Concert: Michelle Branch

In my hiatus, I have had the pleasure of attending one concert: Michelle Branch. Thanks to my Twitter obsession, I was able to discover that she was playing locally. On short notice, my husband and I were still able to grab some good tickets.

I had all of Michelle's albums, as well as her work with The Wreckers. She was a staple on the radio during my late teens and early college years. I've even covered "Goodbye to You" a few times in recent years. Her stuff was always solid.

What I didn't bank on was how well her talent would transfer to the stage. Michelle has what is commonly referred to as "perfect pitch." The woman can't miss a note. Furthermore, that well-tuned instrument that is her voice is paired with passion and solid guitar playing. With a three piece band, Michelle filled the place with sound. During tracks like "Loud Music," everyone (young and old, male and female) couldn't help but sing along.

The best part of the whole show was seeing her personality come through. She KNEW her audience. She polled for requests on Twitter before the show, and played a special song for an audience member who flew in from Europe. She came across as accessible, and the end result was a touching performance set.

That being said, there was also something missing. Her impressive, award winning body of work from The Wreckers was nearly absent. Despite the cries from the audience for some of The Wrecker's hits, Michelle kept churning out stuff from her new album.

What this concert did provide was proof that Michelle is still at the top of her game, ten years after the release of The Spirit Room. It also gave the fans that taste of the best from Michelle's solo work. If you're willing to forget The Wreckers ever happened, then this might have been the best Michelle Branch concert ever.