Imogen Heap with Guy Sigsworth
Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX
June 1, 2019
Review and Photography by Jim Chapin
Imogen Heap is a musician who is not a household name, yet she is amazingly influential and revered by her musical peers and those that have discovered her through her many eclectic projects, including soundtrack work and a collaboration with guitar god Jeff Beck.
The Grammy award-winning English singer-songwriter, engineer, and producer brought her Mycelia Tour to the ACL Live at the Moody Theatre on Saturday, June 1 for a sold-out show that was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. It’s been almost ten years since Heap toured North America and it was back in 2009 when she was last in Austin, playing a stellar set at the now-defunct La Zona Roza. While commenting on her absence, she seemed to forget that she was ever in Austin at all until audience members reminded her.
This nine-date North American leg of her tour follows a 2018 European run and she was accompanied by Guy Sigsworth, her partner in the two-piece electro-pop band Frou Frou. Sigsworth is more widely known for his work as a producer and a songwriter, having worked with musicians like Alanis Morrissette, Björk, Madonna, and Britney Spears. Prior to this tour, the two hadn’t performed together since 2003. It was a wonderful reunion and allowed Heap to freely travel back and forth between Frou Frou material and her own compositions.
With no opening band, the night truly belonged to Ms. Heap. She walked onto the stage and took a seat on its edge as she sweetly sang the lyrics to Frou Frou’s “Guitar Song”. It was a simple move, yet an unexpected way to open the evening. It immediately pulled the audience in, foreshadowing that tonight would be an intimate affair, and one where everyone is a part and a participant. The audience seemed to enter a trancelike state as she enthralled them with her whispered vocals.
As she stood up for the second number, one realized what a large presence she carries. Physically, Heap stands six feet tall. Musically, she inspires attention, doing so with talent and presence and not over-the-top theatrics. Draped in black swaths of cloth, her hair perched messily upon her head, she skillfully commanded the stage. Imogen is full of personality and delight and reels you in with her effervescent charm. Whether she was performing or interacting with the audience, she holds your attention.
And there was a lot to pay attention to. The sound was awash in aural texture, an amalgamation of her own tracks and those of Sigsworth and the other four musicians on stage. It was a night of full-on sensory onslaught that bathes over one’s soul and leaves you feeling cleansed.
In between the songs, heap spoke with the audience, eliciting questions and comments as she talked about her motivations and influences and explained her methods. Early in the set she spoke of her musical gloves and demonstrated how they worked. These Mi.Mu gloves – as they are called – are fascinating technological instruments. By performing various hand gestures she is able to record, loop, and create musical tones and sweeping effects. A pointed finger would trigger one sound while a sweep of her hand would adjust the sonic ambiance. This allows her to perform away from her instruments and truly connect with the music and the audience in a way heretofore impossible. Imogen actually researched and co-created the glove technology and you could easily tell by the way she spoke that this was truly a passion project
The show was divided into two halves, with Heap donning a lighted collar for act two. Songs ranged from dreamy, ethereal pop to bouncy Heap favorites like “First Train Home” and “Hide and Seek” to the more rocking “Close Up” from the Frou Frou catalog.
She closed the show with a mash-up of “Goodnight and Go” – her own version and that recently released by pop-superstar Ariana Grande before bringing it back to the simple beauty of “The Dumbing Down of Love.” It was a truly glorious evening. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another ten years before we see her in these parts again.
SETLIST: Set 1: 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)
Set 2: Neglected Space; The Walk; Aha!; Tiny Human; Let Go (Frou Frou); It’s Good to Be in Love (Frou Frou); Come Here Boy (Audience member request; impromptu snippet while computer loads); Headlock; Only Got One (Frou Frou); Hide and Seek Encore: Goodnight and Go; The Dumbing Down of Love (Frou Frou)
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