Feist

I am listening to Feist and remembering the gig I saw a few weeks ago. I had intended to write about it, but although I started writing, it never got finished. I thought the post have to get shelved, but listening to it now brings me right back to the concert. My feelings now are knotted into that evening and the atmosphere of a few weeks ago.

In case you don't know, Feist is a singer-songwriter kind of a gal, but she's not afraid of using a backing band and special effects too. Personally, I find it a bit dull when someone just sings with their guitar for an entire career. It is pleasant enough, but it becomes a bit samey after a while. Feist is a Canadian called Leslie, and we'll leave it at that because I want to talk about the gig itself... if you want to know about her you can find out about her on her wikipedia page or on her official site, as well as myspace and things.

The gig was at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. It's a lovely old venue with balconies from the days when it was a proper theatre, and great acoustics. The warm-up man was unfortunately terrible. Luckily I have forgotten his name. He was slightly funny, although I don't know if it was intentional, and he was bad at singing and playing the guitar. No, there really wasn't much going for him! But when Feist came on, all eyes were on her. The concert had such a warm romantic atmosphere. When a boy came on stage from the audience, played a piano song, read a poem and asked his girlfriend to marry him, it came out well, much to my surprise. It wasn't even wrong to have a break in the music, it just fitted with the atmosphere.

Do you know the feeling when you miss someone; you see a person who looks even slightly like them and your heart beats once extra and a smile starts to form in the corner of your lips before you realise that it is a stranger. Well, that evening, I had that feeling over and over again. The music transformed everyone into familiar, beautiful and friendly people (or so it seemed). Even listening to "My moon, my man" this evening, I was sure it was the voice of a friend, maybe someone I loved at some point in my life. I'm not sure who I thought it was, but everything about the song and the memories that go with it point me into such a feeling. Go listen to Feist, it's great!