Vanessa Carlton brings 'A Thousand Miles' to Rochester's Riverside Music Series

Jul. 28—ROCHESTER — While waiting for the headliner Vanessa Carlton to take the stage, the millennial Rochesterites Karin Wright and Scott Arendt were debating whether Carlton would perform "A Thousand Miles" at the start of her set or the end.

As they talked, they began singing a bit of Carlon's hit song while relaxing in the their chairs.

"Dah dah dah DAH DAH DAH dah ... and I still need you...," they chanted, mimicking the song's iconic piano riff.

Whether at the beginning or the end, both listeners were adamant Carlton would have to play the song the way they've been listening to it their whole lives.

"We want the original version," 30-year-old Arendt said. "Not a remix."

Carlton was playing Sunday evening at the Riverside Music Series. It's Rochester's annual run of concerts where listeners gather in the grass to watch musicians play in front of a portion of the Civic Center.

Despite having a career of more than 20 years, everyone was waiting to see how Carlton would entertain them with her hit that was featured on the movie "White Chicks."

As it turned out, Carlton didn't open with that song. Instead, she gave her audience insight into a number of other pieces from throughout her career. She told how her song "White Houses" was censored by MTV, and that she wrote most of her album "Liberman" while staring at a painting her grandfather made.

She also shared how she was dubbed "Ms. Vanilla" while working as a substitute teacher during the pandemic at her child's school.

"I don't know what he was referencing," Carlton said of the student who gave her the title. "Vanilla's a very complicated flavor."

True to the crowd's wishes, Carlton wrapped up the night with her 22-year-old hit song "A Thousand Miles."

"Her song is part of our childhood," Wright, 28, said. "That song is very profound in our lives."

Carlton's opener for the show was the Madison Parish Ensemble, which performed a slew of songs from the 1930s to the 1960s. Infused with a horn and an upright bass, their mix of blues and jazz wasn't exactly in sync with Carlton's 2000s pop.

Whereas Vanessa Carlton has become prime music for aging millennials to reminisce to while grocery shopping, The Madison Parish Ensemble probably transported the audience either to their latest elevator ride or a smoky jazz club.

The group's vocalist, LaSonya Natividad, gave a brief history of each of their selections, entertaining the audience with a voice worthy of the National Public Radio that she professed to be a fan of.

They ended their opening act with Louis Armstrong's iconic song about leaves of green, red roses, skies of blue and clouds of white.

"No matter what our differences are," Natividad said, "we do live in a wonderful world."