Ingrid Michaelson at the Slowdown

To really understand this blog post, there's something you need to know about me:

I'm a girl guitar player.   

I love to jam out on my Taylor or Martin acoustics, and I've even been known to rock a Stratocaster on occasion.  I love to play, but I have this niggling insecurity about what that says for my femininity.  I mean, come on - wielding an "axe" is still pretty firmly guy territory, even though there are some amazing female guitar players and singer/song writers out there.  

Also - I love music.  I especially love watching talented performers in a live setting where I can see and hear them clearly.  Arenas are great, but I prefer more intimate venues for the most part.  (As my siblings know - checking out the gear and watching the guitar players' hands is half the fun for me.) 

Given that bit of background information, you'll understand why I so thoroughly enjoyed Ingrid Michaelson's show at the Slowdown on Friday night. 

The Slowdown is located at 14th and Mike Fahey Drive.  It's just a couple of blocks from the Qwest Center, although the two venues couldn't be more different.  No hockey games or Olympic trials will ever be held here.  But if it's music you love - the Slowdown lets you get up close and personal with the folks on stage.  (Wonder if that's why Ingrid Michaelson joked about us all being her best friends?  And talked about the kind of bra she was wearing...  You had to be there.) 

The show was sold out, but we still had no trouble finding a good place to stand.  We could have gotten closer by going down onto the floor, but - well, I guess the other thing you should know is that I'm short.  We stood on the second tier where we could see over all those tall people. 

Jason Reeves opened the show.  He did a great job, and I think we'll see a lot more of him in the next year or so.  He and Colbie Caillat have actually been friends for a long time.  I'm listening to songs from their shared MySpace page as I write this evening.

After Jason's set, I watched the techs set up for Ingrid Michaelson.  Then the band started coming out.

At this point, I overheard a conversation behind me.  It went something like this:

Girl A:  Where's Ingrid Michaelson?

Girl B:  She's right there!  (points to girl on the left)

Girl A:  Oh!  I didn't know!  (embarrassed laugh)

Me:  That's okay - I didn't know either.  (smiling to make her feel better)

Anybody get the joke yet? 

Ingrid Michaelson was not, in fact, on stage.  (Sorry, Girl B.  Bet you feel kinda silly now...)  When she did come out a moment later, I was confused.  I thought she was a piano player, but instead she picked up the ukelele.

I thought Curt Isaacson was the only one who could play an instrument like that and lead a band with presence and power, but Michaelson was amazing. 

Her band members were amazing, too.  I was especially impressed by the two girl guitar players with her.  They were so pretty and cute and undeniably feminine, and they completely rocked.  You don't see a girl wearing a little black dress and playing a Strat every day of the week!

 At one point in the show, they played "Chinese Fire Drill."  Every band member rotated to a new instrument in the middle of a song, and then they picked up the song from there.  It was awesome.

Michaelson herself ended up back at the drums.

And eventually, she played the piano.

Her band members kept changing instruments, too.  People like that just make me sick.  (With jealousy...)
 

Yes, that really is an accordian he's playing.  I'm finding that the right musicians can make any instrument sound cool.

Michaelson had us all laughing with her easygoing banter about everything from bras to Lady Gaga.  And she even taught us a little choreography. 

They also covered a song by a girl Michaelson predicted could become a big star someday - a young lady by the name of Britney Spears.  And the best part?  The whole band did this whole choreographed dance. 

She played "The Way I Am" three different times during the show, in three completely different ways.  One time was normal.  One time incorporated "Ice Ice Baby" and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song.  And the third time changed it from folky to rocking.  (Not my favorite version - but it made for an entertaining finale, and that was the point.)

It was a great night at the Slowdown.