Sara Bareilles - Live at The McKittrick Hotel

We've become quite acclimated to the traditional New York City rock club venue; all of which have their own alluring identity, whether it's neighborhood proximity or musical history. But in reality, they're mirror images of one another: towering balconies where a spot at the railing is sought after real estate. Recently, we escaped the normal settings for a one-of-a-kind performance by recent New York migrant Sara Bareilles, who took charge of the piano behind the eerie haze of the Manderley Bar at The McKittrick Hotel following the spectral Sleep No More theatrics.

Sarah, who earlier in the evening suited up to live out her own personal dream of participating in the otherworldly theater performance (she was dressed as a nurse), welcomed a packed lounge with songs off her latest album, The Blessed Unrest, including the fervent hit "Brave" as well as the poignant "Manhattan". We're thrilled to be sharing this rare concert experience with you all.

Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see
you be brave
switching of the gears, but just fuckin' drink more and have a good time.
No words my tears won't make any room
for more And it don't hurt like anything I've ever felt before, This is no
broken heart, No familiar scars, This territory goes uncharted... Just
me, in a room sunk down in a house in a town, and I Don't breathe, no I never
meant to let it get away from me Now, I've too much to hold, everybody has to
get their hands on gold, And I want uncharted. Stuck under the ceiling I
made, I can't help but feeling...I'm going down, Follow if you want, I
won't just hang around, Like you'll show me where to go, I'm already out
of foolproof ideas so don't ask me how
To get started, it's all uncharted...
Each day, I'm countin' up the minutes, till I get alone, 'cause I can't stay
In the middle of it all, it's nobody's fault, but I'm So low, never knew how
much I didn't know,Oh, everything is uncharted. I know I'm getting nowhere
when I only sit and stare like... I'm going down, Follow if you want, I
won't just hang around, Like you'll show me where to go, I'm already out
of fool proof ideas so don't ask me how To get started, it's all uncharted.
Jump start my kaleidoscope heart Love to watch the colors fadeThey may not
make sense But they sure as hell made me. I won't go as a passenger, no
Waiting for the road to be laid Though I may be going down, I'm taking flame
over burning out Compare where you are to where you want to be and you'll get
nowhere I'm going down, Follow if you want, I won't just hang around,
Like you'll show me where to go, I'm already out of fool proof ideas so don't
ask me how To get started. Oh-h
I'm going down, Follow if you want,
I won't just hang around, Like you'll show me where to go, I'm already out
of fool proof ideas so don't ask me how To get started, Oh-h-h ...Yea- Yea-
Yeah, Show me where to go, Haaa- ...Yea- Yea- Yeah No words, my tears
won't make a room ...
- Thank you.
Okay, just to continue the tone change, I' gonna go with this one.
- Which oddly enough, they were trying to work this in to the soundtrack for tonight's show ... ... and they were like, do we do it at the hanging? Orrr-, ... and I ultimately I pulled executive on that.
I was like, you guys, that's just not right for the show, ... - I'll do it after.
Head under water
And they tell me to breathe easy for a
while The breathing gets harder, even I know that Made room for me but it's
too soon to see If I'm happy in your hands I'm unusually hard to hold on to
Blank stares at blank pages No easy way to say this You mean well,
but you make this hard on me I'm not gonna write you a love song cause you
asked for it cause you need one, you see I'm not gonna write you a love
song cause you tell me it's make or break in this If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay If all you have is leaving I'm a need a better
reason to write you a love song today I learned the hard way That they all
say things you wanna hear And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and your
twisted words, our help just hurts
You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry Convinced me to please you Made me think that I need
this too I'm trying to let you hear me as I am, I'm not gonna write you a love
song cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see I'm not
gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or break in this If
you're on your way I'm not gonna write you to stay If all you have is leaving
I'ma need a better reason to write you a love song today Promise me that you'll
leave the light on To help me see with daylight, my guide, gone 'cause I
believe there's a way you can love me Because I say I won't write you a love
song 'cause you asked for it 'cause you need one, you see I'm not
gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me it's make or break in this Is
that why you wanted a love song? 'cause you asked for it 'cause you
need one, you see I'm not gonna write you a love song 'cause you tell me
it's make or break in this If you're on your way I'm not gonna write you to
stay If your heart is nowhere in i I don't want it for a minute Babe,
I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that there's reason to write you a love
song today
Let the bough break, let it come down crashing Let the sun fade out to a
dark sky I can't say I'd even notice it was absent Cause I could live by
the light in your eyes I'll unfold before you What I've strung together
The very first words Of a life long love letter Tell the world that we
finally got it all right I choose you I will become yours and you will
become mine I choose you I choose you There was a time when I would have
believed them If they told me you could not come true Just love's
illusion But then you found me and everything changed And I believe in
something again My whole heart Will be yours forever This is a
beautiful start To a lifelong love letter Tell the world that we finally
got it all right I choose you I will become yours and you will become mine
I choose you I choose you We are not perfect We'll learn from our
mistakes And as long as it takes I will prove my love to you I am not
scared of the elements I am under-prepared, but I am willing And
even better I get to be the other half of you Tell the world that we finally
got it all right I choose you Yeah I will become yours and you will
become mine I choose you I choose ... I choose you
- This one's called Brave.
You can be amazing You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug You can
be the outcast Or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love Or you can
start speaking up Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do When they
settle 'neath your skin Kept on the inside and no sunlight Sometimes a
shadow wins But I wonder what would happen if you Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave With what you
want to say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave
I just want to see you I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I
wanna see you be brave I just wanna see you I just wanna see you I
wanna see you be brave Everybody's been there, Everybody's been stared
down by the enemy Fallen for the fear And done some disappearing, Bow
down to the mighty Don't run, just stop holding your tongue Maybe there's
a way out of the cage where you live Maybe one of these days you can let the
light in Show me how big your brave is Say what you wanna say And let the
words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave With what you want to say
And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see you be brave And
since your history of silence Won't do you any good, Did you think it would?
Let your words be anything but empty
Why don't you tell them the truth?
Say what you wanna say And let the words fall out Honestly I wanna see
you be brave With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave I wanna see you be brave See you be
brave I wanna see you be brave wanna see you I just wanna see you
I just wanna see you I wanna see you be brave
- Thanks, thanks guys.
We're gonna do a song about-, about this beautiful city, Manhattan You can have Manhattan I know it's for the best I'll gather up the
avenues And leave them on your doorstep And I'll tip toe away you won't have to
say You heard me leave You can have Manhatta I know it's what you want The
bustle and the buildings The weather in the fall And I'll bow out place To save
you some space For somebody new You can have Manhattan Cause I can't have you
Ahhhhh You can have Manhattan The one we used to share The one where we were
laughing And drunk on just being there Hang on to the reverie Could you do that
for me Cause I'm just too sad to You can have Manhattan Cause can't have you And
so it goes One foot after the other Til black and white begin to color in And I
know That holding us in place Is simply fear of what's already changed You can
have Manhattan I'll settle for the beach And sunsets facing westward With sand
beneath my feet And I'll wish this away Just missing the days When I was one half
of two You can have Manhattan Cause I can't have you
- Thank you, thank you.

I am sitting down to write my bio for the third time and I'm trying to think of what to say that you can't find on Wikipedia. There are lots of little facts and tidbits about my life and career that I'm sure can be summed up in a one-sheet, but that's not the kind of thing I feel like I want to be writing.

The Blessed Unrest is my third full-length release, recorded over the last 6 months and mostly written within the past year of my life. Last year was a transformative year for me personally, and I'm currently reeling from and reveling in the new. Among many life changes, I am a brand new resident of New York City. Most of this record was written and recorded here, which I believe has informed its sound in a most profound way. I felt the need to embrace the expansion and energy of the city, both literally and figuratively. That ended up being reflected within my songs as well as the process of recording them. Not only did I want to write about broader themes, I wanted to articulate those with production choices that helped both myself as an artist and the songs stretch.

With the help of my producing partners, John O'Mahony (Metric, Coldplay), and Kurt Uenala (Depeche Mode), I co-produced more than half of this record and I'm very proud of that. In addition to the production here in New York, I was able to work with Mark Endert (Maroon 5, Fiona Apple) and Eric Rosse (Tori Amos, Sara Bareillesthat's me) to complete the record.

While writing for The Blessed Unrest, I found myself to be open to the idea of collaboration for the first time in my life. Other than one song off my first record written with my band mate Javier Dunn, I have always hated co-writing. Back in September of 2012, a friend introduced me to Jack Antonoff from the band fun. and I suddenly realized how easy and inspiring co-writing can be. Our very first session produced the song "Brave" which would then become the lead single off this body of work and a song I am infinitely proud of. That session sparked a string of amazing communions with other wonderful collaborators, and I have ended up with a collection of songs that feel as much like me as anything I've ever done.

This record makes me feel vulnerable and exposed, and it feels right. I am consciously taking risks and feeling myself develop as an artist and a human being. The Blessed Unrest is a reflection of the driving forces that have moved me from one stage of my life to the next, and I am grateful for the divine dissatisfaction that keeps me marching on.