Home » Music

Music

Kaitlyn Anderson Live at the Troubadour
Rocky Mountain Indie Rock
Just Passing Through: Mike Park

Kaitlyn Anderson Live at the Troubadour
By Mona Loring

AWhen people hear "Troubadour," visions of musical greats are bound to cross their minds. As a staple in Hollywood history, artists like Elton John, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Coldplay, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers have all graced the Troubadour's stage over the past 50 years. This could seem intimidating to a new artist in the heavily competitive Los Angeles music scene - but for Kaitlyn Anderson, she took the challenge, and dominated it. As a budding artist, Anderson owned the stage and sung her heart out at her show.

Anderson proved she could easily fill the headliners spot, drawing a bigger crowd than the artist to follow her, and leaving the crowd of fans begging for more, even after her encore. So what is it that makes Kaitlyn Anderson so likeable? Perhaps it is her undisputable charm, and engaging attitude, or her catchy, powerful songs. Not to mention, she writes her own music. The lyrics are very relatable as each song reflects on a breakup you assume Anderson painfully went through in the past. Anderson played a perfect show, mixing her original music with just the right cover songs that had the audience singing right along with her.

Anderson played the first single off her anticipated EP "A New Word for Over" (due out May 9, 2008) which is titled, "Unhappy." She followed up with catchy EP tracks titled, "So Much Better," "Pressure," "Walk Away," and "Paralyze Me." She was most impressive while singing her ballad "Walk Away," at times channeling the queen of power pop rock Kelly Clarkson, and the showstopper for the night from her original music was when she sang "Paralyze Me," which not only showcased her powerful vocals, but the musical talents of her band. This song is the closest that Anderson seems to get to the "hard rock genre," however, it shows that Anderson and her band have it in them to cross various genres of music, and that is what makes a talented musician.

The best part about Anderson's show is how she seemed to pay tribute to legendary bands that had played before her in her cover choices. No Doubt played their record release show in 1995 at the Troubadour for their smash hit release "Tragic Kingdom," and Anderson covered their popular song "I'm Just a Girl." She then went on to cover the song "Crush Crush Crush" by one of today's hottest bands, Paramore. Although the song is not as popular as some of the other options she may have had, and is fairly new, her pop rock-driven interpretation was equally as good, if not better, than the remarkable Hayley Williams version. The last cover she did was for her encore. She brilliantly chose "Sweet Child of Mine," originally recorded and performed by Guns N Roses, who played their debut show on the Troubadour stage in 1985. Not only did Anderson sound superb while singing this classic, it gave her lead guitarist the chance to shine, with ripping guitar solos that had the audience cheering. Gwen Stefani, Hayley Williams, and Axl Rose, all would have been proud by this pop rock Sweetheart's covers.

Anderson gave her audience their money's worth with her catchy songs, stellar covers, and charming personality. Not to mention, her band was phenomenal and complimented her vocals.

back to top