Coachella 2010: Imogen Heap Is A Hot Mess
By Laura Aguirre
Imogen Heap walked onto the Mojave stage on Friday in a gorgeous silver-sequenced dress, fancy tights, and her hair in a huge, messy bun. She started her set from the piano and worked her way around the stage jumping from piano to electric keyboards to cymbals and then drums. She had three microphones — two on her wrists and one around her head.There was a lot of movement, a lot of accessories, and a lot of confusion. This show for lack of a better word was a hot mess.
This performance was different. She spoke to the audience so much that it sometimes felt like a comic/musical impromptu show. There she was this 6 foot tall woman poking fun at her glass of water for not working well as a musical instrument. What were we supposed to make of that?
Despite the silliness of her show (there were a lot of technical problems and she was running late), Imogen Heap managed to get her talent across to a crowd who seemed to be there for Fever Ray, not her. She performed “Headlock” and “Just for Now,” which even for non-fans was a treat.
After about five songs, Heap took a bow and left the stage. It wasn’t the greatest show but in her defense Coachella 2010 was only the second festival she’d ever done.
Check out some photos of the show…
Did you attend the Imogen Heap show? What did you think?
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 8:05AM
She's playing a keytar and that's enough to captivate me. I'd like to see her in concert one day, she makes some beautiful songs. By the way, cool photos!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 1:50PM
I attended this show. Imogen was definitely running behind, and wasn't able to do sound checks, etc. Her midis were giving her trouble, but the performance was solid nonetheless. She did an amazing job! Her frazzled-state was relatable and endearing if nothing else. She was a treat.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 4:49PM
Yeah. I agree. When she comes to LA, I'm def. going to go see her because I know, I know she can give an amazing show. I mean, her songs blow me away. I don't want to keep this show as the only image of her onstage so I'm going to another show to replace this
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 4:50PM
Thanks. It's with a digital, if I would have taken my SLR it would have been better for sure!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 5:46PM
I saw this show – chaos with moments of genius. I disagree that the audience was there for Fever Ray. It seemed like everyone was enthusiastic and ready to cheer her on, but she talked so much and seemed so scatterbrained she lost that momentum. She tried to start a ridiculously complicated sing along, the fact that even 1/3 of the people were able to follow along showed the audience was trying their best. There were moments though (especially when she played the drums) when it seemed to all come together and was great… but those moments were fleeting.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 5:55PM
Her onstage persona is better suited to a theater like the Music Box, where she played last fall. She is very personable and charming, which I don't think comes across well at Coachella.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 12:25AM
I said that it seemed like people were there for Fever Ray because I was in the very front and people around me kept saying they couldn't wait for Fever Ray and the guy behind me was not cheering at all. It made me feel awkward because I was happy to see her — like I was there for her. not Fever Ray.
But you could be right…
had fun?