Seating herself at the black piano where she would be much of the night, she began the stream of songs with her band that would garner an outpouring of love from the rapt Toronto crowd. Following the first number she played Far opener The Calculation into On the Radio - upbeat numbers to get us all on her side and allowed her to mix things up throughout the night. With or without the excellent percussion, cello and keyboardist (each would abstain from the occasional song, sometimes leaving Regina on her own) they recreated Regina's piano pop masterpieces magnificently. Her voice must be mentioned now and throughout this review as it truly is an amazing instrument. It isn't necessarily the most fundamentally perfect voice but her range, flexibility and creativity are what drives her wonderfully eclectic music. In fact, coming into this gig I had little knowledge of Regina as an artist, besides knowing that I loved each album that she released, and was thoroughly impressed as I watched her perform parts of the music with her mouth that I had been sure were produced by a wide array of other instruments from weird percussion to the kazoo. Engaging stuff.
The band, with help from the lighting crew, could really set a mood for a song as well. From the drama of new single All the Rowboats and its red lighting, the adamant Blue Lips, the range of love and love-lost emotions of Ode to Divorce and How, to the fun and nearly wild Dance Anthem of the 80's which had her up and playing the keyboard off to the side. Another time she was up out of her seat was when opener Only Son joined her to play his acoustic guitar on a duet they wrote together. New music from Cheap Seats was well represented and sailed well, including the sprightly Ne Me Quitte Pas that was translated easier than the solo song she played by her favourite Russian composer. However earlier material also garnered rousing responses.
Banter was kept to a minimum which was unfortunate because she seems so quirky - like there was potential for a few laughs to be had. (It was curious that she seemed to be speaking with someone backstage, or perhaps her drummer, between songs but not with us.) The crowd thought they'd make up for a lack of banter by shouting out inane things and even trying to converse with her in Russian. On two separate occasions, including the first song on the piano, she slipped up and had to restart the tunes but absolutely no love was lost. During this airing of the grievances paragraph I'll have to voice disappointment in the lack of That Time and Laughing With - perhaps incentive to see her again.
Following a prolonged pause for an encore she came back with the band to sing Hotel Song standing, sans piano and excellent. They came through with a couple more piano hits including Fidelity. As a fitting closer she brought it by herself for the much anticipated Samson that hit its mark, as did the entire show.
Only Son
Coming into Only Son partway through his set, and having listened to some of his music in preparation, I was intrigued and letdown to find he was just one man. Playing guitar over prerecorded tracks, from drum, keys to crickets, he had a decent voice and the music was alright but somehow I felt shorted. Things did pick up when he swapped acoustic for electric and played a couple songs I was relatively familiar with from his latest release, including Magic however I was still somewhat underwhelmed. Others in the audience seemed to be enjoying it, especially his banter - though that could have just been uncomfortable laughs as he was basically just narrating.
Songs I believe I remember hearing Regina play...
What We Saw from the Cheap Seats
Small Town Moon
Oh Marcello
Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)
All the Rowboats
Firewood
How
Ballad of a Politician
Open
The Party
Far
The Calculation
Eet?
Blue Lips
Dance Anthems of the 80's
Begin To Hope
Fidelity
Better
Samson
On the Radio
Hotel Song
Soviet Kitsch
Us
Ode to Divorce
Jealous.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was a great concert and that Regina Spektor is an amazing writer, musician, and performer! I've seen her before and was a bit disappointed that she had her back to us so often between songs. We all tried to get her attention because she can be so cute and quirky when she dialogues with the audience. At one point she laughed at something someone said which the majority of the audience didn't hear and she paused and laughed again, yet did not comment in any way. I live for those moments! (Also, I did not like the excessive voice effect on "Ballad of a Politician" as I could barely make out her actual voice within the effect). But, I'd see her even if she played behind a curtain because every song she sings is an experience to be treasured for the listener. Her lyrics are amazing and she sings with great lyrical clarity which is rare to find in singers (Leonard Cohen is another example of a great lyricist and performer).
ReplyDeleteP.S. She did not play "One More Time with Feeling," "Human of the Year," nor "Apres Moi," (though I would have loved to hear them!).
Right - I meant to talk about the vocal effect there but didn't want to harp on the negative. It seemed like the piano was getting in the mic and doing nasty things. Small issue in an otherwise great show.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips ;) I wasn't actively tracking the set list and had to go by memory after the fact.