An Evening With Ingrid Michaelson
I didn't know what to expect going into Saturday night's Ingrid Michaelson concert at Messiah College. I'd heard some of her music, but I wouldn't have even considered myself a casual fan. With that said, I consider myself one now. I can only remember my opinions on a band changing so drastically for the better after a live show once before (The Get Up Kids; awesome).
CHECK OUT JUSTIN’S PHOTOS FROM THE CONCERT ON FLICKR
My ticket called the show “An Evening With Ingrid Michaelson” and that’s exactly what it ended up being. Michaelson is indie-cute and her quirky and self deprecating personality ended up making the space between songs as engaging as the songs themselves. She laughed at her own jokes, told stories about throwing a bottle of water on some obnoxious guys while waiting to get on to the FDR, came up with some goofy free-style raps and flirted with “Nate” in the front row. Twice she stopped songs after the first few bars because she was laughing too hard to continue.
Her dorky-chic appeal is a major part of her live show, which when you think about it, provides an interesting contrast with most touring bands. When you watch Eddie Vedder stalk around on stage and kick the mic stand, he just looks cool, and that’s part of what makes Pearl Jam cool too. Michaelson acts like she isn’t cool — even though she would probably be a blast to hang out with — and it makes it feel like she’s actually just chilling with the audience and jamming. The Brubaker Auditorium is Messiah’s biggest concert venue, but it’s still intimate, and I wonder how Michaelson’s act would play in a bigger space.
The music was good too, though. Michaelson and her band opened with my favorite song of hers “Die Alone,” which ended up being one of the evening’s heavier songs musically. Plenty of her songs actually deal with heartache and sadness, a fact that she joked about during the show, but the set list never bogged down or felt too weighty. During certain softer songs it seemed like the audience was afraid to take a breath, which is a reflection of both her musical ability and her ability to keep the audience guessing. Michaelson seemed to be battling a scratchy throat, but her voice was still gorgeous, especially on her cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Sometimes when you go to a concert with very little prior knowledge about the artist or music, you end up feeling a little bit lost, but I never once felt that way on Saturday.
As always, I took some pictures. You can check them out on Flickr. On a related note, I’ve marveled at the quality of artists that Messiah College brings in for years. Last week, I visited the campus and sat down with Student Activities Board Director Jeff Rioux and B-Sides Concert Series Director Margeaux Monsour to ask them how they book the acts they do and a bunch of other interesting stuff. I’m going to post the interview as a Q&A tomorrow instead of Restaurant Round-Up, so be sure to check back then.
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