Love, Fangirl, Age 27

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to check out Amanda Palmer's (singer/pianist for the Dresden Dolls) solo show at the Lakeshore Theater. Not only was her set great, but all three of the openers were, too.

Emilyn Brodsky defines herself as "cupcake punk" and I can't agree more. Armed with a ukelele and a great set of pipes, her set brought to mind Kimya Dawson.....if Kimya was really ticked off. Her songs are witty and confessional - songs that you'd like to have a beer with at the dive bar. Good stuff.

Next was Chicago native Anna Vogelzang. Anna has a big voice and a knack for storytelling. My concert mate leaned over and said "reminds me of Ingrid Michaelson.....her good stuff" and it is true - Anna does have a similar sound and feel to the sweater song girl.

Wrapping up the openers was Vermillion Lies, a pair of ladies from California with rosy cheeks, an accordian and a stage presence that grabs you and doesn't want to let go. Their songs are burlesque-y and clever, including one about recieving an organ transplant. And they had a tap dancing marionette! They were a real treat and, as much as I love Amanda Palmer, I was sort of sad when their set ended.

On to Amanda's set:
I was really spoiled by her show at the Boston Symphony earlier this summer, but this show did not dissapoint. It was a fair mix of Dolls material, covers and songs from her new album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?, due out on September 16. The new songs? Killer. Pun intended. Ben Folds produced it and you can hear his influence in songs like "Ampersand" and "Astronaut" - beautiful piano ballads that are the kind of luxurious songs Folds is known for. There are definitly some signature Palmer songs, though, with choppy, hand slamming chords, like the heavily staccato "Runs in the Family" and the eerie "Tick Tick", a song written after the Columbine shootings.

When playing with the Dolls, Amanda is always friendly with the crowd but is even more so in her solo shows. There was a lot of interaction, including a Q and A portion and a final encore of Radiohead's "Creep", which she played on the ukelele while wandering through the crowd.

After the show, she did a signing, and I had the opportunity to meet her. Let me tell you - I lost my cool. At 27, I am still apparently able to morph into a 12 year old girl. My mouth ran and I wasn't able to stop it, but she was incredibly gracious. And beautiful. And funny. Sigh.

Along with the album, she and Doll's long time video producer Michael Pope are creating a series of videos to go along with the songs. Here's the one for "Astronaut". Enjoy!