Brandi Carlile & Seattle Symphony: Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA 11/29/08

Playing recently with the Seattle Symphony at the acoustically perfect Benaroya Hall, Brandi Carlile showcased her significant talents and impressive catalog of music.  Backed by what was clearly a talented band (in particular, Seattle twins Tim & Phil Hanseroth, who provided lovely backing harmonies), Carlile led the audience through both old songs and new. 

The first set was comprised largely of Carlile and the Hanseroths, though Josh Neumann on cello also made brief appearances.  In that set, she played a mix of songs from both her eponymous debut, her sophomore album “The Story,” and a couple of new, as-yet unreleased songs.  She appeared relatively confident on the stage, a fact belied only by the obvious increase of confidence on display in her post-intermission set.  Indeed, despite any jitters, Carlile & the Hanseroths were bold enough to step beyond the mics and sing to what appeared to be a sold-out 2500-seat auditorium. 

The second set, following an intermission that Carlile noted was likely her first since playing bars years back, was where the group truly shown.  While the Seattle Symphony disappointingly did not play on every song, they did highlight seven pieces, including the audience sing-along “Turpentine,” a gorgeous work in its own right that was made more powerful by the full-audience, three-part harmony sing-along, accompanied by both Carlile & Co and the Symphony.  The arrangements were effective, easily complementing Carlile’s already-rich songs.  If one were to complain, it would be that the drum-set was over-miced (and this from a drummer), overpowering at times the delicate string section.

Three-quarters of the way through the second set, the pairing of Carlile and the Symphony hit a true high point on “The Story,” the lovely title track of Carlile’s second album.  At the end of the piece, in which the strings and oboe, in particular, were truly powerful complements to the rockers, the audience burst into a standing ovation; it was the first time this reviewer can recall an audience offering a standing ovation without the musician even threatening to leave the stage. 

The show ended (or nearly so) with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” the evocative piece perhaps most famously covered by the late Jeff Buckley.  Accompanied by the Seattle Symphony, the song was truly haunting, an amazing end to what had been an excellent show. 

One couldn’t help but leave wondering whether more popular musicians should be partnering with orchestras; the experience was truly memorable.

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