Last night, Feist played to a deliciously packed house in the first of her two shows in New York City at Hammerstein. This was the first time I had seen her perform, so I was pretty stoked for the show to begin. A little late going on stage, the fabulous shadow from Feist suddenly appeared through a tall, white screen on stage as she belted “Help is on its Way” to the audience. Only a small lantern provided light in the venue, and it was…I’m going to say it…it was beautiful.
When the lights turned on, the screen was removed and Feist appeared, decked in red and swallowed by a red light that covered the stage and the rest of her band. Her voice was perfect the entire night (from what my untrained ear could tell) and she drew the audience in immediately. She brought up the fact that the venue was enormous, and it was, and then melted into a song she refers to as her “self-fulfilling prophecy,” “Mushaboom.” Perfect again!
Throughout the entire show there was a projection monitor with one designated “artist” on hand making…wait for it…shadow puppets! In addition to her nighttime friends were all kinds of shapes being projected on the back of the venue: birds on sticks, houses, feathers, and flowers. Firstly, I’d love this person’s job. Secondly, this attraction is not good for an audience full of easily distracted people. And I know I wasn’t the only one thinking this. There were times where I was so incredibly amazed with the projections on the wall. Thoughts like “how does she do that with her hand??” and “what is she using to make that?!” danced through my head and I realized that I had missed a few songs. It was a nice touch, but not when I was supposed to be paying attention to Feist.
Once Feist started rocking out with “1,2,3,4″ the kids went crazy. The background screen turned colors!! Everyone was singing!! The shadow puppets were gone!! People were dancing and having an awesome time-and she was sure to thank the audience for filling the enormous space.
People started leaving a bit early…a lot of people, and if my ears heard correctly, Feist even noticed when she asked where everyone was going. I will say that this was a pretty rude audience-more people talking during this performance than I’ve heard in a while. Could have been that it was such a large venue, could have been that her songs were so quiet…all in all, I’m looking forward to her next album.
