The way she was

… Kates and I had yet to be out of the house as a couple since Phoebe was born. Until tonight.

Ingrid Michaelson was at Summerfest. We called our good friends Ray and Leah (also big fans). Left Phoebe with the grandparents. And went out on the town for our first outing without the kid …

Now, for me, this year’s Summerfest lineup hasn’t been knock-yourself-out amazing -- excluding Stevie Wonder, who played at the Marcus and was a gift I never imagined getting last Thursday. But on the ground stages, heading into this year’s Fest, I’d already seen Dashboard Confessional once, I wanted to see Polyphonic Spree just for the spectacle, I’d seen O.A.R. twice before, and Gin Blossoms once …

At last, the only ground stage performer I was all-out excited to see more than anyone this year was Ingrid Michaelson … Sure, I was just lukewarm on her album -- aside from “The Hat” and “The Way I Am,” which are great songs -- when I got it a couple months ago. But I’ve been listening to it a lot the last couple weeks, and it’s grown on me big time …

So Ingrid was set to go on at 8. But we got a late start heading out of town. Then I was nearly sweating when we hit a construction snag and the time kept ticking away … Thankfully, it all worked out. We got parked and scurried into the grounds around 7:15, and then had to trek all the way to the other end to find the Rock Stage where Ingrid was playing …

Lo and behold, there were plenty of seats. We got about fifth row.

Toby, an Australia-based rocker, was on the stage … She ended her set with a rousing cover of Janis Joplin‘s “Me and Bobby McGee.” She also played until 7:30, which I didn’t think bode well for Ingrid considering I’ve watched the bands at Summerfest take at least 45 minutes or an hour to set up … But again, I had nothing to worry about …

Ingrid came on at around 8:30 and charmed us immediately, with her sweet music and energetic stage presence.

She started the night singing “Die Alone” from the center mic then welcomed the crowd by saying “I looked out at every one after the last band and everyone left and I thought oh no!” She said it with an adorable grimace; then her face lit up as she added, “But you came!”

Throughout the night, she had Allie Moss and Bess Rogers backing her on guitars and providing some gorgeous background vocals and harmonies. Joining her was Chris Kuffner on bass and Elliot Jacobson on drums. Ingrid moved to her keyboard for “Breakable,” and stayed there for “Overboard,” which she introduced by giving us three clues and saying the title of the song rhymed with “Scmoverboard.”

Those gorgeous harmonies came back again for “Far Away” and for a sweet, sweet cover of Death Cab For Cutie’s “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.”



… Ingrid then introduced “Get Well,” a song she said she wrote “when I was channeling Ben Gibbard, or at least trying to.” She followed that with another new song a catchy one called “Be Ok.”

And then came the dramatic “Keep Breathing” -- awesome.



And then “Masochist.” … Song No. 10 was another new one, “The Chain.” … Ingrid introduced it as a round. “Do you remember rounds?” she asked. Yeah, I thought, I probably haven’t done one of those since I was singing as a kid in Sunday School. Those were fun.

And finally, it was time for my favorite, “The Hat.” With a neat light show ...




As I’d expected, she turned it into a great crowd-interaction number, first teaching the crowd the chorus and then teasing us when we didn’t sing with enough energy …



Then we reached the pinnacle of her show: “The Way I Am.” Awesome, again … As I’d expected, she brought the crowd into it too with the hand-clapping beats. But what I never saw coming was her going off and rapping “Ice, Ice Baby” to the crowd’s clapping. It was a great moment … and she topped that by doing the “Fresh Prince of Bell Aire” theme song the same way ...



...Before finally singing “The Way I Am” the way we all know it.



Ingrid finished things out with “Starting Now” before flying solo for her encore and doing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

It was great, great time.

Gomez played after Ingrid, but we stuck to our original plans of calling it an early night … We watched the fireworks rise above the city and snacked on a giant pretzel on our way out …

Six nights down …
a Thursday: Stevie Wonder
a Saturday: Dashboard Confessional
a Sunday: Polyphonic Spree
a Monday: Gin Blossoms Performer Passes Out On Stage
a Tuesday: O.A.R. Interview with Chris Culos
a Interview with Marty Stuart
a Interview with Ingrid Michaelson