Imogen Heap
Live at Leeds Metropolitan University on Wednesday, 27th September 2006
Who is Imogen Heap? The place is certainly packed out with young, fashion conscious people, and there is a clear Perspex grand piano on stage. Intrigued I decide this could be different and stay to have a listen.
First up is young band Scott James, who have won a contest run by Imogen on MySpace to support her this evening. I like them, they are nervous and a few bum notes leak out but their songs are good, slow paced tracks with varying melodies and drum and vocal samples, not your usual crap from some newcomers on My Space (come on, you know what I mean. 'Friend request'? How sad does that sound?!). I wish the lads luck.
Nemo (no orange and white costumes, in fact nothing fish-related in sight) are 4 well-dressed men playing electro-pop/rock songs with great skill. Maybe too much skill actually, as the sound was like that of a pre-recorded session or CD, with no mistakes what so ever. Good for some, but I like the rawness of a live show, and the occasional fuck ups. I think their close links to The Might Boosh have helped them (they have appeared in a few shows). Their self-penned description has me confused too; "We are not men, we are Nemo". What, you are clown fish?
Leaving that well alone I move onto the intriguing Imogen Heap, and the plush stage set-up she has created. White rugs, trees and fairy lights; there are maximum girlie-style happenings a foot. The lady herself appears, a pretty, tall women wearing a corset and feathers (later she jokingly adds "Not the best way to stay cool onstage"). She mumbles a lot on stage and lets you know everything she is doing, but when she gets down to playing some music she has a damn good vocal range, even adding a few flares of yodelling in there. The ex-Frou Frou frontwoman became miffed at not being recognised for her talents beyond singing, such as music engineering, programming and producing, so the sister went and did it herself, successfully it looks and sounds like. The various songs tonight include piano solos, followed by sample-laden screaming electro pop songs, to layered vocal trickery using a vast array of uncomprehendable machines.
