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The Roxy, Los Angeles
02/08/2002 7:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Mari Fong
Kicking off her first national headlining tour at L.A.'s Roxy (an intimate setting that was the perfect up-close-and-personal venue for diehard fans still sporting acne and mouthfuls of braces), teen singer-songwriter Michelle Branch--whose debut album The Spirit Room recently went gold--had her young audience responding with deafening screams and devoted singing to her each and every song. Pausing between numbers to chat with her dedicated audience, Branch made the Roxy seem more a high school dance where she was playing for a group of close friends; upon hearing shouts of "Marry me, Michelle!" and "We love you!" from the crowd, she responded with embarrassed laughter, the natural reaction of an 18-year-old who has literally become an overnight star.
Although she's been singing all her life, Branch first picked up the guitar at the age of 14, wrote her first song the next day, and hit the club circuit a year later. Her February 8 set at the Roxy was reminiscent of those early days, as she performed solo and acoustically throughout; singing alone with guitar in hand is clearly the style that works best for Branch, as proved by her sweet but powerful voice on one of her most personal songs, the heartstring-tugging "Goodbye To You." In this setting, her natural talent and ease of her guitar playing could be heard at its finest.
In addition to this song, her breakout first single "Everywhere," and her newest single "All You Wanted" (which recently debuted on Total Request Live at a strong number six), Branch also sang a new song, "Standing On The Edge," and put together new renditions of favorites like "Here With Me," adding an upbeat guitar rhythm only heard during her live shows.
If Michelle Branch's solid live show is any indication, one can expect that this girl will be around for a long time, watching her fans go from acne-and-braces to adulthood and beyond.
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