Ingrid Michaelson Likes Utah

This post is supposed to be about my recent trip to Sundance, but really it's going to be all about Ingrid Michaelson. Those two subjects go together naturally, don't they?

Before I go off on my tangent, I'll briefly get the film festival out of the way. Cory has gone to Sundance for many years now, and this was the third time I accompanied him. We saw some great (and some awful) movies and generally took in the loveliness that is Park City. Really, I like the town for how picturesque and quaint it is. It's quite a trial to Cory that the film and skiing capital he loves so much holds my esteem because of the pretty trees and icicles.

While at Sundance, we met up with some friends from New York. Kelly is a freelance reporter and was all over the place conducting interviews and receiving great swag. In between that, she was able to get us into some awesome events. Here we are below at a Paul Simon party. That's a weird sentence.


And I think that's enough about the film festival, don't you? Because everyone knows the real reason people go to Sundance is to see famous people. We saw a number of celebs (a highlight was when Lindsey, Cory and I stood next to Danny Glover and did that "Angels in the Outfield" arm wave thing at him), but it was all eclipsed for me when we went to the Music Cafe.

The Music Cafe is a small venue that Sundance hosts each year. Every day of the festival, a line up of artists plays for free. Those lucky enough to get in are treated to a very private, intimate concert, as the cafe only holds a small group.

It was with much giddiness that I learned Ingrid Michaelson would be performing. I'm a big fan. Yes, I know that's not unique. I've adored her for the past six years, ever since Rebecca played me "Corner of Your Heart" on her iPod. This was back when I thought an mP3 player was some sort of tape recording device, so you can imagine my surprise when I heard such beautiful music coming out of the earbuds. I love, love, love her. Have I said this enough?

I staked out my spot and held my breath. When she came onstage, I yelled like a crazy person. In fact, I couldn't seem to stop yelling the entire set. At one point I was shouting out song requests. She had to shush me. It was a very nice moment for us. In short, she sounded amazing and was also very, very funny. If possible, I love her even more now.

She ended the set with an REM cover I had never heard before. It was, without question, one of the most special songs I've ever heard live. She used these pedals at her feet to start recording her own voice, playing it back to create a chain. I've posted the video below and anyone who even remotely likes music should listen to it (this means you Rebecca).

I'll reiterate here, she is singing completely acapella, with no one doing back up. Also for disclosure purposes, this isn't my video. Cory's sister Lindsey took a vid but the file wouldn't send to me, so I've taken this from YouTube. It's the same performance though, I promise.

Afterward, I was elated. If this had been the end of it, it would have been enough. As we say at Pesach, dayenu. (Anyone?)

Two days later, Cory and I were at the Salt Lake City Airport getting ready for a long flight back to DC. We were already at our gate when Cory decided he needed coffee. I didn't want to go. It was a trek back to the Starbucks we'd seen all the way over at security.

Fine, we went. I waited in line at the quiet Starbucks, impatiently tapping my foot as a few other patrons milled about, when Cory spoke.

"Erica," he said slowly. "It's Ingrid Michaelson."

I looked up quickly. Me heart leaped. It was Ingrid Michaelson. She stood next to me, studying the coffee menu in a graceful manner. I found myself short of breath.

"Excuse me," Cory said bravely, tapping Ingrid on the shoulder. "We were at your performance Thursday and my girlfriend here is a big fan of yours."

She turned her attention to me. My eyes got big.

"Would you mind taking a picture with her?"

Ingrid said "Sure" and got in close. I began babbling idiotically: professions of love; lists of my favorite songs; confessions that I had been the one shouting at her days before, demanding tunes like she was a trained monkey there to perform for my pleasure.

"That's sweet," she said with a smile. This relieved me. Ingrid Michaelson thought I was sweet, not some maniacal stalker.

As she left, I got so flustered that I may or may not have caused Cory to spill an entire hot latte down his pants. Whatever. I was on a high for the rest of the day. In fact, I think I'm still there.

As I've mentioned in posts like this, Cory often spends Sundance weeks tracking down and taking photos with his favorite celebrities. I've always shied away from this, as if waiting for the perfect person to take my celeb-stalking virginity. Ingrid was well worth the wait.

PS: How awesome is it that Ingrid Michaelson walks around airports by herself, sans entourage, carrying her own instrument on her back?

Sal Tlay Ka Siti (sound it out)

Can anyone guess what I'm holding in the photo above? For those who can't make it out from the blurry pic, it's Salt Lake City's own Polygamy Porter. I really enjoy inappropriate merchandise, and this fit the bill. During our Sundance trip this year (posted about here) we made a quick stop to Salt Lake City's local Wal-Mart before heading off to Park City. It's been years since I've lived near a Wal-Mart and I always try to finagle a trip to the budget superstore whenever I'm in the vicinity of one. That's when I found this gem of a six pack. Unfortunately, we didn't purchase it, so I can't tell you how Polygamy Porter tastes. But I bet it's full of Mormon-y goodness.

The Wal-Mart trip was made possible as we rented a van this time around, something I was nervous about since we'd be driving on snowy mountains. However, Elan hails from Canada and he assured us he could handle the wheel. This was more or less true (we did come out of it alive) but there were some hairy moments. Sorry Elan! What I meant was, Elan never once made me think I was going to careen off an icy cliff to my death.

Elan had an ulterior motive to the van renting, I believe, as he has a slightly unhealthy obsession with Yelp. As such, he arrived in the great City of Salt Lake with a wish list of restaurants to visit. This is a common occurrence when traveling with Elan, and sometimes it works out nicely. Case in point: Red Iguana. Red Iguana was featured on the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives." The "dives" part of the title certainly fit the Iguana. Here's what it looks like from the outside:

However, the food was delicious! (Read more about it here.) The place specializes in mole, and we tried a bunch of them. Pumpkin mole, chocolate mole, kitchen sink mole...you get the idea. So, thank you Elan, for being an intense Yelp stalker.

Since this has been an Elan-centric post, here's a video to cap it off. When we went snow tubing in 2010, we took a video of Elan screaming like a maniac all the way down the hill. Unfortunately, the video didn't come out. This year, I attempted to take the video again and, true to form, accidentally hit the off button once the actual tubing started. However, check out Elan's face here as he readies himself to fight that hill once again. He looks uber serious...

Shall We Sundance?

Sundance takes place every year in Utah. If you already knew this, you're smarter than me. Before I'd ever been to the annual movie fest, I assumed it took place in some magical, North Pole town. Sundance, Antarctica, maybe. That's a slight exaggeration, but I really did have no idea where the thing was stationed.

Imagine my surprise two years ago when I learned I'd be going to Park City, Utah. Cory is a big film buff and attending the festival is a yearly tradition for him, sort of like Mecca, and I got swept into the yearly pilgrimage. I've been twice now, and I'm pleased to say I love it.

This past festival, we stayed a week with our friends Elan and Melissa, and Cory's sister Lindsey and her friend Stephanie. The photos for this post were fun to go through, as Melissa was about four months pregnant on the trip and not showing at all. Now, she'll be a mama any day, and her outline looks a lot different! (She still looks beautiful though!)

We saw many a movie and several celebrities, but my favorite part about the trip was the beautiful scenery. I had no idea Utah would be so pretty, but it was. We stayed in the picturesque Westgate ski resort, and the whole place looked like a snow globe:


I skied for the first time in Park City, and I was equal parts bad at it and amazed by it. Skiing was a lot of fun for me, surprising as I've never been much of an athlete. Or a fan of cold. One of my favorite things about skiing was riding the gondola up to the top of the mountain. It's so quiet and the only thing around you is tall, white mountains. I loved it. Cory said this was not the typical highlight of a ski trip, but I was unconvinced.


We also went snow tubing, a more laid back snow sport. That is, of course, until the boys decided to turn it into a snowball battle. Not a fight, a battle. There were many casualties, including Cory's pants.





After all that movie-watching and snow diving, we did plenty of nighttime eating and drinking...and TV watching in pajamas. Please don't mind the random pics of us with girls dressed in Stella Artois snowsuits. The pub was giving out free drinks if you took a photo with their girls, and we were happy to oblige.





You can't tell, but in the pajama pic I'm wearing a Banksy T-shirt. Cory is obsessed with the famous street artist, and Banksy's documentary debuted at Sundance in 2010. This made Cory very happy. As you may know, Banksy is a recluse artist and no one knows his true identity. When we were there, Banksy had tagged a few walls around Park City with his art, like a great big "Bansky wuz here" sign. This past Sundance, Elan made a joke of it by giving Cory a Banksy T-shirt. The joke was on Elan, as it's now one of my favorite pj tops.

Here's a photo of Melissa with one of the Bansky walls in Park City. We were happy to see the art was still there a year later.


To cap off, let me reiterate, Utah is cold. Case in point, here's a photo of Cory and I walking down Park City's Main Street. This wasn't one of the snowiest days, but I think it proves my point.

And now, some gratuitous photos of my friends with various celebrities at Sundance. Ten points if you can guess which "The Office" actor Melissa is with below, and who that actress is that Cory is stalking in the last...