imogen heap cello story, part 2

monday evening, 8 pm – m and i went to imogen’s show at the sixth and i historic synagogue. i was really eager to see back ted-n-ted’s and tim exile’s sets, since i’d watched a few of their vids online. i definitely wasn’t disappointed – they were awesome!. the venue wasn’t quite conducive to a big dance party, but i think they both played great sets. also, we sat in the front on the balcony level, which may not have been the best choice – first, no one was really standing up or dancing, and second, there was a really annoying bar/rail (preventing people from falling off the balcony level) that we kept re-positioning ourselves to see around. (thankfully the TLA in philly was a bit better in these respects – but more about that later.) anyway – once our friends showed up, i was feeling really amped about immi’s set.

all i can say about immi’s set is this: what she does live amazes and impresses the hell out of me. it was an amazing show. i was glad to hear so many of the tracks from ellipse (as well as a few oldies), especially the ones that were not exactly the same as the album versions (like ‘tidal’ – so freaking good). by the end, the entire audience was enamored with her beautiful voice, amazing musical talent, british charm, and adorable dancing. i introduced myself after the show, and patti, mer, m and i snapped a pic with her:

mer, m, immi, me, and patti

tuesday morning, 10 am – legal process & society (aka civil procedure) was almost painful to sit through, which is a shame because it’s one of my favorite classes. our professor is amazing, and i have fun while learning civil procedure pretty much every class. buuut on tuesday, i was pretty eager to get home and get on the road. which i did as soon as class ended. metro – home – shower – pack – car – marie – road. thankfully, we left early enough that we didn’t encounter any rush hour or other traffic on the way up to philly (and we’ve frequently been plagued by seemingly endless drives to philly). we got into the city around 5, which gave me an hour to work with before soundcheck.

outside the TLA, before soundcheck

things seemed to be running a bit behind schedule during soundcheck, but i couldn’t have been more excited for the evening. when it came time for us to run through the song, i think my reality shifted a bit into some new territory – surreal, yet grounded. it felt almost normal… i was thinking to myself: ‘wait, is this really happening?’ and then to myself i would reply: ‘yes, it is – so don’t look like an ass on stage!’ some of my friends came to the show to support me, and it was really comforting having them there (as well as marie, of course!). i think the most surprising thing about the whole night was how much i was able simply to be in the moment, enjoying each song and enjoying sharing the experience with my friends. looking back, i can’t believe i wasn’t more nervous – i was about to play w/imogen heap, for pete’s sake! but it wasn’t really nerve racking, and there wasn’t a huge buildup of stress or anything like that – i was excited, fired up, totally electrified – but not strung out. really grateful for that. who knows what kind of crap could have come out of a bad mental space…

i enjoyed back ted-n-ted’s and tim exile’s sets in philly more so than in dc, but i think that’s because the venue was more suited to their performances. during one memorable song, tim took some loops of people eating potato chips and then had audience members pass around the mic and say/sing/make noises into it, which he then looped and sampled and made into an amazing song. his skills are ridiculous.

anyway, immi’s set was, once again, amazing. philly seemed to be really, really happy to have her there (but let’s be serious – who wouldn’t be??). since i knew when i’d be playing, i got to join my friends in the audience for most of her set. i feel like it all went by really quickly, but i enjoyed every second of it. one minute, she was opening the set with ‘first train home,’ the next, i was getting ready backstage, a second later she gave me a really warm welcome, and then we were done! clearly that’s not exactly how it went down, but you know what i mean. and i have to mention that everyone on her tour was super nice and encouraging and made me feel welcome, which i appreciated so much. just good people, you know? there’s something about meeting your idols and finding out that not only are they amazing and gifted, but they’re also kind and gracious and all of that.

ok back to the music – so my lovely girlfriend took a video of ‘aha!’, which i have posted below. the quality is not superb, but it’s still awesome to have a record of the experience. i know i won’t forget it, but it’s nice to be able to watch it again and again ;)

and for those of you whom i’ve never met and are reading this because you just love imogen heap – thanks for stopping by. i appreciate it!  immi is touring the US again in the spring, so maybe i’ll see you at the dc show. last thing – she performed last night with zoe keating at the music hall of williamsburg in brooklyn, and it was broadcast live over the internet on billboard live. so, so amazing – zoe keating is brilliant (and if you haven’t heard her do her thing, you should probably do so right now). they now have video on demand of immi’s performance, so if you missed it – check it out!

the imogen cello background story

wow, so it has definitely been a while since i last updated my blog (clearly).  needless to say, life has been pretty hectic in the past several weeks.  so much going on, all at once, all the time.

but i have to blog about last night / the past couple days – probably the craziest thing to happen to me in a long while.  i’ll start from the beginning.  it all started last winter, when i missed the deadline to submit remixes of imogen heap’s “the song that never was.”  even though i missed the deadline, i was super stoked to download and start remixing anyway.  it definitely tied me up for a while.  i never did finish polishing it, but whatevs.  the moral of the story is this: i immediately joined twitter and have been religiously following imogen heap on twitter ever since.  fast forward to this fall – i got tickets to her show in dc, was so so so excited to finally see her live, etc.

i then noticed a series of tweets from imogen:

commence: internal freakout.  i started playing cello in 6th grade, and i don’t think i ever seriously thought it would come in handy outside of school orchestras and playing some songs for myself / friends and such.  but here life was throwing me this crazy confluence of some of my biggest passions in life (music, cello, imogen!!).  i don’t know if i believe in fate, but if i did, this would have been clear proof.  (maybe i should start believing?)

from this point on i was once again glued to twitter, waiting to see which song she’d be auditioning for and when the auditions would be.  when she posted the sheet music for “aha!” online, things started getting real.  meanwhile, law school continued to kick my ass – really, seriously, so much work.  every day.  (i know, i know – that’s life, kel! – but really.  i used to have a social life.)  so i plodded along, trying to get all my readings done… and the final exam memo, once that beast rolled around.  anyway, i caught a bunch of the cello auditions, and one thing’s for sure – immi’s got some pretty dedicated and talented fans.  i don’t know what the ‘imogen heap appreciation community’ calls itself,  but i like to say ‘heapsters.’  so anyway, the heapsters were out in full force at the auditions, supporting immi and the cellists.  on a side note, that might have been one of my favorite parts of this whole thing – getting a glimpse into how much imogen’s music affects people around the world.  i mean, it’s the kind of music that can bring you to tears – and i was so stoked to see that so many other people were obviously affected in a very real and deep way.

anywho – when the dc auditions finally rolled around this past sunday, i was feeling pretty comfortable with the song, but i was so nervous about the actual audition… i’ve always kind of been really hesitant to put myself out there (musically), because i see so many other talented people around who blow my mind on a regular basis – i just never thought that was me!  but anyway, super nervous, pretty stressed, and i may have made marie’s life a little hellish – sorry, boo.  sooner than i hoped (you always wish for more prep time), the dc auditions started.  i watched as this guy ethan killed the audition, just nailed it.  he was really great.  i was up next, and… well, i knew i kind of blew it in the middle.  so when immi announced that ethan would be playing dc, i wasn’t shocked.  disappointed, yes, but definitely not surprised.

the next day, i was thinking to myself – philly’s not that far away, and i only have one class on tuesday… maybe i should try out for philly!  so when i saw (again on twitter) that she was starting auditions for philly, i asked if i could re-audition for the illadelph, and she said yes!  as it turns out, no one else showed up to audition.  so i played ‘aha!’ once more, this time not f-ing up so bad (thank goodness).  and… drumroll… she asked me to play in philly!  ARE YOU SERIOUS.  oh yes, yes you are.  well then, please excuse me as i do a happy-jumping-up-and-down-dance in my apartment (off camera).  i think i was grinning for hours.

ok, so i just looked at the clock (crap!) and realized how much reading i have to do for tomorrow (double crap!), so this blog entry will have to be continued/finished in the near future.  stay tuned…

tunes fo yo tuesday, vol. 24 + brandi carlile show review

so my awesome and beautiful gf surprised me with tickets to brandi carlile’s show at the 9:30 club (last wednesday), for which i am very grateful.  it was an early show (doors at 6, brandi on around 7:30), so there was limited debauchery. brandi looked great – wearing gray vans and the same boy scout shirt she was wearing back in 2005 when she played at penn (or at least it looked like the same shirt…i suppose she could have more than one boy scout shirt ;) ). i wish i had pictures from wednesday’s show, but i forgot my camera at home. fail. other people, however, picked up my slack, and have posted some of the performances from the night on youtube. the internet is an amazing thing. anyway, since they’re available, i’m going to post a couple videos from the show here so you can feel like you were there, witnessing the magic for yourself.

brandi’s voice is undeniably strong, and i think everyone present really felt her passion for music and for the music she makes. one of the highlights of the show was a totally acoustic version of ‘dying day,’ a track off her new album, give up the ghost. it might have been hard for people in the back or on the balcony level to hear her, but luckily we were close enough that we could hear everything. brandi and her bandmates all sounded fantastic, and the unplugged performance really made the show feel more intimate. someone really close to the stage took a video of the performance:

we missed the opening act, katie herzig, but katie and her bandmates came out during brandi’s encore to play a song with brandi’s band. they all sounded awesome, but i think my favorite combo was the cello section – two cellists rocking out together?! awesome! m thinks katie’s cellist is super cute, and i can’t really argue.

lastly, here’s brandi + band + katie herzig’s cellist with ‘pride and joy’:

anyway – i need to get some reading done before class, so i’ll leave it at that. enjoy this lovely tuesday :)

tunes fo yo tuesday, vol. 23

today is all about brandi carlile. for those who don’t know her, get on it! i have some fond brandi carlile memories from penn – she opened for howie day back during the fall of ‘05. i was assigned to be her spec concerts artist liaison, and i remember just mad crushing on the girl. it was a great show, and i was hooked from there on out. anyway, she’s gotten some major exposure since then through vh1 and grey’s. her new album, give up the ghost, drops today. AND she’s playing the 9:30 club tomorrow. i’m expecting a pretty stellar show. if she wears a vest, i’m totally going to swoon.

first up is the title track off her last album, the story. this is the kind of song that gives you chills…she has a voice, for sure.

next is a video of brandi covering radiohead. yep, you heard right, now see it for yourself:

last up is a song called ‘throw it all away’ from her first album.

ahh, her sweet voice cradles me as i think about love…

seriously though – if you’re in dc, it’s not too late to get tickets to her show tomorrow (which btw is an early show…doors at 6).

emily wells

kris sent me this link last week. i watched it and the girl blew my mind! totally worth it.

if you dug it, you can check out this interview on afterellen. or watch a couple more of her performances here and here.

tunes fo yo tuesday, vol. 22

oops, so i seem to have missed a couple of weeks. my bad. suffice it to say that my free time is nearly nonexistent, and most of the time i’m not spending with my face in a textbook is spent either dumbing myself down in front of my tv or having spontaneous dance parties by myself in my apartment.

anyway, i’ve got a couple videos for you today. first up is imogen heap’s video for ‘first train home.’ i have to say, i was pretty disappointed when i read some reviews of her new album, ellipse. i mean, i had ridiculously high expectations for the album, seeing as i love imogen and can’t get enough of the woman. seriously, though – screw the haters, i love the album (with the possible exception of ‘a-ha’). the first couple times i listened to the album, i wasn’t blown away, but with each subsequent listen i’ve become even more of a believer in imogen heap’s brilliance. hers is the kind of music you need to listen to more than once or twice to fully appreciate (this is the same kind of reasoning that’s recently led me to start reading the fountainhead again) – and ellipse is one of two albums (the other being la roux) that i’ve had on repeat for the past few weeks. anyway, i highly suggest purchasing ellipse if you haven’t already done so.

next up is black eyed peas. because i got a feeling that today is gonna be a good day. maybe it’s because i got nearly 8 hours of sleep last night. i don’t know. but i do know that i’m feeling good, and i’d like to share that feeling. so here you go:

law school has officially taken over my life

sorry.

no sleep for tired 1Ls

clearly my time management skills aren’t yet up to snuff. it’s 11pm and i still have to read quite a bit for my legal process class tomorrow morning in addition to writing a one-page/250-word “reaction paper” to my legal justice readings. the reaction paper wouldn’t be so bad, but it seems everyone in my section is something of an overachiever, so no one really limited their paper to 250 words. i think i saw one that was over 700 words. damn gunner. you see, our prof. has stipulated that we post our reaction papers online for the whole class to see (and potentially respond to). oy. do i want to be that girl who did the bare minimum on the first real assignment for the class? honestly, i’m not sure i have anything enlightened to say in response to our readings. i read them and i tried to internalize them. but i’m not mentally connecting them to any bigger issues…ugh. maybe i should be thinking harder.

on the other hand, i’d really like to go to sleep right now. i got like 5 hours of sleep last night (due to poor planning and time management), so right now i’m running on fumes. i’m sure anything i churn out now will be next to useless in our class discussions. plus, the prospect of waking up early again tomorrow (to finish the reading for my 10am class and edit my reaction paper) is making me want to punch myself. but here’s the thing – we have to do these reaction papers every week, but we have 3 free passes to use if we just can’t get it done (or just don’t want to). i’m debating using one of my free passes tonight so i can pass the f out, not get enough sleep (again), and maybe potentially finish my legal process readings tomorrow before class. buuut i don’t want to find myself in this situation again in the coming weeks, when our reaction papers will probably be expected to be substantially better than the ones we turn in tonight (seeing as this is our first week of reaction papers), because then i really might not have anything enlightened to say.

three thoughts:

good grief.

i really hope i don’t burn out.

whatever i do tonight, i’m sure i’ll need copious amounts of caffeine in the morning.

tunes fo yo tuesday, vol. 21 + butterfly boucher show review

hey all! i survived my first week of law school, and now i’ve got some tunage for you! (gotta somehow keep my sanity.)

first, a review of butterfly boucher’s show last thursday at the 9:30 club (opening for the wallflowers). i really can’t say enough about this chick. i have loved her music ever since i got her first album back in 2003, and had been waiting what seemed like forever for her next album to drop. the backstory is that it had been done for some time but there were label issues…to make a long story short, she got dropped by her label and is now doing her own thing. i love the d.i.y. attitude. so anyway, flash forward to this summer – her new album, scary fragile, finally dropped, and it’s pretty damn awesome.

m and i got to the 9:30 club right as she was getting started. the place was near deserted, but whatevs – she had fans there and held her own for the duration of her set. she played some oldies and some tracks off the new album. at one point she asked if people knew who she was (i do!) and if anyone could sing along to her songs (i can!!!). i wanted to scream out ‘HELL F-ING YES‘ but i kept it to an energetic ‘WOO.’ i was hoping she’d have a band to back her up, but she was playing some backing tracks. i guess it’s hard to pay people when you don’t have a label taking care of all that for you. it was good, though – she played and sang well, and her witty australian banter (or was it that accent?) kept people interested. it was a short set, for sure, but i enjoyed every song.

bb in all her glory

after she was done, she came out to the merch section to sign cds/posters and take pics. i feel like there’s no real way to say ‘OMG I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!‘ without sounding like a complete loser/stalker, so i tried to play it cool. there’s also no real way to say, ‘i think you should invite me backstage. my gf and i think you’re totally hot and want to get drinks with you. plus i can play your music on the guitar.’ lame-o. so instead, i got a poster signed and took a couple pics with her.

loves it

m-bot and butterfly

for those who live in dc – she’s playing at the rock and roll hotel with erin mccarley on october 20th. that’s a tuesday. i already have my tickets. you should get yours. ok ok – i’ll get to the videos now! i couldn’t not include a butterfly video, so here’s ‘gun for a tongue’ from her luxury wafers sessions:

next is the new video for la roux’s “i’m not your toy.” stellar, for real. i’m not sure how long i’ll be able to keep this up here, so watch it now…you won’t be disappointed.

and for kicks, i’ve thrown in the Data remix of “i’m not your toy”:

next up is jon hopkins’ “light through the veins.” apparently coldplay used this on their most recent album…but i don’t know anything about that, cuz i don’t listen to coldplay! (nothing against them personally, i just don’t have the album.) anyway this song is mesmerizing in a way that makes me close my eyes, tilt my head back, and just be in the music. the 9-minute version does it better than the 4-minute version, but i don’t want to torture you ;). i’m hoping at least one person will appreciate this song…but i’m not necessarily holding my breath. also the video is totally like you’re 2001: a space odyssey-ing in a kaleidoscope. love it.

and lastly, i am debuting my own song RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW! ray and i wrote this song back at penn, and i finally got around to recording it. i’m hoping you guys enjoy it – it’s a bit different from my last song, but whatevs. the feedback i got on that one pushed me to keep making my shiz, so yeah, i did. :) it’s called “leaving tomorrow behind”:

Download: Leaving Tomorrow Behind

oh and ps – it’s up on myspace. that is all. enjoy your tuesday.

tunes fo yo tuesday, vol. 20

aight i’m back. i’ve got a couple songs to share w/you today. :)

first up is frankmusik’s ‘confusion girl.’ i love me some frankmusik, and i’m thinking about checking him out at the 9:30 club – he’s playing with ladyhawke and ida maria. i have a feeling it’s gonna be a kickass show. the video is posted below, but be sure to check out the remixes posted after that. i think i’m digging the remixes a bit better, but maybe only because i heard them first.

Confusion Girl (Don Diablo Remix):

Confusion Girl (Riff Rays Club Mix):

Confusion Girl (Jakwob Remix):

next up is a live performance of ‘bulletproof’ by la roux. i wanted to get their performance on alexa chung, but i can’t embed the alexa chung vids in my blog. thus, jimmy kimmel will have to do. anyway, after the vid are another couple remixes for you to check out. loving it.

Bulletproof (Dean Coleman and Nima Nas 100 Proof Vocal):

Bulletproof (Manhattan Clique Remix):

hope you dig these as much as i do. i’m off to legal process & society (which i think is basically civ pro).