IMOGEN HEAP makes solo live music cool again!

I saw IMOGEN HEAP last weekend at The Guvernment in Toronto and although I was feeling a bit uninterested in going as it approached, boy I'm glad I did. She redeems live music by showing that though without a band and only a Macintosh computer, keyboard and looping machine, singing solo can be an ultimately creative endeavour too, even without the hoopala.

She began with "Just For Now" in front of a mic, recording her impeccable vocals layer upon layer, adding new elements every 8 bars or so. The result was a fantasmagoric experience of rippling sensations. Of course, later came most tracks from her most recent solo album, Speak For Yourself and a few gems like the cover of "Hallelujia" from the O.C. With each song, came new backing sounds eminating from the Apple and beautified piano, all with their own energy. Even the anticipated and much requested, "Hide and Seek", kept largely close to the album version, was mesmerizing by splitting her voice into different keys using a shoulder-harnessed keyboard. To top it off was her approachable manner and even a burp in the middle of the above-mentioned single, which for anyone else would have destroyed the ambience, but a laugh and witty comment later, it provided humanism to what was very computerized.

The only complaint was the sound volume of her mic during the inbetween rambles, which were pretty much inaudible to anyone standing not in the closest section to the stage. Of course, when people shouted "Talk louder", she replied, "I'll talk more loudly, but in Japanese." Otherwise, an admirable A for this excellent performance!

More Clips from Toronto @ the Guvernment / Kool Haus
Headlock
Goodnight & Go
Speeding Cars
Let Go