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Last Tuesday singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson performed in Vancouver at The Venue on Granville Street to promote her new CD Everybody. The 30-year-old became known in 2006 when a music licensing company first heard her album Girls & Boys via her MySpace page. At the time she was working at a coffee shop, where she played weekly while still living at home with her parents. As she gained popularity, Michaelson appeared on the VH1’s artist discovery program, making her the first unsigned artist to be on that channel. Her fame skyrocketed when she produced the chilling song “Keep Breathing” for the 2007 Grey’s Anatomy television season finale.

Michaelson told the New York Times she loves “songs with tension, tension, tension, and then release,” which is indeed a theme in a number of her own works. “We feel [the tension] in our bodies. We hold in the tension, and then we release and exhale.” This was exactly what her performance was for many: a physical and metaphorical release of emotion and tension, a time to let loose.

Michaelson’s latest auto-biographical album reaches a wide demographic as she opens up about lost loves, fresh starts, and the over-riding theme that everybody wants to be loved. While in Vancouver, her charm and sense of humour put the audience at ease, as she wasn’t afraid of laughing at herself. Her sarcastic and slightly self-deprecating comments made her relatable, as she sang about her imperfections and joked about her love for Mexican food. The silly banter between Michaelson and the members of her band felt more like friends hanging out than a formal performance and when her fingers hit the keys on the piano the result was deeply intimate.

Like her songs, Michaelson’s performance was a roller coaster of emotions that peaked during “Mountain and the Sea,” where she engaged the audience in clapping and singing about moving mountains (or moving anything, for that matter). In “Locked Up,” the doo-wop-ing and group grooving got the audience tapping their feet. She exposed her raw side in songs like “The Chain” where her tears of heart ache and the cold chills of loss sent ripples of empathy throughout the venue.

Overall, Michaelson gave an excellent performance that stirred souls and kept her fans humming for days. While she is no longer the barista behind the till in the coffee shop, her songs are sure to be playing in the background.