21 April 2008 Monday

Ingrid Michaelson at Lisner

Saw Ingrid Michaelson in concert the other day. Have to say, she comes across much better live than she does on her album tracks. On stage she has lots of personality, she’s very funny and friendly, and much more energy comes through her voice and the instruments/general sound than was captured in the album production. I like her songs a whole lot more now than before the concert.

Ari Hest and April Smith and the Great Picture Show also contributed great music to the evening, though I don’t think the sound quality of the venue was optimized for them (was solid for Ingrid, though..)

Free glow sticks (gosh those things are glowy up close) and free t-shirts were an odd but pleasant enough surprise. I’m still not sure that “Music Inspires Health” but I will agree that musicians, entertainers, and music-listeners can take responsibility for health and healthy messages.

Back to Ingrid’s music — the last few days have had “The Way I Am“ rolling on repeat in my head, as well as “The Hat” and “Overboard” and “Starting Now” (“My World” ;)

Ingrid opened with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song as a sing-along.. and kept the energy up throughout the show. She and Matt Nathanson must have been amazing on the same stage.
For her encore, she came out on stage without her band, and played a song that is not one of hers — “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” [e.g.]. I’m not sure a cover song is my ideal choice for an encore piece, but this is a beautiful song, and she played it slowly and seriously, and did it justice.