|
|
|
'Hey remember that time that I would only ' what would I do?'
For a split second I thought to scream out 'READ THE BACKS OF CEREAL BOXES!' with the rest of the crowd in what I imagined would be a fun call-and-response, since this audience seemed to be singing along every word to every song. But then Regina stopped strumming her sea-foam-green electric guitar and put her hand to her left temple, looking perplexed. 'Wow, this is the biggest fuck-up so far on the American tour.'
Herein lies the beauty of Regina Spektor: No one can ignore that incredible voice, but what really makes us swoon is her imperfect charm ' she lets her hair go wild, she doesn't care what you think of her outfit, she fucks up her lyrics sometimes, she is never afraid to sound downright ugly.
In fact, part of the brilliance of her space-cadet moment during 'That Time' was the freedom it gave her to really play with the rest of the song. 'I thought I was gonna be sickghhhhghghhh,' she uttered gutturally, captivatingly uncivilized.
Regina lost it again (briefly and to howling applause) at the end of her 18-song set ' which started and ended with songs from Far, her new album which stretches the boundaries of that infamous quirk factor. Backed by drums and a lovely string duo, Regina performed her first nine songs ' including 'Machine,' 'One More Time with Feeling' and 'Blue Lips' ' seated at her piano; it wasn't till 'On the Radio' that she dismissed her accompanists and broke the Far streak (again, briefly and to howling applause).
This particular audience ' full of couples holding hands and serenading each other (and even, in one holy-PDA moment, acting out her lyrics, 'Remember that time we decided to kiss anywhere except the mouth?') ' was especially pumped for 'Dance Anthem of the '80s' off Far and pretty much anything from Begin to Hope.
Not surprisingly Regina threw in a few curveballs ' 'Bobbing for Apples,' 'Carefully Laid Plans' and her last-of-five (five!) encore songs, 'Love, You're a Whore,' which let us see a whole new countrified version of our enigmatic Bronx-by-way-of-Russia princess of kitsch. Rodeo Regina may be an odd fit, but if history tells us anything, it's that the weirder she gets, the more we love her.
The (Nearly) Complete Set List
1. The Calculation (Far)
2. Eet (Far)
3. Folding Chair (Far)
4. Ode to Divorce (Soviet Kitsch)
5. Machine (Far)
6. Laughing With (Far)
7. One More Time with Feeling (Far)
8. Two Birds (Far)
9. Blue Lips (Far)
10. On the Radio (Begin to Hope)
11. Dance Anthem of the '80s (Far)
12. Bobbing for Apples
13. That Time (Begin to Hope)
14. Apres Moi (Begin to Hope)
15. Poor Little Rich Boy (Soviet Kitsch)
16. Carefully Laid Plans
17. Wallet (Far)
18. Man of a Thousand Faces (Far)
ENCORE
1. Samson (Begin to Hope)
2. Us (Soviet Kitsch)
3. Fidelity (Begin to Hope)
4. Hotel Song (Begin to Hope)
5. Love, You're a Whore
Thanks for the amazing review and details!!! I was at the show and you gave a perfect description of how magical the evening was!!! I have been looking for the set-list since the show because there were just too many songs and too much excitement to remember them all. She is a spectacular performer and I feel as though THIS SHOW IN PARTICULAR MUST HAVE BEEN HER BEST!!! Maybe its just cause I wast there....LOL. She is a MUST SEE!!!
Thanks, Jeff ' I spaced on the fourth song, but you're right. Odd that she'd interrupt her all-new first half with an oldie, no?
Song #4 was "Ode to Divorce", and it's from Soviet Kitsch, meaning that the first nine songs were all from "Far" except for that one.
"lets her hair go wild" - Page. "she doesn't care what you think of her outfit" - Mike "she fucks up her lyrics sometimes" - Trey "she is never afraid to sound downright ugly." - John. You saw Phish last night?!?!? Oh wait, Fishman never misses a beat...
- Activism
- Arts
- — Arts Events
- — Books
- — Dance
- — First Person Fest
- — Last Chance
- — Museum
- — On the Fringe
- — Philly Artists
- — The Curator
- — Theater
- — Visual Art
- — Arts News
- — Artist Profile
- — Arts Preview
- — Street Art
- Been There, Done That
- Big Ups
- Comedy
- — LOL With It
- — Stand-up
- Critical Mass
- DVD
- Events
- Friday Fill-in
- Ice Cubes
- In Memoriam
- Interview
- Just Do It
- Just Opened
- Kaleidoscopic
- LGBTQ
- — Art Phag
- Mailbag
- Movies
- — Film Fest
- — Movie Review
- — On set
- — Scenester
- — screening
- — trailer!
- Music
- — 10 Track Mind
- — Album
- — Album Review
- — Concert Review
- — DJs
- — Local Support
- — Now Hear This
- — One Track Mind
- — Philly Bands
- — Show
- — Somebody Else Was There
- — Song
- — The Showdown
- — concert photos
- — jazz
- — DJ Nights Blogged
- Night Watch
- Now See This
- Poetic License
- Printed Matter
- Radio
- Shopping
- — Coveted
- — Fashion
- — What We Heart
- TV
- — 24
- — Idol Hands
- — Mad Men
- — ProjRun
- — True Blood
- — Useless Lost Recaps
- — Couch Potato
- — Shore Trash
- — Turned ONN
- — TopMod
- Video Games
- — Free Online Game
- — PSP
- — PlayStation 2
- — The 1-Upper
- — Wii
- Web Junk
- — CAGE MATCH
- — Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
- May
- April
- March
- February
- January
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
