Ingrid Michaelson
The Fillmore
Feb. 6, 2015
“I gave birth to this new song … kind of like a baby giraffe falling out of my musical vagina,” singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson told the crowd packed into the Fillmore on Friday night. “That’s some nice imagery you can take home with you.”
Kicking off with “Home,” the first song from her 2014 album Lights Out, Michaelson found plenty of time to share her witty humor between her pop-folk tunes as the majority-female audience sang along to every word. The only complaint may have been that the show was too short, as it wrapped up in less than an hour and 15 minutes.
To the crowd’s delight, Michaelson played a wide range of songs from her six studio albums, though perhaps fans wanted more than 16 songs, as energetic as the crowd was.
Usually performing with the help of a ukulele, Michaelson’s stunning vocal range was constantly in the spotlight. One minute she can sound sweet and sultry and the next it’s nearly operatic. “Giving Up” showcases a side of her voice that’s closer to yodeling with its pitch changes.
“I’m really good at writing songs that are …” A man in the audience interrupted Michaelson and yelled out, “Awesome!” She finished her sentence: “… sad songs that sound happy. People come up and tell me they played one of my songs at their wedding and I can only say, ‘Really?! Um, well, I hope that works out for you.'”
Michaelson had no trouble getting the crowd to join in on “Time Machine” and its “Run” chorus. But they also quieted down for an a capella version of “Warpath” at the end of the show.
Her solo ukulele performance of Radiohead’s “Creep” was simply outstanding in its sparse simplicity while “You and I” easily drew the night’s biggest singalong as Michaelson got help from opener Greg Holden.
Her 14-song set closed with recent hit single “Girls Chase Boys” before performing two songs to wrap up the night — “Warpath” and “Afterlife.” Michaelson also thanked all in attendance for their love and support over the years, which has given her the ability to play music for a living. If only all artists were always so humble and thankful.
Setlist
Home
Maybe
Giving Up
Time Machine
Do It Now
Wonderful Unknown
Ready To Lose
Creep
You and I
Be OK
How We Love
Parachute
The Way I Am
Girls Chase Boys
Encore
Warpath
Afterlife
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2015.
