The Spektacular Regina Spektor.
[Note: Text in color indicates a link I strongly recommend clicking on.]
On Tuesday night Jackalyst and I saw Regina Spektor perform an early show at the 9:30 Club, and OH MY GOD, I am in LOVE! I first heard of Regina a few months ago when someone played me a fanciful little tune of hers called “Fidelity”, and I immediately ran home and downloaded every Regina Spektor song that I could find. She’s a more relatable Tori Amos, a more playful Fiona Apple, the piano-chick’s equivalent of a Jill Sobule or an Ani DiFranco. Even though I only knew about half of the songs she performed the other night, the concert was amazing. Her band came out about halfway through and accompanied her on a few numbers, but for most of the show she was alone on stage behind a piano (or guitar, for a couple songs). For “Poor Little Rich Boy”, she ambidextrously played piano with one hand and percussion with the other, rhythmically whacking the seat next to her with a drumstick [see picture below].
Regina’s piano skills are mind-bogglingly impressive, exhibiting an ability to create technically intricate passages with strong classical influences, as well as bigger, bawdier arrangements steeped in a swaggering oompah-pah drunkenness. She has stunning command of her equally versatile voice, capable of running the entire spektrum [sic] from childlike whisper to fiery-yet-controlled rage (take note Fiona!) and back again, frequently all within one phrase. And as though her formidable instrumental and vocal prowess were not enough, Regina achieves the trifecta by composing breathtakingly insightful lyrics as well. Never one to shy away from a clever turn of phrase, one moment she’s casually observing everyday life, then making a heartfelt declaration of timeless love, then plaintively breaking your heart, then growling that Marianne’s a bitch (in “Sailor Song” - no link available for that one I’m afraid).
Another personal highlight of her conert was her slightly twisted but dead-on tale of the working man, the cleverly titled “Ghost Of Corporate Future” - and I must confess, I kind of adore the simple, fan-produced animation of its video clip which you can see here. By the time she was wrapping up her encore and launched into fan-favorite “Samson”, Jackalyst and I had become completely entranced by the dreaminess of the bartender we’d been eyeing all night. The combination of his swoon-inducing beauty and the confessional nature of one of Regina’s most intimately personal love songs was borderline overwhelming, momentarily tricking my imagination into thinking that yes - this beautiful stranger was indeed my sweetest downfall. Now that’s what I call a concert. If Regina Spektor comes to your town, run-don’t-walk to get tickets. And find a hot bartender to fall in love with that night. You’ll thank me.
Unfortunately, since this was an early show, it all seemed to end just moments after it had begun, and we were out of there by 9:00. Kind of a bummer, since I would’ve been perfectly content to gaze at Bartender Boy and listen to Regina all night long, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. The most rewarding aspect of this concert, however, is that I walked out of there desperate to go home and write a song or seven. Sadly, my keyboard is currently in the shop, but you can bet that as soon as it’s returned to me I will be composing my ass off. Yes that’s right folks, I’ll keep writing and playing and singing and recording (anyone find me a studio yet?), hoping that perhaps one day I too will be able to say - as Regina whimsically notes in a twangy little ditty called “Bobbing For Apples” - that someone next door is fucking to one of my songs.
[EDIT 07.30.09]
Here are some videos from her new album “Far”, released in July 2009:
Laughing With
Eet
Dance Anthem Of The 80’s
