Mandy Moore Park West Review
Tuesday, June 13, 2007
By John Gonzales
(Guest Reviewer)
PARK WEST, Chicago – Last night I finally got the opportunity to see Mandy Moore perform live at a sold out Park West in Chicago, Illinois.
She has performed several promotional concerts, with Chicago being one of them, for her new album, Wild Hope. Mandy Moore will be returning for a longer tour in August 2007.
I was extremely impressed and content with the transformation she has made from her teen pop to a more mature adult alternative setting. Mandy Moore has changed for the better and I anticipate that Wild Hope will be her breakout album.
The show did not start till scheduled time but it was worth the wait. I waited in line and was shocked that there was a mix of Mandy Moore fans from teens to 30 something’s. It made me more comfortable because I was wondering whether I would be the oldest guy in the crowd. As we waited in line outside everyone heard Mandy Moore perform her sound check and it made us even more excited!
Park West was definitely the right venue for Mandy Moore because it has a nice casual setting with dinner tables and chairs for everyone to casually relax at. Also, it was the first opportunity I ever received to sit down and relax in the reserved seating booth with my Scotch.
The moment the band entered the stage I noticed that they had changed their appearance. They were dressed in black sport jackets and Mandy Moore looked stunningly pretty and was dressed beautifully in black. She sung her heart out with good catchy songs that I know will soon be airing on your local television and radio stations.
The young adult fans of Mandy Moore enjoyed it just as much and were quite unfamiliar as I was with all of the new songs besides the ones she’s been posting up on MySpace, www.myspace.com/mandymoore, and her website www.mandymoore.com. That evening I anticipated purchasing her new album. However, it turns out like the rest of the country that I would have to wait until the following Tuesday’s release date.
She sang the majority of her songs from her new album Wild Hope. I really enjoyed the rhythm and her voice of “Extraordinary,” “All Good Things,” “Wild Hope,” “Few Days Down” and “Latest Mistake” from the album Wild Hope and “Moon Shadow” from the album Coverage.
From listening to her lyrics, her songs portray a lot of her lifetime encounters. It is one of the reasons why I listen to music at times and makes me enjoy listening to certain artists because it reminds us about our good times or bad.
My favorite song and I believe the audience’s favorite was “Gardenia” from the album Wild Hope. After the song concluded, there was a loud ovation. If you see a beautiful girl sing a slow song like “Gardenia” along with a piano it just might win your heart.
Mandy Moore closed her performance with one of her older popular songs, “Candy” from the album So Real. The entire audience was very excited to hear it. Unfortunately, she forgot the lyrics because it has been such a long time since she toured. So, she had to cheat by reading the lyrics thru her blackberry.
If you are looking to listen to more of a mature Mandy Moore then you should definitely watch her performance next time she is in your city. In fact, Wild Hope is her best album yet. If you are looking to listen to good songs with a rhythm then you will want to listen to “All Good Things,” “Wild Hope,” “Few Days Down” and “Extraordinary” from the album Wild Hope. Make sure you purchase her album when it is released on June 19, 2007 either on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster or any store that sells music. I am very excited about purchasing Wild Hope next Tuesday.
Finally, I definitely cannot wait to see her performance again. Hopefully, next time Mandy Moore will play older songs like “I Wanna Be With You,” “Cry” and “Crush” from the album Mandy Moore.
