Sara bareilles sittin on the dock of the bay

вЂњLove Song,вЂќ her 2007 breakout, remains as catchy a pop song as the 21st century has produced, with its ideal blend of hooky coloratura and conversational lyrics. Of course, itвЂ™s her original material that had fans snapping up tickets for this solo tour in a matter of minutes, and Bareilles is no slouch in that department, either - even if her inspirational new single, вЂњBrave,вЂќ isnвЂ™t necessarily the one youвЂ™d choose to make the best case for her songwriting chops. If the judges on The Voice or Idol can fake surprised glee as they gush over run-of-the-mill talents, you can only imagine the looks on their faces if a youthful interpreter as skilled and soulful as Bareilles were ever put in front of them.

In-between, she did a mid-set cover of вЂњ( SittinвЂ™ on the) Dock of the BayвЂќ that brilliantly highlighted the songвЂ™s effusive lonesomeness. Bareilles kicked off the show with a medley combining her own вЂњLove on the RocksвЂќ with Elton JohnвЂ™s вЂњBennie and the Jets,вЂќ and closed it with a cover of вЂњGoodbye Yellow Brick RoadвЂќ so spine-tingling that - blasphemous as this might seem - it might eclipse any rendering of it that Elton himself has ever done.

Sara bareilles sittin on the dock of the bay