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The girl from Romford done good. Coming into 2010 her most widely
known song Hide And Seek once again became ubiquitous thanks to Jason
DeRulo's multi-million selling Whatcha Say, and Imogen Heap built on
that by going on to win a Grammy for her recent Ellipse
album.
She found herself back in London for one night only as part of a
mega-ambitious world tour that has already taken care of North America
and still promises dates with the rest of Europe, Australia and
Asia.
However, there were serious doubts about whether her homecoming gig
would take place at all. She had cancelled the two previous shows and
was seeing a specialist over a hideously affected throat on the
morning of the gig. After a couple of hours of agonisingly
click-refreshing her Twitter page, her followers were assured that,
thanks to some super-strong steroids, she would indeed be taking to the
stage.
So all credit to her. It can't have been easy and at the beginning
of her set, she struggled to trust her own vocals. Heap herself said
it felt like trying to run on ice. You know how to run, but your legs
don't go where they're supposed to. She knows how to sing but her
notes weren't coming out quite as they should have.
She needn't have worried too much. After a few tracks things
settled and she recreated her trademark ethereal pop songs, sometimes
alone with a variety of instruments and her looping skills at hand,
and at other times joined by support acts Back Ted N-Ted and Tim Exile
for a fuller band sound. Between songs she mumbled away
incoherently and shared her stream of consciousness with everyone out
there. Endearing or irritating? In turns, both.
In a setlist unsurprisingly heavily slanted towards the recent
album, only a few tracks were taken from her breakthough Speak For
Yourself, and there was no room for anything from debut iMegaphone or
from her time as half of Frou Frou.
Performing the same setlist that
she's played on every night of the tour so far, she mixed things up a
little tonight by improvising a song with sound, timing and speed
elements chosen by her willing audience. The end product, a swirly
ambient piano-based track named The Shepherdess, was mixed and
released to be downloaded from her website for a pound, with proceeds to
go to Great Ormond Street Hospital; a clever, creative and novel way to raise
some money for charity.
It became very clear that the curfew at the Shepherd's Bush Empire
would be broken, but massive credit needs to be given to Heap, for she
knowingly exceeded her allotted time by 30 minutes, aware that this
would cost her £1,500. She didn't even have time to leave the stage
before coming back for her encore, and it's just as well she returned,
because it finally treated the audience to Hide And Seek and two
other tracks from Speak For Yourself.
Her fans were audible leaving the venue for finding the experience
"incredible; better than hoped for". They are loyal and if any missed
this tour, they should get themselves to the Royal Albert Hall in
November. She cares massively about her support and came across as a
gifted and likeable person.
In return you want to wish her all the
success in the world. But in a music industry overflowing with
talented and individual women, it's her meandering and unmemorable
songs that let her down. Despite her going the extra mile tonight,
those who love her still will, and those unconvinced will remain so.
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