By Clare Shreve
I came in at his last song, soaked and confused, thinking, "I thought Ingrid was going to be on at 8? I thought Ingrid wasn't big enough to have openers?"
But indeed she is. Tuesday night at the Wonder Ballroom, Ingrid Michaelson performed. Two blokes, Newton Faulkner and David Ford, were the opening musicians. Both men hail from the United Kingdom.
All I could gather from David Ford's last song was that he is passionate. He was one of those close-your-eyes-while-you sing types, very Hugh Grant a la "About A Boy." However, a UP student who was on her way out to the lobby said he was great.
Faulkner was up next. His mid-back-length dreadlocks were the first things to notice, the second was his sheepish smile, the third his lack of shoes but presence of socks and then the fact that he was unaccompanied. He came out with guitar in hand and jumped right into his solo set.
He was a one-man show that kept things lively. For instance, he taught a dance he made up to his "U.F.O" song and he added some singing parts in for the audience to his song, "Gone In The Morning." He even played a few '90s covers that had the crowd hopping, including, Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" and Blackstreet's "No Diggity." Played with just a guitar, these covers gained a whole new voice.
Faulkner's guitar doubled as a drum on many songs. He tapped its side, slapped its front and did a number on the back, not in a raunchy rap music sort of way, but in an eclectic folk music sort of way. This created a sound, including his vocals, reminiscent of Australia's Xavier Rudd. Both men offer unique beats with a hint of other worldliness to their lyrics. Faulkner's voice is easy on the ears with his guitar accompaniment following the same path.
Although there is always something gained and something lost with an all-acoustic show, Faulkner was able to get the crowd moving with his tunes. This was quite a feat because there weren't just high school freshmen girls with pink hair to please; there were 10-year-olds and 55-years-olds as well. Despite the age difference, Faulkner carried on an entertaining set that ended with a bang. His final song was a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," a song that will always be able to link the generations.
Although the audience seemed to enjoy his set, they were waiting for Michaelson. After a while, that wish came true.
"Hello Portland," Michaelson said. After her brief salutation, Michaelson plunged into her song, "Die Alone." Its powerful guitar and simple yet potent "ba da dum" lyrics kicked off the song right and brought the crowd up to speed. However, the whole show was not packed with explosive sound quite like the first song. Eventually the sound tickled down to a whispered, lyrical voice with only a little guitar and piano to back it up.
Michaelson's band is composed of her main back-up vocalist and acoustic guitarist Allie Moss, who added a certain sweetness to the sounds were played that night. Elliott Jacobson was on drums, Chris Kauffner on bass and Bess Rogers on electric guitar.
Despite her songs being quite toned down and verging on shy when listened to off of her albums, Michaelson wasn't afraid to talk with the audience or draw attention to herself. .
Michaelson's sweet and palatable voice filled the air. But she didn't even make it to the first chorus before she stopped. She stopped to reprimand the audience about clapping with the rhythm because apparently Portlanders can't hold down a steady beat. Michaelson laid down the law, as only a 29-year-old woman from Staten Island can do.
"No. You can clap later. When I tell you to," Michaelson said to the crowd. She gave a girlish giggle after saying this, perhaps to lighten the mood, but some people weren't impressed.
After the clapping catastrophe where Michaelson invoked Harriet Winston's (a la "Family Matters") sass, the show went on.
Her set was interspersed with monologues, laughs and my personal favorite, a ukulele.
Michaelson picked up a ukulele and stood in the middle of the stage. All of the other band members had left and she stood there alone. She played Radiohead's "Creep." At that moment, the smell of certain illegal substances wafted its way around the ballroom and the crowd began to sway little by little.
The mood lightened significantly when she played the Hawaiian Christmas Song titled "Mele Kalikimaka." Moss even brought out a kazoo for Michaelson to use during the song. The kazoo, in its earnest simplicity, shook things up a bit.
The band members returned on stage for the final songs and the audience even earned its clapping privileges back when she sang her most popular song, "The Way I Am." People chanted along and bobbed their heads; many faces looked completely in the moment.
For her final song, Michaelson played "You and I," which comes off of her latest album, "Be OK." Faulkner and Ford came back out to sing this song with Michaelson and her band. She had the crowd singing this tune even after the show ended and the sleepy-eyed teens and parents drifted outside back into the drizzly Portland night.
By the end of the evening, Michaelson played a solid set with the help of two UK musicians. The night provided decent music that feels most at home when the listener is laying on a couch, or bed. It's a healthy mix of full, rich sounds with some up-beat vibes sprinkled in.
