Last week I was invited to see Ingrid Michaelson at the Hotel Indigo in East Village. I was looking forward to the show that was supposed to take place on the 9th floor deck bar, but as the day got colder and the chance of rain increased, it was clear the hotel would probably have to make other accommodations. I wish that was all that went wrong...
Having seen Ingrid several times before, I agreed to do an interview, something I generally don't do at all, but I guess I got that feeling you get with some very accessible artists...I've met her at least twice before, I've seen her perform a handful of times and three of those times were in "private listener" type performances, and we've even "talked" to each other via Twitter. I just imagined it would be relaxed and easy. I got to the hotel and had no problem getting in and finding Robert, the publicist for the hotel. We waited a few minutes and chatted before going to the suite where Ingrid was getting ready.
I suppose it's my fault for not clarifying things in advance, but until now, when I'd get invitations for special events, it was always because of this site, or back from relationships I made while in advertising. Now I'm working with SoundDiego, and though I'm only contributing listings to the site, there was some confusion about me submitting more content. We're figuring it all out and with any new site, we'll build as we move along, but Ingrid's people were clearly under the impression that I was "a reporter from NBC" and not "a blogger", which I would've clarified if the next thing they said to me wasn't, "Ingrid is losing her voice, so try and keep it brief." An interview. Brief. Really? So suddenly I felt more like I was at a press junket, get your question in and get out. I basically gave Ingrid a topic to speak to and if we don't use it over at SoundDiego, I'll post it here later.
In the meantime, I'll say that for a guest of the event, the night was pretty great...amazing tray-passed appetizers, waitresses with champagne, wine, and little mixed cocktails made with ginger infused vodka and orange juice, and in the corner of the room, a stand with Fortaleza tequila where there were tastings and pomegranate margaritas being generously poured. On the other hand, for the band and anybody who actually wanted to see and hear the music, it was less than ideal, with bar patrons talking the entire set. I recorded the whole performance which you can see in the playlist below, including Ingrid's attempt in quieting the audience with no results, which when all is said and done, is a bit of a bummer, because I dig the record, I like seeing Ingrid perform live, and Hotel Indigo is stunning. Maybe they'll continue the "artist in the spotlight" series and make some tweaks to make the events better all around.
1 comment:
So it's not just at HOB then? It's sad that she always has to ask everyone to shush. And even sadder that they still won't do it. That house concert idea is sounding better and better.
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