I saw Imogen Heap perform in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. The venue was the Variety Playhouse. I haven't been there since I went with my buddy D. some 12 years ago to see Sarah McLachlan on the Fumbling Towards Ecstacy tour. It hasn't changed much.
The venue is relatively small--seating exactly 681 people according the fire marshall. This is nice because it means that there isn't really a bad seat in the house.
Zoe Keating opened for Imogen. Zoe is a solo cellist, making use of some modern effects processors. She relied very heavily on a looping machine. She would play something, which would be recorded by the looping machine and replayed over and over. Then she would harmonize against that, slowly building a whole piece of music. It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't really work that well. As you listen, you find yourself waiting for her to have built the actual music so you can enjoy it. She had some interesting musical ideas, but the over-reliance on looping detracted from my ability to enjoy it.
Enter Imogen Heap. First of all, the woman is just downright beautiful. Even through the big-wild hair and crazy make-up and loud clothing, you can tell that there's a beautiful woman on stage. I was a little concerned about going to see her live because she is just a solo performer--and worse she's a solo performer playing as a whole band. I was worried that she would be stuck behind her keyboards and it would be difficult to enjoy the show. Boy was I wrong!
She started the show with an a-cappella version of "Just for Now." Imogen uses a lot of the same looping technology that Zoe Keating did, but in Imogen's hands it never felt contrived. Each pass through the loop enhanced what was already a nice piece of music to start with. Zoe illustrated what the technique was. Imogen illustrated what could be done with it in the hands of a master.
The arrangements to many of the songs she performed were quite different than what you hear on her albums. It's clear that the arrangements were designed with the live show in mind. Imogen would play for a bit, building something that could then be allowed to play on its own for a minute--then she would grab the mic and dance out from behind the keyboards, crooning and wailing where appropriate. I was impressed with how vibrant and active she was on stage--at how this one woman commanded your attention for a full 2 hours. I was shocked at how loud the music was, and at how hard it rocked.
Imogen Heap is a wonderful song-writer and musician in her own right, but that doesn't always translate into a good performer. She is a masterful performer. If you get the chance to see her live, don't miss it. She is amazing.
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