Sara was the main act at this charity event put on by Kids Helping Kids - an organization run entirely by the Advanced Placement Economics class at San Marcos High School as part of their course of study.  The school's been doing it for the past 10 yrs, and it's grown from a small penny drive to this major event that netted them $131,000 - all of which goes to charity.  The students learn everything about putting on a major charity event - negotiating the prizes and artist appearances, publicity, securing the venue, logistics, etc.  Sara's the biggest artist they've gotten so far.

It was held at the Granada Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara, the main touristy part of down on the main drag lined with antique shops and restaurants.  It's a beautiful vintage theatre that looks like it was built back in the 1920s or '30s, and the students themed the event in that time period.  They were all dressed in tuxes and dresses from the era, they had a beautiful white limo from the '30s parked out front, and I'm assuming the school's jazz band playing out front. 

I parked in the garage in back and walked through the alley, all the while scanning the cars parked by the loading area to see if I could guess which car was Sara's (it's only 2 hrs from LA, so I imagined she probably drove herself up).  I saw one with a UCLA license plate frame, so I figured that was probably it.  I looked to see where people might wait to meet her after the show, but I debated whether or not I wanted to wait the 1-2 hrs I've heard you usually need to wait.  I went into the box office to get my ticket, and while I was there I asked the lady what the camera policy was.  She started to say no, but then one of the kids working the ticket counter said she'd heard yes, so the lady went backstage to talk to the house manager.  When she came back she said, "Well, that's really unusual, but he said that point-&-clicks are okay."

A large, animated crowd was gathered out front under the classic marquee that was all lit up.  People walked into the theatre down a red carpet lined with kids dressed to the nines thanking them for coming.  It looked like almost the entire audience was made up of high school kids and their parents, all dressed up nicely.  I felt a bit out of place in my jeans and t-shirt.  Sara and Tyrone Wells (the opening act, a local LA artist) each had a merch table set up, and I thought it was funny that these kids could get an "I love Sara f*cking Bareilles) shirt.

The theatre was beautiful, decorated much like other theatres of that era - a colorful themed mural above the proscenium (sp?), ornate carvings along the walls, stacks of small balconies towards the front.  The show felt very much like a big high-school theatre production.  The teenage crowd was loud and energetic, and they obviously knew the 2 guys who were MCing for the night.  The announcer said that photography was prohibited, so I debated whether to sneak photos or not.

The first person to perform was a girl who had won a talent contest at the school, and she performed one of her own songs on piano.  She sounded exactly like Sara, and was an outstanding piano-player.  I'm sure Sara loved her to death, since she's all about girl power. :)  I had heard Tyrone Wells at a few different shows I've been to over the years, but I was never too impressed; just wasn't my cup of tea.  This time, though, I was pleasantly surprised.  He was really good.  I don't know if he'd gotten better with experience or my tastes had changed.

After his set there was an intermission, followed by what seemed like a loooooong auction of delux vacation packages.  People in the audience who wanted to bid held up paddles that were painted with a design that resemble what vacation they were bidding on.  It really did seem like it took forever.  I don't get bored or impatient easily, but this was killing me!  When they finally introduced Sara, the high school's glee club (?) came out and sang "Kaleidoscope Heart" as her intro.  That was really cool.

It was a classic Sara show.  Nothing remarkable, but she was as good as she always is.  Phil wasn't there, and the band's setup was stripped down somewhat.  Javier only played acoustic.  Sara played what looked like a miniature piano - is that what they call a "baby grand"?  I don't know.  She had a beautiful backdrop of the Eiffel Tower (I guess to go along with the theme of 1930s France).  She remarked that she now wished she'd had that backdrop for her tour.  The teenage audience made the show; they were loud and enthusiastic.  Sara got ahold of one of the auction paddles and was joking around with it during the show.  "So the couples out there can take these home and use these later."  During "King of Anything's" clapping part, she smacked her own rear-end with it.  She had the audience in the palm of her hand.  They loved every minute of the show.  For half the show, everyone was standing and dancing.  She did "Beautiful Girl" solo on the uke, and with the whole band she did Beyonce's "Single Ladies".  I'd never heard that with the band before, and I thought it sounded really good - much better than the early youtube recording I have. :)  Of course she ended with "Gravity". 

I was way up in the balcony.  I saw that others were getting pictures, so I felt okay about doing it to.  It was hard to get decent shots, though, because of the distance and the angle, but I tried my best.