Ingrid Michaelson at The Vic

Ingrid Michaelson was the soundtrack to the majority of my high school experiences. From working on tedious homework assignments, to my daily commute on the bus. I admittedly hadn’t listened to her much since then, but she always held a special place in my heart. After finding out that I was going to get the opportunity to see Michaelson live at The Vic Theatre, I was excited but a little bit nervous that I was completely out of the loop with her. I was worried that she was too rooted in my previous iterations, unrelatable to me now. But, wow, was I completely wrong. She may have been a major part of my past, but it was a lovely reminder to my present. 

The Vic was a perfect venue, small enough to still see the artists’ face from the very back but large enough to still have room to breathe. I was tucked in by the bar, but I still felt a part of the action.

If you think you didn’t know Ingrid Michaelson, you most likely did. She had multiple songs in commercials and television shows during the early 2000s. They were ear worms that warmed your heart. Her songs were the epitome of putting on a warm sweater after coming inside after getting drenched in the rain.

There was nothing I loved more than a concept album; I appreciated having a distinct framework for an album-listening experience. I enjoyed seeing how and where musicians got motivated. Michaelson’s most recent album was inspired by the Netflix series, Stranger Things. Her album, Stranger Songs, included tracks that were loosely inspired by the show without relying on elements of the plot or characters names. They touched on the life events that we’ve seen the characters go through in the show thus far, as opposed to the science-fiction aspects. The songs were able to freely exist without having knowledge of the show, but it was a nice accompaniment for anyone who was a fan. Michaelson played many songs from the album and was met with much excitement from the crowd. She has reached the level of success that has allowed her to do these more specific and interesting projects. She wasn’t mining for a hit off of the album, instead she was able to go down these more niche paths. 

Michaelson self-proclaimed the tour to be 80s inspired based off of the time period of the show, and thus her set included multiple covers such as “Material Girl”, “Time After Time” and “The NeverEnding Story”, due to the latter’s connection to the most recent season. The stage design was minimal, a neon sign with Ingrid’s name in the Stranger Things font behind her that changed color with each song, there was also a corresponding half circle behind her as well. She wore a hand-painted denim jacket and a sparkly dress. It was simple, but it fit the vibe of her music and her as a human. 

Her talent shown through from the beginning of her set as her band began with “Freak Show”, the first track off of Stranger Songs. Between songs, her personality was on full display and the rest of the audience got to know her humor. I had listened to podcasts and interviews with her before and I knew how hysterical she was, so I was glad that this was also the case at her live shows. She joked about eating Cheesie’s, a famous grilled cheese restaurant, right across the street from the venue. She commented on the effect that that cheese was having on her singing voice and body. She quickly made up a song on the spot of its effects, her bandmates quickly joining in with musical accompaniment. The crowd loved this distinct moment pertaining to our beloved restaurant. 

Before launching into one of her most famous songs, her cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, she stood at her keyboard mentioning how this song was played at so many weddings. Also, how this song first gained so much popularity after being featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. “I’m at all of your weddings, all of your divorces, use me in those moments,” she joked with a smirk, before playing the first few notes, and serenading the audience with a song that I had undoubtedly listened to more than a hundred times. 

She made a special announcement before singing a new song called “Words”, which was going to be a part of the new Broadway musical adaptation of The Notebook, in which Michaelson was penning the music for. She announced that the pre-Broadway production for the musical was going to take place in Chicago down the road. No exact date or further information was provided. She danced around and spun in circles upon announcing it to the audience. She looked like a kid that was just granted an immense banana split. She squealed and her enthusiasm made me even more excited to follow the project. I was an avid fan of Broadway musicals, so this crossing of two worlds was everything I could ever want. The song was beautiful, and worked well for Broadway specifically. Michaelson made her Broadway debut a few years ago as Sonya in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Future projects like this just highlighted her talent as a songwriter and musician since she able to bridge this gap into such a different kind of music and maintaining a voice that was different from her own. 

What really struck me from this concert was how invested the crowd was. Most people knew every word. And, the music was not full of driving bass lines, begging the viewers to dance instead most of them were sing-song-y and plucky. The immense fervor in that building was impeccable. People were screaming their heads off to sing alongside Michaelson her hit “Be OK”, the song’s chorus just begging for everything to turn out fine. I never thought of her as a musician that had an inherently loyal fanbase, but I guessed her role as a pillar for me when I was sixteen was the same for many other people standing beside me. 

Did I listen to her song “The Chain” whilst looking out of many a rain-streaked window? Of course I did! And when I heard her play those songs that were so engrained in times of the past, it made me feel weird and nostalgic for the simpler times of like curating her Pandora station as I worked on my Digital Photography homework. 

Ingrid Michaelson’s music was a staple on my lime green iPod Nano. Her energy brought in every moment of the show made me fall in love with them all over again, just in a new context, one separate from teenage Emma. These songs from long ago still had their same emotional weight, it surprised me in the best way possible. I guess I should go put this old thing on shuffle and see what else I could rediscover.