Mandy Moore Park West Review
Thursday, September 27, 2007
By Aaron Keker
PARK WEST, Chicago – Last evening Mandy Moore played for a packed Park West in Chicago, Illinois.
The evening began with a solo acoustic performance by Chris Stills. The last song Chris sang, Mandy Moore and her entire band graced us with their presence.
She provided the background vocals and her band provided the background sound as Chris sang “When the Pain Dies Down” from the album Chris Stills. After the song concluded everyone left the stage with a loud ovation.
At about 8:15 p.m. Mandy Moore entered the stage with her band and opened with “Slummin’ in Paradise” from the album Wild Hope. After the song concluded she received a loud ovation.
Besides Mandy Moore’s performance she entertained the audience with her story telling. She told stories about her first promotional show for Wild Hope which was in Chicago on June 12, 2007. Another story was her being asked out on a date from the florist who delivered her flowers earlier in the day.
Her final entertaining story was how she is traveling in style in an actual tour bus and enjoys traveling with her band mates, however wishes another woman were on the tour bus with her. Rachael Yamagata was on tour with Mandy Moore up until her Chicago performance.
As you may know, she has graced the covers of Cosmopolitan and Elle Magazine as well as been in several Hollywood productions. Although, she has graced the covers and has been in several Hollywood productions, Mandy Moore is just more than just a pretty face. She is a female vocalist who can actually sing and even belt out a higher note or two in her music.
Not only can she belt out a higher note or two but also she has retooled her sound and has gotten away from the traditional stereotypical pop sound. If you are wondering what stereotypical pop sound I am referring too, I am talking about a certain female lip synching vocalist.
Mandy has a lot invested in her new album Wild Hope. She has co-authored all of the songs on the new album Wild Hope with musicians like Lori McKenna, Rachael Yamagata and The Weepies. Not only has Mandy co-authored all of the songs on Wild Hope but also she is learning to play guitar.
Hopefully, in the future we will see her playing an acoustic guitar and playing a little guitar solo in one of her songs. Maybe she will play guitar solo on “Can’t You Just Adore Her?” from the album Wild Hope?
Besides Mandy Moore performing “Can’t You Just Adore Her?,” Mandy and her band performed additional hit songs new and old. She performed other hit songs like “All Good Things,” “Extraordinary,” “Few Days Down” and “Gardenia” from her new album Wild Hope. Mandy performed a duet with Chris Stills on “Candy” from the album So Real. As “Candy” concluded Mandy Moore thanked and blew a kiss to the audience.
If you are unfamiliar with Mandy Moore as a singer visit her website at www.mandymoore.com or her MySpace page at www.myspace.com/mandymoore. There you can listen to her music and check out her tour dates. If it turns out you really enjoy her music, I would encourage you to purchase her albums at iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody or any store that sells her music. Not only would I encourage you to purchase her albums but also you should watch her perform live because she is very entertaining and a very good female vocalist.
Finally, I looking forward to providing future coverage of Mandy Moore whether it is an interview or watching another one of her live performances. Maybe she will play Latest Mistake from the album Wild Hope? I wish her the best and hope that Wild Hope becomes her most popular critically acclaimed album yet. Below is the set list from Chicago.
Chicago Set List:
- “Slummin’ in Paradise”
- “All Good Things”
- “Looking Forward to Looking Back”
- “Moonshadow”
- “Ladies Choice”
- “Wild Hope”
- “Babies on My Foot”
- “Extraordinary”
- “Help Me”
- “Few Days Down”
- “Can’t You Just Adore Her?”
- “Nothing that You Are”
- “Gardenia”
- “Umbrella”
- “Candy”
