International Pop Overthrow - Wendy Ip (US/Canada)
Wendy was the third act that I saw at the International Pop Overthrow. And this was one interesting set.
She came on just after the Drop Joys, who I was “hired” to go take photos of. And it was an interesting night. I watched out of the corner of my eye her, and her band setting up, and looking somewhat confused, and just a little baffled. After some wrestling with an electronic keyboard and some wires on stage, a secondary keyboard came out and was set up, plugged in and away they went. Here I was thinking “Wow, I know people bring two guitars, but seriously, who brings two keyboards?”
The answer? No one. Wendy ended up having to borrow a keyboard from another band who was playing later that night. I never did figure out the reason why, but it looked like the one she brought just wasn’t compatible with what was on stage.
Funnier still, the announcer went on stage to introduce Wendy, and we were all standing/sitting around listening, and found out that she has an amazing gift and ability to throw together a band wherever she goes. Kevin from the Drop Joys told me it was because her band either up and left, or refused to travel to Toronto for the show. And mentioned how he saw her posting on craigslist just a few days ago. The drummer and bassist allegedly met the day before to rehearse, and they both had sheet music on stage.
The songs were really nice. It was pretty interesting because Wendy is also of Asian descent, and I very rarely see Asian people performing on stage at a pop/rock type of venue. Especially Asian females. And she’s got a lot of power behind her voice that I really wasn’t expecting. There were moments where I was worried for the borrowed keyboard she was playing on, because those keyboard stands don’t look like they can stand up to a rockin’ out chick like Wendy.
Unfortunately I had to leave partway through Wendy’s set, but what I saw, I really liked, and I do hope I can bump into another one of her shows, because from what everyone else told me, it was pretty awesome by the end of it!
