Zoe Keating/Imogen Heap

Zoë Keating is the best opening act I've seen in a long time--an opener I don't know can rarely keep me from being impatient for the headliner I do know, but she managed it. I'm a sucker for strings in electronica, and it's always impressive when somebody can manage tracks and an instrument live. Bought her CD, and it was no disappointment, which is a bit unusual at that level. Maybe hanging out in Rasputina gave her the recording experience necessary.

Imogen Heap's voice is just as remarkable live as it is recorded--all of the remarkable power, versatility, and tone quality is there. The first song she seemed nervous or distracted by all the electronics she had to manage, and I wondered if her voice was studio-constructed, but she settled in after that, and it ain't. Didn't sing as much from Imogen Heap - I Megaphone as I'd hoped, but given how much she's done between now and then, I guess that's not surprising. Oh and the stage design was nice--pretty and ethereal, but her little sarcasms about it and obvious enjoyment of it kept it from being twee or cutesy. Seems a bit odd that she did a song for Narnia, and it's not a particularly good song, but she's brilliant. Favorite new(ish) female vocalist.