Fans made it clear that one of the reasons they came to see Leighton Meester at the Park West on Tuesday was their love of her acting: there were plenty of crowd shouts of “xoxo” and “Blair,” references to when she starred on the TV show “Gossip Girl,” and a call out to “sing ‘Summer Girl’,” a song she performed in the 2010 movie “Country Strong.” But onstage, Meester showcased that her latest role as singer-songwriter was a worthwhile addition to her repertoire.
Though Meester is touring on her 2014 debut album, “Heartstrings,” that release isn’t her first foray into the musical realm. Aside from her co-starring country-singing role in “Country Strong,” she also had a short stint performing pop songs. In 2009, while starring in CW’s popular “Gossip Girl” series, Meester released some poppy singles, including one with Robin Thicke, and she sang on Cobra Starship’s hit, “Good Girls Go Bad.” And while her voice worked decently for glossy pop, her performances in her videos at least didn’t seem to suit her. Despite releasing some singles, a pop album never materialized.
Armed with new material and a new approach at Park West, Meester appeared to have found a vibe that gelled and highlighted her range. She was backed by an adept five-piece band that included her album producer, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Trott. With a stripped-down style that eschewed the flashiness of her former pop days and TV and film characters in favor of a casual look and an acoustic guitar, she traversed her country-tinged, ’70s AM pop-tipped, folkish tunes in a set that barely scraped an hour. Meester’s sultry, vulnerable vocals were deeper and throatier live than on record during songs such as the gentle, melodic “Heartstrings,” the yearning “Sweet” and the upbeat “Good For One Thing,” which gave the material some added resonance.
Given that her album is only nine songs long, she and her band expanded the set with some covers, including endearing renditions of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and a flirty, strong and animated delivery of Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man).” The confidence displayed on the latter song was something Meester could’ve used a bit more of during the show. Curiously for an actress, she came off meek at times with her stage presence, but it was apparent she had the musical chops to overcome that.
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