So, this past weekend I had the best fun. My week actually started with a "bang" this time. On Sunday, my friend and myself went to Humphrey's in San Diego to go listen to my favorite artist of all time, Imogen Heap. Now this was my first concert[yes, I know I don't get out much] that I have ever been to, and what better way to start ones concert experience than with the brilliant Imogen Heap? So anyways, we got there early, and we saw the tour busses outside, and at that moment, I had a thought that maybe after the concert we could wait by the bus for Immi to come out [I will get back to that later]. We waited outside for about 30 minutes, and while we were waiting, we could hear Imogen doing a sound check, which made me so antsy and jittery to see her! She sounded wonderful [as always], and I was so excited for the concert to start. When we were waiting outside, there were only about 30 people waiting with us, so when the curtains finally opened to let us in the venue, we made our way to the merchandise table with ease. Now I have wanted to get Imogen's t-shirt [the purple one with butterflies and her name on it] for quite some time, but I didn't want to pay shipping and handling, since I would have to buy it online, so when I saw that I could get it right at the concert w/o the S&H expenses, I was like "Right on!!" so I did. Also, Geese and Ben Christophers were selling their EP's, but I hadn't heard them prior to the day, so I left those there. So, my friend and I headed to our seats, and the ticket guy accidentaly placed us in row 11 when our tickets said row 12, so the usher lady was giving us a bit of fever when some other people came along with the same seat [different row] as my friend. It was only one row though, so no one was really upset or anything. Then we looked at the drink menu on the back of the chairs, because there was only one teensy weensy section on the back for non-alcoholic drinks, and the whole rest of the menu was alcoholic drinks, and I was like "hmmn that's funny," and then people started buying drinks[to stay warm I guess, because it was getting quite nippy by then]. The concert area is called Humphrey's By The Sea and it is literally, by the sea. When you enter the area where you are to be seated, the whole left side of the outdoor area is a bay filled[when I say filled, I mean packed to the max!] with sailboats and boats. All I could see was a field of the little poles that stick up off the top of boats. When it said "by the sea," they weren't lying! So we waited for the concert to start, and these girls named Airika and Carrie started to play at the beginning. They were the winners of the "Earth" contest that Imogen had set up, so that fans could audition via-Youtube to sing[or beatbox] this song with her in their city that she would be performing in. On the last leg of her tour, it was the cello part for her song "Aha!" which is also a really brillant peice of music. Anyways, Airika and Carrie sang [well Carrie beatboxed] and Airika had the cutest song about being a ladybug. We were sitting there getting cold, and we noticed off to the right by the hotel fountain, there was a little duckling following the mother duck. It was the cutest thing ever! It was funny because when I got home and read Imogen's tweets from Humphrey's, she had a twitpic of the duck and the duckling backstage! When she came back out later before Geese did, she said how when she went backstage afer Ben, she saw everyone kneeling down/squatting with their cameras and she was like "what?" and then she saw the ducks and made a joke saying "are ducks going to go up next or are Geese going to?" which was funny, because Geese was the name of one of the acts opening up for her. Anyways, Ben Christophers and Geese were very good. I loved their sound. It was very unique and beautiful. So after the opening acts, we waited semi-patiently for Imogen, and she comes out swinging this white plastic tube around, and it sounded so cool, and she went right into "The Walk" which is a cool song off of "Speak For Yourself." Then of course she chatted for a bit in-between. My favorite parts where when she had little jokes in-between the singing. She is really a funny person. The best joke came when she was talking about the charity that the proceeds from the improv would be donated to, and she chose the San Diego Zoo, specifically the California Condor. Now, when Immi does an improv, she has the audience choose a key, rhythmn, and words or phrase that she will improvise on. After the first two were chosen, the word of choice was "Bom Chicka Wah Wah" and Imogen was like "huh? Are you sure? That's strange...but ok" and then after she set up a few things, she went "Poor condors! They aren't going to get anything!" and I almost died laughing, becuase her wit just kept the audience alive so much! Haha not saying that if she hadn't said anything, we would be dead. We [mainly me, I can't say for everyone else, even though it seemed like it]
were in a trance-like state though, because Imogen is just amazing live. She sounds just like she doesn on the CD. She hits every run and high note perfectly! Or should I say "spot on!", as Imogen and the Brits like to say :-) And I was so glad that she played some of my favorite songs, such as "Come Here Boy", "Goodnight and Go", "Headlock", "Hide and Seek", "Breathe In", "Let Go", and "Little Bird". Imogen was so friendly and entertaining, and the best part was the ending! When she said she was singing her last song, I looked at my friend and made the fastest and best decision I have ever made in my life and said "do you want to go up to the stage?" and I barely waited for her to reply cause I was just like "I'M GOING!!" cause half of the die-hards like me were running up to the stage as she sang "Tidal". So when I went up there, I got the best pics , and even better ones when I turned the flash on [but the security guard look
pissed like I am not even playing] and took like 6 pictures cause the security guy looked scary :-P Imogen busted out her keytar and had a rad solo at the end and it was OH so much fun! After much audience prodding, we got her to sing "Hide and Seek" as the last song [she had to be out by 10:30] and that was beautiful, as always. And then at the end, she came by and sort of shook all of our hands from the stage [I made sure she got mine!!] and then she went back stage and it was over [sniff sniff tear]. My friend and I went back to the merchandise table and bought Ben Christophers and Geese's EP's, since they said it isn't sold anywhere else, and they did a stupendous job. We went to the bathroom and then looked for my mother, and when we were driving by the tour buses to leave, I was like "mom let's go stalk to tour bus like those people are doing! I bet they are going to meet her!" and she was like no, cause my brother had summer school the next day, and my mom had to work [dislike]. Remember how I said I had thought about that when we first arrived...and then only later when I get home I find out[well an hour later after the tweet was sent] that Imogen went out and signed the stuff for those fans standing outside of the tour bus. I was like "DANGIT!" but I [sadly, still am trying to] let it go, because I could have been sitting at home like my other friends, and who knows when an opportunity like this will come up again?? I had great great fun though, at the concert. Imogen's audience involvement was so much fun too! She had us split into 3 parts [which was very convenient, because the seating was split up into 3 parts] on "Just For Now" and had us each sing a variation of the "Just For Now" that you hear in 3 part harmony at the beginning of the song. She also had us sing a bit on "Hide and Seek" which was the "ransom notes keep falling out your mouth, mid sweet talk newspaper word cut outs". I had so much fun at this concert, and I will never forget this for the rest of my life! Imogen is amazing, and I hope that all her fans can have the chance to see her in person one day, because it will make them like her even more, and have a greater experience when they listen to her music! Now for some pictures!! :-)
Anyways, if you haven't listened to Imogen Heap before, you must! She is an amazing artist and person, and you can find a song of hers [spanning 3 solo albums, and Frou Frou's album] that matches your current state of emotion. It is wonderful! Anyways, time to go do something with my life!
xxxxLaurel
No comments:
Post a Comment