Imogen Heap (concert review)

Imogen Heap
NorVa, 15 Nov 2006

     Last night, I went to the NorVa to see British singer-songwriter Imogen Heap perform. Now, I apologize for the hyperboles that will follow: Perhaps my perspective of her is skewed because I am a heterosexual male, but I was stunned by her performance. Her voice was far more magnificent live than canned in a studio, and her stage presence was charming and kinetic with a hint of endearing shyness.

     The opening act was Kid Beyond. A talented beat-boxer from the San Francisco Bay Area, he is beginning to receive recognition both from touring with artists like Keane and Sage Francis and having video clips of his performances circulate around the internet.
     For his show last night, he used loop sequencing software Ableton Live on a laptop controlled by a foot pedal. With this setup, he created complex arrangements assembled from diverse beat and effect loops with only his mouth to accompany his singing voice. The original compositions he performed like "Cathedral" sounded much like Thievery Corporation and Chemical Brothers. But clearly his best performance was on two cover songs he did, Nine Inch Nails's "Closer to God" and acclaimed British trip-hop group Portishead's "Wandering Star".

     Following a brief intermission, the lovely Imogen Heap appeared on the stage to enthusiastic cheers from the audience. In bohemian-chic rock style, her hair was chaotic as usual and she wore a leather corset/vest that defiantly contrasted with a soft fur scarf and a long silky skirt sporting lavender flowers trimmed with lace. She merged alluringly with the sensual lavender and rose colors of the stage backed by four circular screens that projected live video and film-school-esque dynamic artwork to complement the songs.

     Throughout her set, her verve was electrifying. It was evident she loved her music and loved to perform it in spite of her relentless touring this year in support of Speak For Yourself. She energetically scurried about the stage, from the keyboard to the loop sampler controller to the drum kit to the mbira (an instrument made of long, flat metal bars suspended over a small wooden resonator box). Whenever she got the chance, she spun around and danced to the music somehow not getting too breathless to sing.
     She sang sometimes solo, sometimes accompanied by equally enthusiastic musicians playing the upright bass, guitar, and drums. Either way, the songs were fascinating to watch and hear, whether just quiet piano and voice, or a full ensemble filling the club with lush climaxes. For the most part, the song arrangements coincided with their album counterparts, apart from subtle but fresh variations. Other songs had noticeable differences like "Closing In" which had an extended introduction that coalesced into an almost avant-garde classical soundscape of dissonant chords. Her best performance was on a gripping a cappella rendition of "Just For Now". Throughout the song, she looped live vocals to accompany the melody that was pleading, wistful and heartrending.
     Most of the other songs were from her latest album, but she did perform an acoustic version of her Frou Frou song "Let Go" accompanying herself on the piano. Towards the middle of the set, she announced she was about to play a song from her first album I Megaphone. She was surprised that some of us cheered. She folded her arms in mock disapproval, "I can't believe any of you have heard that album. It has been out of print for five or six years. There's no way you all got it legally." She added, "But, in fact, we just re-released it yesterday." With that announcement, she began to play "Candlelight" but stopped to the disappointment of the few people that recognized it. Instead, she decided to play the seductive "Come Here Boy" from the same album.

     She ended the set with an encore that extended to three songs. After the first, which was "Hide And Seek", she performed the lively "Daylight Robbery" supported by the full band again. The third and final song was "The Moment I Said It". Her voice and the piano drifted mysteriously above the silent audience until the sounds finally faded away along with the stage lights.

     One possibly could complain that Imogen's latest album has lost its exclusivity, whored to various television shows for background music and abducted by fashion-conscious sorority girls that could care less about her earlier projects. But one must see her live to realize first-hand that Imogen is still truthfully expressing herself through the music she plays. She deserves any fame or recognition she is getting, that is, as long as she declines any hypothetical offer from the greedy music television networks to star in some atrocious reality show.

     As a graying concert-goer exclaimed to me exiting the venue with his daughter, "This is like the pop music we had twenty years ago. She's actually talented."