Spektor And the Spectators

Regina Spektor played her first show (of two) last night at Town Hall. I’ve heard so much hype about her, I was anxious to see her perform. Yesterday’s AM New York heralded her as New York’s girl, with roots in the Bronx and Lower East Side. These performances are to be a homecoming, of sorts.

Well, I definitely felt the homecoming vibe. After the opening band (Only Son) finished their set (they were quite good, by the way), we waited for what seemed like eternity for Spektor to finally take the stage, at about 9:30. In the interim, the crowd (whose median age was maybe 19 – and 19 because the parents escorting their 14 and 15-year-olds and my friend and I jacked the age range up considerably) yelled to each other, hugged each other, snapped photos of each other, and texted each other. I was waiting for them to copy each other’s homework and braid each other’s hair. I felt like I was in a high school auditorium waiting for an assembly to begin. And then I thought I was just being a crotchety old spinster...that is, until the show started. Spektor took the stage to cat calls and mass hysteria. I was waiting for the girl in front of me, with the white bird barrettes in her hair, to pass out. Think British Invasion, only LES style. “I love you Regina!” “You’re beautiful!” Cute, I thought, her fans really like her. And I instantly felt that her smiles, giggles, and genuineness all warranted the attention. She’s charming. However, when the screaming filled every empty second in the performance and drowned out her pre-song commentary and at times, her first few notes or lyrics, I got really fucking annoyed.

Have I beat the dead horse of atmosphere to death and into the afterlife? Not yet.

So, is Spektor as talented as the hype proclaims her to be? Absolutely. The clarity of her voice is astounding. And the way she plays with her voice and transforms it into various instruments is like nothing I’ve ever heard. She’s not afraid to take chances with sound, and her willingness to work it out on stage (regardless of the success of the process) reinforces her freshness and potential. Rarely can I hear her lyrics, but the snippets I do catch, are quirky and simultaneously, rich. An English major’s dream, she drop references to Pound, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Atwood, and others.

She began with some solo sets on the piano, the best of which came at the end of the show, during the encore. But, when her band joined her on stage, the music and her voice seemed instantaneously energized (to the point where the high school howling fell to the backdrop). For me, the last thirty to forty-five minutes of the concert were the best, almost as if the earlier hour had been a warm-up. She rocked “Fidelity” and haunted with “Samson” and “Us”.

Spektor’s certainly earned her following. However, I’ve seen a lot of performers, and I’ve never encountered a more obnoxious fan base. (When I say obnoxious, I don't mean energetic; I mean if you keep screaming over her, I'm going to punch you in the fucking face or toss you over the balcony you Shaggy-look-alike tool.) Luckily for Spektor, they’re in the majority, buying her tickets and playing off one another’s antics. For the rest of us, if you can get over them and past them as they crowd onto the F train to Delancey, she’s worth hearing live.