There’s a special way that the light hits the trees at The Greek. Green light cast off from the stage bathes the trees in a verdant glow, and under the fog drenched sky at Imogen Heap’s final show on the Mycelia tour, the effect was particularly dazzling. This light may not seem like much, but it sets the stage for every show at The Greek, perfectly framing the cinematic nature of each evening in perfect glory. Come on, just look at it, there’s a reason this is one of the best places to see a show in the best city to see a show.
Heap decided to kick off the show in a decidedly less cinematic fashion, taking the opportunity to explain how her gloves were actually instruments. For instance, when she closed her left hand it would record loops of her audio, and stretching out her left hand caused her audio to reverberate through the amphitheater. While an instructional on how an instrument is played is typically not the best way for a performer to kick off a show, Heap’s jovial nature was endlessly charming and the knowledge of how the gloves worked added a layer of enjoyment to the show that permeated through every song.
Armed with this knowledge the crowd grew raucous through even her calmer songs like “Be Still With Me.” Perhaps this was because of their incredible love of her music, which was without question, or because of the gloves (it cannot be overstated how excessively cool the gloves are) but in any case each song was met with loud cheers and wholly enthusiastic applause from the fairly well populated theater.
While her performances of each track were impressive, some especially so, it’s fair to say that her monologues in between each track were the real show stealer. Every time a song stopped she launched into long, jovial, hilarious tirades about equipment that wasn’t working, all the pins holding her hair together, why she named her tour Mycelia, Ariana Grande’s mom calling to set up a dinner for Ariana Grande’s 21st birthday dinner, or, most thrillingly an explanation of the date that led to her writing the song “Aha!”
It would be a fault on our end to not include the joy of having Guy Sigsworth onstage with Heap, helping to finally reform the group Frou Frou. Not only did they play the Garden State breakout hit, “Let Go” they even played “Shurayo” from Sigsworth’s latest album “STET.” Though the show was ultimately an Imogen Heap show it was great to see Sigsworth and Heap together onstage riling up a crowd once more.
Some nights are just more special than others, and sometimes performances aren’t just about the music, everything about this evening, from the people onstage to the incredible outfits worn by Heap (one included an Elizabethian collar that pulsed with light at her every word) culminated in a truly special experience. Should any fan have the opportunity to see Imogen Heap, it’s a show well worth the time and money. Heap at one point said that she feels like the luckiest artist in the world because her fans “don’t ever seem to mind if she gets a little weird,” and after this show, it’s easy to see why nobody minds.
Setlist:
Guitar Song (Frou Frou)
Entanglement
Breathe In (Frou Frou)
You Know Where to Find Me
Flicks (Frou Frou)
Close Up (Frou Frou)
First Train Home
Speeding cars
Shurayo (Guy Sigsworth
(Intermission
Neglected Space
The Walk
Aha!
Tiny Human
Let Go (Frou Frou)
It’s Good To Be In Love (Frou Frou)
Headlock
Only Got One (Frou Frou)
Improvisation (Asked an audience member for a melody and made an improvised song from it)
Hide and Seek 2 (Songs from Tibet Version)
Encore
Say Goodnight and Go
The Dumbing Down of Love (Frou Frou)
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