| Jan222008 | Ingrid Michaelson at Nectar Lounge |
The song finishes and the audience dutifully clap and cheer. She speaks softly into the microphone, “Ladies. I have a question.”
The applause dies down. “Allie doesn’t get this but I’m sure some of you do. You know when your body is really cold and you start warming up but… your butt stays cold for, like, the next two hours?” The women in the audience erupt into applause and laughter and that’s how the night continues: soft, girly vocals accompanied by a lone guitar and punctuated by silly, amicable banter.
Ingrid Michaelson (Photo credit: Deborah Lopez)
Ingrid Michaelson was a treat to watch. I’ve been crushing on her music for the past few months but seeing her in real life was so much fun because she shows this side that her music doesn’t reflect. Her songs are sweet, sensitive songs about various stages of relationships and on stage she’s like this bookish brunette with glasses, a big old coat and a knitted beanie. She speaks a hundred words a minute and she’s self-deprecating but witty and a little bit bitter.
The music was great of course. She played mostly songs from her Girls and Boys album but there were a few new ones and closed with a soulful cover of Can’t Help Falling in Love.
The venue, Nectar, was so-so. They decided to make it an “all ages” show even though it started at 9:30pm so all the alcohol was upstairs and the people downstairs bought… zero drinks. There was also a big mixing booth that really compromised visibility. It was also freakishly cold. Everyone kept their jackets on and the performers were all rugged up when they took the stage. I guess we were treated to seeing Ingrid remove a layer of clothing with each song (wink wink nudge nudge) but generally a sold-out venue should not make me cold.
On the plus side, it felt intimate enough; we could hear her just fine. Diana and I stood in the hallway that ran between the stage and the greenroom and we totally got to see her walk by right in front of us. But that’s not that special because she was selling CDs afterwards so you could probably get a pretty good look at her there and even make eye contact and stuff.
All in all, a great show for the price of $12. If you ask me, she’s not charging enough. She’ll be back again in April and I might just go.
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