Amanda Palmer @ American Repertory Theater 7.8.10

Let me just start by saying Amanda Palmer is the shit. All may not love her music, but no one can deny that she’s basically one of the most influential and important people in the industry right now. So when I saw on her Twitter feed that she’d be having one of her self-proclaimed ‘€œninja gigs’€ I immediately ignored the fact that it was all the way in Cambridge and it was a million degrees outside, hopped on the1 bus and stuffed myself in between two sweaty dudes. Nice.

After I arrived to the American Repertory Theater about 15 minutes late (note to self: never take the 1 bus to Harvard Square) I managed to find my way into the beautifully air conditioned theater and was seated by an usher (whoa fancy).

I walked in right as Palmer started fielding questions from the crowd, which was surprisingly large, but not so surprisingly a blend of old NPR-listening hippies, lesbians and Emerson nerds. They all asked insightful questions ranging from whether she had been a fan of Neil Gaiman (her husband-to-be) before their relationship (nope) to her songwriting process. You could tell that everyone there was borderline obsessed with her, but I was sitting there too so I can’t judge.

She shared a lot about her upcoming projects, including her stint in Cabaret starting in the fall at the A.R.T. She couldn’t stop gushing about the project saying it was going to be ‘€œincredible’€, not like your average Cabaret, but more ‘€œdark and intense’€. She also mentioned that she was trying to set up post-performance shows where she could play some of her new material, which by the sounds of it, is more than ready to be put on a new album.

Palmer also has an album of Radiohead covers coming out in a few weeks entitled Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on her Magical Ukulele. As much as that may repulse Radiohead fans, take a listen to her cover of ‘€œIdioteque’€ here before you make your judgements, a’ight?

The music I did hear was great. No mic, just a ukulele and her voice ‘€“ which sounded even more awesome than normal. I don’t know if she’s been taking voice lessons for Cabaret or what, but she sounded more powerful than ever before.

The theater ushered everyone out pretty quickly at 5:15 to get ready for the play that evening, but the show didn’t just end there. Palmer spoke with fans, signed shirts and accepted gifts long after that. But, you know, that’s just how she rolls.