IMOGEN HEAP + Zoe Keating @ La Tulipe

By Fiona Mak & Tanya Nielsen - Airworks - 05/30/2006

British musical act Imogen Heap made it to Montreal for a memorable show at La Tulipe recently. The opener Zoe Keating (discovered by Imogen Heap through the internet) would loop and layer her cello-playing and sounds made from it. The final result would sound almost like it was a post-rock type of quartet or mini-orchestra. Keating's music strongly reminded me of what Owen Pallett's Final Fantasy does with his violin, except Pallett sings as well.

Former Frou Frou member Imogen Heap emerged onto the stage in a whimsical outfit including feathers in her puffy faux-hawk. She has a down-to-earth, laid-back but fun stage presence. The introduction of her "band" (pointing out all the sounds she can make with her keyboard, laptop and her electronic instruments) made the audience aware of how much she does up there by herself. Using the layering effect similar to Keating's, she started off the set with an acapella voice and clapping version of "Just For Now". It was refreshing from the produced version of her latest solo album Speak For Yourself on her own label Megaphonic Records. She then played the well-known song "Goodnight and Go", but it was a more lighthearted version than the studio one. I liked how Imogen Heap was quirky and not a perfectionist, taking mistakes that happened all in stride. I think her easy-going and fun attitude created an instant rapport with the captivated audience. She also played two older songs during her performance. One was of course the Frou Frou song "Let Go" from the Garden State soundtrack, which helped catapult her name internationally. That song was played acoustically with simply her voice and piano -- quite different from the original. The other older song was "Come Here Boy", from her pre-Frou Frou days.

Zoe Keating joined her for a few songs as well during Imogen Heap's performance and it added a nice variety to her playing, singing and dancing around. The only cover she did was the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah", which was a request shouted out by some audience members. Imogen Heap surprisingly and bravely sang quite a few songs acapella-style, including the cover. She definitely won us over with her engaging, creative and fun performance by the end of the night.

[Tune in to Airworks Mondays 1:30pm to 3:00pm]