show!