Ingrid Michaelson, Storyman, Sugar & the Hi-Lows, May 23, 2014 at Lincoln Theater

Eric, Laura, and I went to the Ingrid Michaelson show at Lincoln Theater on U Street last night. It was Laura's first time at that venue and she was very pleased with it. It's a pretty restored historic theater, it has seats, and it's across the street from the metro - so it's a welcome pleasure for old folks like us gen-Xers. Eric and I arrived a few minutes before doors were supposed to open for this sold out general admission show and the line was literally all the way around the block and back down the alley, nearly circling the building. I feared the worst, but they got us all into the building in about 20 minutes - impressive!

Sugar & the Hi-Lows, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

The first opener was Sugar & the Hi-Lows, a Nashville-based duo that was very good at the retro/twangy Nashville sound. They also has a great stage presence; they were very comfortable engaging the crowd. I was particularly impressed by their marketing savvy. They did the smart thing for an opener: they projected their name HUGE on the screen behind them. (I can't count the number of opening acts I've seen that never told the crowd their name.) This duo talked up the merch in a charming way, too. So if I were a fan of their type of music, I'd be singing their praise right about now. None of us loved it, though, because none of us are into that sound.

Storyman, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

The second opener was an Irish duo called Storyman that used to be called Guggenheim Grotto. Again, great banter, excellent voices, very good musicianship, but again, not our favorite style of music, or at least, none of the songs wowed us. We all agreed that we liked them more that the first opener, but no one in our little group was excited about them.

Ingrid Michaelson, 5-23-14, Lincoln Theater

Ingrid Michaelson was REALLY good. She's much better live than recorded. Her vocal range and the power of her voice are completely impressive, and she is a very entertaining performer, with the a slightly geeky, hot-awkward-chick stick she does. You can tell that she and her band put a lot of effort into delivering a memorable experience to the crowd. There were sing-alongs, there were silly gags, there was a rendition of a popular song performed as a polka, there were celebrity impersonations, there were guest artists - it was a full-on variety show. This was the third time Laura and I have seen her live, and we were both glad we did. Ingrid puts on a reliably fun concert - worth the money and time.  I recommend it.