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REVIEW: Imogen Heap @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 6/16/10)

17th Jun 10 (Thu) 2 comments

FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM

As many others, I got into Imogen Heap via her band Frou Frou‘s inclusion on the Garden State soundtrack. Their song “Let Go” was featured heavily in the Garden State trailer and movie. Thanks to Zach Braff, a love of all things Imogen Heap started to develop. A solid electronic-pop singer-songwriter in her own right before and after the Frou Frou debut Details, she took a longer break before her 2009 re-emergence, Ellipse. She needed some time away, and many times the much needed time away brings forth some great work. Ellipse is a solid album in both song catchiness and experimentation.

Her interest in experimentation spanned to her openers for this 6th leg of the North American tour… Geese is a stringed duo, backed by Imogen’s drummer. They started out slow and moving with high use of looping of their violins. Their 20 minute set only featured 3 songs, but it was quite captivating. It went from the aforementioned moving piece to a more spastic, experimental uproarious piece to a final piece that I’d describe as “noodley junkyard chic” with occasional drumming bombast. Being a fan of more experimental instrumental music, I was quite fond of their set. They also played with Imogen on a few of her songs that required strings (definitely “Little Bird” and a few others).

Ben Christophers came on shortly after Geese… he also played a fairly short set (and joined her on stage as part of her Ellipse band). Ben is a British singer-songwriter who focused mainly on the electric guitar with a voice in the higher registers. I found him similar to Sean Lennon mixed with the late falsetto/whispy singer Jeff Hanson. Ben played five songs for about 25 minutes… quite delightful, with a nice reference to Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.”

Imogen and her band started shortly after 9pm. First off, Imogen has an adorable stage presence. She is very unassuming, and even came out to introduce both openers. She told many stories in between songs, and carried on a nice dialogue with the audience. She really made a concert in a large concert hall seem like an intimate show in a smaller venue. The intimate setting was quite beautiful at times with the simple but sleek stage design. The center piece was a tree which worked in nicely with the light show, even appearing to be on fire or dancing in the wind at times (sorry, no photos of that, as press cameras were not allowed past the 3rd song).

Second, Imogen knows how to mix it up… she played rockier songs, mellower songs, songs from across her catalogue. Some favorite moments were “Let Go,” the dancing trees in “A-ha!,” the rocking out of “Goodbye and Go,” the loops and general excellence of “First Train Home,” and the gentleness of “Little Bird.” Oh, and the ’80s sunglasses and keytar used in “Tidal” was quite the throwback… it nicely showed off her silly, fun side.

Setlist: about 2 hours

The Walk
Swoon
Come Here Boy
Wait It Out
First Train Home
Little Bird
Canvas
Breathe In
Charity Improv
A-Ha!
Speeding Cars
Let Go
Just For Now
Goodnight and Go
Headlock
Tidal
The Moment I Said It
Hide and Seek

Half way through the set, she did the charity improvisation that is an important part of her tour this time around. Each city’s fans help her pick an important charity. The audience gets to recommend the key and melody starting point. Imogen records the song and it becomes available later for purchase. The charity improv song for Portland was for Eco Trust, whose mission is to “inspire fresh thinking that creates economic opportunity, social equity and environmental well-being.”

To get the Portland improv song to help out the charity, go to imogenheap.com/charity. To donate to the charity directly, click the banner below…

Imogen wrapped up her final two songs solo, bringing to a close a wonderful night of both danceable and gorgeous music. The only disappointment: there was no “Earth” with Portland-based chorus this time. All in all, a great show! Thank you, Immie!

Check out her latest album, Ellipse, or her forthcoming documentary DVD, Everything In Between: