With Every Heartbeat

Courtesy of iheartradio and their semi-secret intimate shows at the PC Richards and Son Theatre, I got to see Robyn perform up close and personal one very hot July afternoon. I showed up at the Tribeca venue early in order to secure a spot right up front. A few others had the same idea, and, unfortunately, we were relegated to waiting outside. It must have been at least 90 degrees that day and the sun hovered right above us. Luckily I had brought some water with me, but I was still melting inside my sundress. There was still an hour to kill before the doors opened and we would be let inside, so I prepped myself by listening to all my Robyn songs on my Zune (in fact, once I hit None of Dem, I just kept it on repeat).

One sweltering hour later we were let inside the building and led into a surprisingly small room and I hustled to get as close to the front as I could without literally breathing down someone's neck. There was about another half-hour or so wait while everyone was let inside, and after a brief announcement from an iheartradio rep and a local radio station, Robyn appeared from a secret side door and strutted out to the stage. She was wearing the perfect little black dress, but more awesomely, had a streak of blue dye along the side of her hair. In between songs she engaged in a bit of stage banter, and her small, accented voice seemed a striking difference between her strong singing voice against tight, catchy beats. She performed a couple of songs from her new album Body Talk pt. 1 (although, sadly, not None of Dem) plus a cover of Alicia Keys' Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart, which was 1000% more interesting with her singing it. She closed the show with With Every Heartbeat, a song that is So Damn Good. She even did this adorable twirling dance move. I was so close to the stage, a couple of times it felt like Robyn was singing right to me. I had to do my best not to fangirl out, and luckily there was a rope strung between me and the stage. I still can't believe this is the same girl I wrote off back in the '90s for being a one-hit wonder with Show Me Love.