Review: Mandy Moore made warm memories in McKees Rocks

MCKEES ROCKS − Pretend for a moment you didn't know Mandy Moore starred in NBC's Pittsburgh-set "This Is Us." And imagine you weren't aware of Moore's career beginnings, in the '90s, as a bubblegum pop star.

If you somehow had seen, heard and experienced Moore for the very first time Thursday, as she commanded the Roxian Theatre stage, you'd have sworn she long had been a seasoned folk-rock singer. So smooth and believable has been the artistic maturation of Moore, the soon-to-be mother of two, who charmed and delighted her McKees Rocks audience in a show two-and-a-half years in the making.

Well, actually it took many years more to reach that point, if you consider Moore had given up singing for a decade, before a "This Is Us" nudge put her back at the mic, paving the way for her triumphant summer tour, as she explained amid her 90-minute set.

Dressed in a lacy black dress with tan ankle boots and black headband, Moore started with "In Real Life," her month-old album's title track declaration of how true love stopped her from spinning her wheels and going through life's motions.

Then came time to address the western Pennsylvania crowd laden in anticipation.

"Oh, Pittsburgh, I made it!" she said with joy and relief, reminding the cheering crowd her spring 2020 tour was supposed to start in Pittsburgh, four days before COVID-19 canceled everything.

A lot changed since March 2020, "but we made it," she said, making the perseverance relatable to everyone, and promising this would be a night of long-awaited celebration for them, too. "We got you."

Since 2020, Moore gave birth to her son, Gus, and released two albums that have firmly taken her into the indie-folk realm, with elements of '70a California canyon rock and a light bit of country twang, drawing from collaborations with her husband, Taylor Goldsmith, and brother-in-law, Griffin Goldsmith, both of the folk-rock band Dawes.

With her hubby to her left − on electric guitar, acoustic guitar and foot pedals − Griffin at the drum kit, and her album producer Mike Viola to her right on additional guitars, Moore looked at ease on the Roxian stage. Early set songs included her breezy, adult pop single "When I Wasn't Watching," and the up-tempo, keys-driven rocker "Little Dreams".

Her actress instincts employed arm motions and serious, furrow-browed facial countenances to convey the emotions within her lyrics. Though periodic smiles that would warm the iciest of hearts reminded us Moore was exactly where she wanted to be.

The 38-year-old singer-actress talked frankly about giving up music for a decade because she had felt inadequate as an artist.

"Do people care ... do I care?" she recalled thinking, also remembering feeling embarrassed about the songs she sang − and the public scrutiny her actions elicited − when she first skyrocketed into stardom at age 15.

Think of the silly things you did when you were 15, she said, sparking smiles and knowing nods from the Roxian crowd while adding "mine were just a little more public."

Though she said a personal breakthrough came when she decided to stop apologizing for her 15-year-old self, because that teen girl is still part of her, and she loves her, "and she's the reason I'm here."

That adeptly set up "Fifteen," a ballad with light drum strokes and bendy electric guitar plucks from Viola, and the autobiographical musing "She thought she was making music/But she was only filling seats/No regrets, with a few exceptions/Every wrong turn was the right direction/Still a part of me/Still a part of me."

She prefaced "Extraordinary," a song released on her 23rd birthday, by joking how in radio interviews, deejays often mistook the song to be called "Extra Ordinary," which, of course, is the exact opposite meaning.

"Now I hear it all the time when I'm in CVS or Walgreen's," she said.

Her husband, Taylor, switched from acoustic to electric guitar for "Extraordinary" and "Save a Little For Yourself," where he added a few lengthy and ambient vocal harmony fills.

From the western twang-flavored "I'd Rather Lose," to the Lilith Fair worthy folk rock of "Heartlands," Moore sang solidly without getting excessively showy − a very accessible voice. She cut loose and delivered high-reaching range and power on the big ballad "Only Hope."

Her and Taylor, on acoustic, were alone on stage for "Every Light," a heart-tugging song she wrote in April 2020, about the family they were eager to start. Baby Gus arrived in February 2021, and now Moore is 6 months pregnant with their second child she matter-of-factly told her Pittsburgh fans who might have missed the good news that Moore announced June 7 on Instagram. Amid her band introductions, she described Taylor as "my baby daddy," to which he responded with a flourish of macho, metal guitar.

More in-check but emotional singing came with "Gardenia," which Moore recalled writing when her heart was "pulverized" by a breakup at age 21, now realizing many more ups and downs would happen.

Moore flipped the script with "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of The Week," a straight-up rocker with a side of empowerment.

"In Other Words" brought guitar jangle from Viola, and the only extended guitar solo − a good one − from Taylor Goldsmith. His brother, Griffin, never grabbed the spotlight but handled the sticks well. During "I Wanna Be With You," he mouthed the word "bop" in time with his crisp strokes.

For the encore, Moore treated fans to "Candy," her multi-platinum break-through single,. Powered by Griffin's drum beat, and stripped of its studio gloss, the live version went over well, convincing a smattering of fans to get up and dance. Many in the decisively female audience sang the final verse themselves.

With just one song left, Moore at last addressed "This Is Us," saluting fans from her "fictional hometown" of Pittsburgh.

"You've lived in my heart," Moore said. "I wish we could have filmed some stuff here because it's so beautiful."

Since "This Is Us" aired its final episode a month ago, it's been an emotional experience for Moore "saying goodbye to that and saying hello to whatever is next," she said.

The tour has given her something to focus on in that time, and she credited a "This Is Us" storyline for getting her back in a recording studio and singing again.

"It activated something in me that had been dormant for a long time," she said. "I have the show to thank for bringing that back into my life."

She introduced her last song of the night as a perfect encapsulation of "This Is Us," bringing out the feels with her ballad "The Forever Now," which her TV character sang in a final season episode. As she hit the final verse, she wiped away tears and with an apologetic wave to the Roxian audience, retreated backstage to regroup. The crowd's hearty applause said it all.

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Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Review: Mandy Moore made warm memories in McKees Rocks