If you think Amanda Palmer, half of Boston’s cabaret-punk goliath the Dresden Dolls, was an obvious choice to perform with the Boston Pops for its annual EdgeFest concert series, she agrees. In fact, it was her idea.
“I pestered them for two years about doing this,” she said over the phone shortly after her breakfast at Charlie’s Sandwich Shoppe. “When I saw they had the EdgeFest programming (where the Pops perform with contemporary rock musicians), I thought it would be perfect for me or the Dresden Dolls, so I put the bug in their ear.”
It goes to show that it helps to know singer/pianist Ben Folds, who performed with the Pops last year. Folds, not coincidentally, produced Palmer’s soon-to-be-released solo debut album, “Who Killed Amanda Palmer.”
Despite how often the Dolls’ music has been described as orchestral, it wasn’t easy choosing which songs to rework for Palmer’s Pops performances Thursday and Friday.
“Something very dangerous about playing with a big orchestra is you want to do a lot of fast, hard, dramatic stuff,” she said. “Because of (Symphony Hall’s) acoustics, that’s not a good idea. However temping it is to play some of the harder rock ’n’ roll stuff arranged for huge timpani and strings and whatnot, I tried to be conservative so it wouldn’t all sound like a big blur.”
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise that Palmer wasn’t tapped for EdgeFest earlier in her career. The Dresden Dolls have always been a trim voice/piano/drums operation, but the production on “Who Killed Amanda Palmer” is much more elaborate. Strings, esoteric percussion, synthesizers, choirs and plenty of other sounds were brought into the mix. With the Pops, several of her new songs will be played in their grand instrumental magnitude for the first time live.
“It’s like the difference between seeing an off-off-Broadway production of a great play, and a total Broadway spectacular,” Palmer said. “You can’t really compare them. It depends on what you’re in the mood for.”
The show also will include some Dolls tunes, of course, as well as a handful of covers, Palmer’s signature theatricality and wacky hijinks from the surprisingly willing-to-be-silly orchestra.
Meanwhile, Palmer has been breaking other forms of creative ground. Her new song, “Guitar Hero,” is a rare example of art imitating life imitating art imitating life.
“A couple of years ago, we were on tour with a band who had become overnight megastars,” she explained. “They were constantly playing ‘Guitar Hero,’ and there was this weird, hall of mirrors effect. They had become the real embodiment of that fantasy, yet they were rushing offstage from playing in front of thousands of people back to the bus to re-create it. I found that so touching, weird and funny that it inspired the song.”
Boston Pops EdgeFest presents Amanda Palmer, at Symphony Hall, Thursday and Friday. Tickets: $10-$55; 888-266-1200.
