Our most meaningful showcase to date, #afterthebreak…
The Troubadour Presents:
Sara Bareilles: A Benefit For All Hands Volunteers
03/17/2012
(All Pictures & Videos taken with the Canon Powershot S100)
(re-edited: 11/11/2023)
I had the privilege to experience the majestic beauty of Japan almost three years ago, before this disaster struck their shores. At that time, it had always been my dream to visit because I loved everything about their culture since my childhood. Even to this day, my walls are covered in anime posters. Very nerdy for this 28 year old, I know but I’ve accepted it. Now, after my trip, have a deeper meaning for all those childish items because I have walked in their lands, met their people, and share moments. Means more than any word could express.
Working in news, I have covered major tragedies. It’s almost comical how much I feel like slow non-sweep days are merely filler before the next tragedy befalls this world. Then we cover it for a flash, put it to bed, and move onto the next tragedy. That’s the news industry though. It sells papers / ads. Always has, always will. No way to change it, which is sad. And I remember covering that horrific Tsunami. My friend was about to book his trip to Japan, and the next day the reports started to roll in. Made for a crazy day. It only made a handful of pieces in our show, and all the work we did showcased ever aspect perfectly. Thing was, what everyone wanted to see was the amateur footage. Amazingly heartbreaking images and cries that weaved impact of nature’s unrelenting hand. That’s the power of our youtube generation. We have eyes on everything. “Big Brother” would be proud.
However, since then, hadn’t heard much from Japan or the relief effort. Then I got my weekly email from The Troubadour (my home away from home) back in January, regarding this special benefit presentation & concert for Hands.org hosted by Sara Bareilles.
The night would feature Sara Bareilles‘ short documentary — “A Trace of The Sun: Volunteering in Japan” — and concert showcase at a venue where she got her start before “Love Song” capitulated her to pop stardom. Fond it fitting she chose this same venue to premiere her first documentary to the public. Happy she did. It was a bit of a homecoming and she looked so happy and touched…despite her feeling under the weather. It wasn’t going to effect her, especially witnessing that December Palladium Show with no voice. We were in for amazing event, on St. Patrick’s Day.
After a quick welcome and introduction, Sara and Hands.org’s Marc Young (Director of Volunteers) premiered “A Trace of The Sun” to the sold out crowd.
The film depicts Sara Bareilles first ever trip to Japan, following her from Tokyo to Ofunato — one of the cities crippled by the tsunami. 2/3rds of the film chronicles Sara and her band mates as they spend three days working in the rain, crevasses, mud, rubble apart of Hands.org to bring helpful aid to Japan. Seeing the team doing small things like breaking down houses to cleaning gutters is a humbling one indeed, showcasing anyone in our world can and should be doing the same thing.
I loved two things about the film.
The first was the soundtrack, the way Sara weaves her brilliant songs into the story makes the short film feel like a music video…enhances the ghostly scenes through music. Surprisingly, there was a brand new Bareilles track featured in the film. Credits title it as “Be Alright” and from the snippets it sounds like autobiographical song of her experience. Look forward to the full version whenever it drops.
Secondly, loved hearing their thoughts and stories of what they found as they were cleaning out the gutters like books, toys, personal items, etc. It gave such weight. If they wanted to expand on the film, then more personal stories from the Japanese would be needed. You get a lot from Sara, as she tries to convey how heart-wrenching it is for the Japanese right now.
In the end, the film encompasses how easy it is to volunteer and how grave the situation is. If I wasn’t in my present social situation, would’ve signed up, packed up my shit, and left to assist. Really would have. Clean-up will not be finished this year. It will take way longer and that’s the message the film leaves you with. The destruction is such overwhelming and Japan needs are helpful hands.
If any of this peaks your interest, please watch the film and if you feel empowered to join, please do. Such a wonderful organization and great cause to fight for. All you need to do is sacrifice your time.
To learn more about the film (A Trace of the Sun) or to assist please visit:
http://www.sarabmusic.com/
http://hands.org/
There wasn’t much downtime between the film and concert. Roughly like 10 mins. Sara came down and performed the appropriate “Let The Rain” by herself on guitar, seeing how it was heavily featured in the film and last night it was pouring rain here in Los Angeles. Afterwards, the rest of the band came down and they played all her popular songs ranging from “Uncharted“, “Love Song“, “King of Anything“, “Gonna Get Over You“, even a little bit of “Love on the Rocks” per requested by us. The standout track, because it was St. Paddy’s Day and thinking green, was her cover of “Rainbow Connection” on guitar. It caught everyone by surprise, and was brilliant.
Unlike the Palladium, the performer / audience communication was one of the best I had the privilege to witnesse. She even took questions from the audience, which people abused but she didn’t seem to mind. The whole evening was for a good cause, and got the feeling she was feeding off our sort of drunken energy. Overall, lots of fun and the sound mixing was just perfect. No ringing ears this morning.
Her final encore was Gravity, acapella. We were told not to record anything, but I couldn’t resist. It’s my favorite song. If you watch the video below, listen closely…it is so quiet in the troubadour that you could hear a pin drop.
This was my first concert with my new Canon Powershot S100, which is like the Ferrari of point and shoot cameras. Trust me, after last night, couldn’t agree more. Normally, taking pictures at the Troubadour is a rough battle. Lots of bad lights, weird angles, and everything turns out fuzzy. Not much a person can do. Whatever magic is powering my little new friend it needs to transition into every camera on the market. I stood in the back of the room and got pictures better than my nikon. Imagine if I was a few inches closer…wizard. Didn’t have to color correct any of the pictures either. That’s how it looked. Simply stunning, huh?
Another standout showcase. Thanks for reading my poorly written words, and check back on March 23rd when we debut “A Trace of the Sun” for you all. Enjoy the photos!
==Photo Selects==
(All Pictures & Videos taken with the Canon Powershot S100)
