Sing-Along Spektor
Photo by: JohnnyC!
Regina Spektor
Sound Academy
09.16.09
It’s difficult enough to keep up with the kids these days, espeically the teen pop idols of the hour. Because I find myself outside of the mainstream media more and more, rarely listening to radio and without cable, my daily dose usually comes from the day’s Metro on the subway, billboard or Yahoo.com newswire splash page at the intro. Sometimes the rise of mega superstars takes me completely by surprise. Over the past 3 years Regina has surged into the pop circuit right from under my nose as a quirky darling of folk songs. Her her music has bubbled into TV, feature films and commercials across the US and UK.
Although I’ve known about her for awhile now, I’ve never had the chance to see her live. Regina’s eclectic style of music parades around folk, pop, jazz, classical and international (jewish/russian). Her music is not written, but rather, readily streams through her and connect us with her inner and random-most thoughts and imaginations. Whether it be characters, a scene, autobiographical, or otherwise, she pulls us into her colourful world with every note she sings, bucket she bangs or key she presses.
Now about the show. Walking into the sold out crowd at Sound Academy in Toronto, you could feel the young and vibrant teenage energy, to the point of questioning, “Am I at the right show? Will a boy band would be walking on the stage??” I passionately detest the Sound Academy, because of the long and narrow layout that squishes everyone like sardines with crappy sightlines, it’s bar-ocades (designated drinking area only on one side and at the back), and bad sound. The positioning of the Steinway piano also impeded half of the audience from seeing Regina’s face, adding to the poor visibility.
Despite the venue issues, Regina put on a great show. She moved back and forth from her Steinway, electric keyboard, guitar, and even a solitary drumstick and chair for the song Poor Little Rich Boy. From the get-go the show was more of a mass sing-along (ala Dashboard Confessional, thankfully without the awful agnst and self loathing) with the crowd belting out songs such as “On the Radio”, “Fidelity” and “Samson”. I was also moved by her performance of Apres Moi that included verses in Russian. The sing-along was tolerable, but a few were shouting and making it hard to stay connected to the music – this was not an AC/DC Rock show!
The highlight of the night for me was her passionate and hunting performance of Human of The Year. The crowd was silent (as it’s a new track off her latest record, Far) and deep into her world – Regina showcased her vast vocal range that left the crowd in awe.
The audience was taken a little off guard with her choice of a country song to finish the night. That just goes to show you can never pigeon hole Regina! If not for the venue, this show would have been spectactular. Let’s hope next time around she can play at Massey Hall… with an 18+ show added!
-Robb
SETLIST
- The Calculation
- Eet
- Two Birds
- Folding Chair
- Laughing With
- Ode to Divorce
- Machine
- Blue Lips
- Après Moi
- Genius Next Door
- Dance Anthem of the 80s
- Bobbin’ for Apples
- That Time
- Poor Little Rich Boy
- One More Time With Feeling
- Wallet
- Human of the Year
- Man of a Thousand Faces
- Encore:
- Samson
- Us
- Hotel Song
- Fidelity
- Love, You’re a Whore
Add comment September 27th, 2009
