Ingrid Michaelson's "Hell No" Tour at Lincoln Theatre

Two concerts in two weeks at the Lincoln Theatre, and despite loving both acts, I'm not sure we could find two more opposite crowds - the crowd didn't sit at all during T/N/A/F or XYLØ, and we stood only for select songs at this concert... but both concerts were still great!

The opening act, AJR, sounded really great, and I challenge you not to sing "I'm Not Famous" to yourself over and over again for the rest of the day after hearing it. Their set was a little uneven, but that's to expected from an act that just released their first EP. Once they get more songs under their belt, they'll be able to even out the show, but no matter what they were singing, Jack ran all across the stage, which made it nearly impossible to get a good picture of him. Their new single, "Weak," was a strong addition to their repertoire, and their first single, "I'm Ready" was a strong closer for their set. I'm excited to see where these brothers end up going, and if you're looking to see them live in the DC area, they're going to be back in March, playing at Jammin Java.

Ingrid Michaelson was awesome. Full disclosure, I've pretty much had a huge crush on her since I first heard her music at least 10 years ago. She opened the show strong with "Light Me Up," threw in a couple of amazing covers, including a haunting rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" on the ukulele, and played every single song everyone wanted to hear, including "The Way I Am" and "Be OK." She brought AJR on stage for a new song called "The Lotto." And after a set where most of the (lame) audience was sitting down, she ended her set with two energetic songs that got our asses out of our seats: "Celebrate" and "Hell No." (If nothing else, watch the Hell No video because it's in ASL and it's great.) And if that wasn't enough, she came back out for the encore and jumped right into "Girls Chase Boys," keeping the audience up out of their seats, and for the completely unexpected (and ass-kicking) finale, she and her band covered the classic Right Said Fred song, "Wonderman." ...I'm just kidding, and I was checking if you were still reading: of course the song was "I'm Too Sexy," and it was great, including a choreographed dance to end the concert. If you get a chance to see her, take it: it's 100% worth it, and her voice fills the room with perfectly pitched joy.

Sadly, Ingrid Michaelson's tour is almost over, with only a sold out show in DC tonight and one in NYC on December 14.

Here's AJR's upcoming tour dates!

'Til next time... keep on listening, keep on singing, and keep live music alive.