Live Looping, Beatboxing & Brilliance

Last night, thanks to craigslist savvy Maria - I was able to attend the Imogen Heap show at the 9:30 Club. Although I haven't written about live performances on this blog in quite some time, i'm going to attempt to put this experience into words. Please bear with me - at some point during last nights performances (most likely while Imogen was rockin' the keytar on "Hide and Seek"), my brain exploded and i'm still trying to put it all back together.

First, let's talk about live looping. I've never seen this done before, or at least not that I was aware of. If you're not schooled in the ways of live looping either, allow me to offer my (very) basic explanation -- essentially, live looping allows the artists to layer their own sounds in a live performance in order to give the songs more depth. It's done by recording an initial sound, beat, etc. then playing it back on a "loop" along with other recorded sounds (a.k.a. overdubbing). I think what struck me most about the live looping was that I felt like I was not only hearing the construction and layering of the music, but I was actually able to see the artist(s) record and blend the sounds together, right on stage. Music is one thing, but blending that with technology...i'll be honest, I was pretty much losing control.

Then we have Kid Beyond - "a one man vocal orchestra." I'd imagine he's one of the most talented beatboxers around. I've heard beatboxing before, but this was something altogether amazing. Using live looping, he was able to vocally construct all the beats and hypnotic techno cuts for songs like NIN's "Closer" as well as Portishead's "Wandering Star." There are some pretty decent clips of his live performances on YouTube; you honestly need to check this guy out.

Finally, somewhere around midnight - Imogen Heap took the stage (brief note: she introduced all of her opening acts, which I thought charming). Although the above picture was not snapped at last nights show, it is indicitive of what she was wearing - complete with pink feathered hair. Rock Star. -- which is exactly what she was. Girl's got some pipes, which when blended with her "band" (consisting of various electronic devices), and the ethereal background/lighting, it was pretty much enough to blow my fragile mind. She played a nice, long set including songs from her Frou Frou album as well as those off her latest CD. I can honestly say, this was one of the best concerts i've been to this year. If you're able to get tickets to any of her future performances, I highly recommend it. Word on the street is that she'll be taking a brief hiatus while she records her next album.