Saturday, 17 Nov 2007
Feist first made an appearance on the Orpheum Theatre stage briefly holding down drumming duties during opener Jason Collett’s folk-tinged set. Using a cane following what we would later hear was the result of a recent sidewalk accident in Nebraska, initially threw me into thinking it wasn’t her. Sure enough though as the house lights went down in preparation for her set there she was hobbling to a seat at center stage.
Luckily, it’s her beautiful voice and carefree stage banter that has warmed us to her all these years and not her ability to bust a move – though that is a plus and was sadly missed. This is Fesit 2.0. Since the last time she came through town a lot has happened to Leslie Feist to advance her career from that of a closely held favorite to sold-out tours across the nation. A lot of that success is certainly owed to The Reminder, her gorgeous new album that caught the attention of Apple and resulted in her becoming the face/sound of the iPod Nano, thus rocketing her stardom to another level altogether.
Over the course of the evening her voice soared and filled up the venue, sounding as good as its ever sounded in that venue. There were low points though, I grew board with the consecutive number of slow songs that, while pretty, made me long for some upbeat numbers. The result, as is often the case in seated venues is that most of the audience couldn’t make up their mind as to whether they should remain standing or take a seat. The upbeat Feist showed herself at the end of the set and continued through the high energy and sing-a-long heavy encore. The feeling I got through those last four songs is the type you wish you could bottle up and take with you and tap into it from time to time when things just aren’t heading in the right direction – her music has that uplifting character to it.
Last night’s performance proved that Feist has made it and is definitely a big time artist deserving of a sold out crowd and hundreds of adorning fans. I’m not sure if it was only where I was sitting, but there was a lot of chatter, people answering their cell phones (seriously people, WTF?), and general inappropriate concert attentiveness. Thankfully, the music itself couldn’t be drowned out by the massive amounts of party people unwilling to just shut up and pay attention to the show they paid to see.
Myspace: Feist
November 17th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Hey Ryan, I thought I saw you there a few rows behind us…. by the end of the night, I was infuriated by the crowd noise and the utter ignorance of basic concert etiquette. I had to strain to hear Collette’s set and then when Feist hit the stage it only got marginally better. You’re right… Cell phone conversations?! I too was flabbergasted to hear more than one person talking on the phone (after failing to switch the ringer off)… plus talking, not just hushed “we’re in a concert” talking but actual banter, and some drunken shrieking.
We couldn’t tell if it was due to audience rudeness or maybe just weird house sound issues.
November 17th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Worst. Crowd. Ever.
I agree with everything you said. She sounded GREAT and those last handful of songs were amazing, but people need to learn how to shut the hell up.
There was SO MUCH loud, obnoxious talking throughout the entire concert, I heard someone’s cell phone ring and THEN she picked it up, and during every slow song a handful of people would open their cell phones and start texting….
If you want to have a conversation, go to a bar — don’t ruin a concert.
November 18th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I think you hit the nail on the head in regards to this show. The crowd was so annoying and the setlist seemed badly planned (probably due to her injury). Even with all that against her, she still churned out some great stuff. Unfortunately, we have a future of seeing her in venues large enough to fit drunken jerks who want to hear “that song from the iPhone commercial” and nothing more. I haven’t been in Madison long, but I have yet to see a good show at the main Orpheum theatre. It just seems awkward and the people who come out to these shows don’t really know how to act.
November 18th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
the best kinds of shows to see at the orpheum are those which are loud and/or fast-paced (tv on the radio and michael franti from earlier this year come to mind). i guess that’s generally true of any larger venue where you have a lot of morons trying to get the most for their buck. the unattentiveness of the crowd is nothing new at feist’s shows, however – it was the same way at the high noon almost 2 years ago. friday, i stood next to a girl who talked through that slow set and screamed “mushaboom” repeatedly during and in between each of those songs. i nearly pushed the bitch over, but i think the evil stares worked well enough.
a number of my friends who are newer fans were also bored with the slowness of the show, but i honestly couldn’t have been happier. i’ll remind you that she did tell us it would be a limited show at the very beginning of her set. what i love about her is that she always seems to take her songs to another level, which is what makes her one of the best musicians around. if you want to hear the album, stay at home with your fucking ipod. this was my 3rd time seeing her (the last being over the summer at mccarren park pool in brooklyn…with grizzly bear. amazing), and it was her best yet in my book. and the overhead projector art? seriously? sofuckingcool. i did miss the energetic feist we usually get to see just a wee bit, though. not much you can do on your feet when your ankle is that swollen.
i was a little disappointed with her appearance on SNL recently. seems everything was poorly mixed and her voice wasn’t at its best.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Up in the balcony, we were away from most of the crowd noise (with the exception of some jerk who was harassing a woman that was standing a few rows in front of him). However, I wondering if the sound guy even bothered to do a sound check… the vocals were muddy, with entirely too much bass and reverb.
That said, this is the first time I’ve seen Feist in concert, and I think she was terrific.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I had planned to rant about the crowd, but I think that the others who have commented here have assessed the situation perfectly. I’ve seen a lot of shows this year, and this audience takes the cake as the worst audience of the year. The Orpheum was transformed into a dormitory cafeteria for the night.
About the show, I was thrilled to death with the rendition of My Moon My Man. I don’t recall seeing her do that on any of the tv appearances, so it was cool to see it live. I was worried about how 1234 would come across without the choirs and extra horn players, but it turned out great. And the tamborine player was super cute.
It was one of the best shows of the year, despite the hooting, hollering, giggling, and chatting.
November 20th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Honestly I think that because the Orpheum is located smack on State Street there is no getting around the drunken college kid crowd who wants to say they were at the concert but hasn’t yet figured out respectful audience etiquette. I think the best seats in that venue are oftentimes the first few rows of the balcony. I believe it is the only venue in the country in which a 10 foot high stage has to be built for the shows. It points the artists vantage point almost more towards the balcony than the floor. Plus, a more respectful crowd (albeit a more subdued one) tends to sit upstairs because they don’t want to stand during the entire show.