The Observer, October 5, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 6
Regina Spektor blows away packed crowd
Monday night at the Agora drew a massive audience. Elderly couples and high school students alike poured in to see the red-headed artist capture their hearts for a few hours. With her siren-like voice and her down-to-earth stage presence, singer-songwriter Regina Spektor treated Cleveland to her spectacular talents this week. Well known for her song "Fidelity," featured on Grey's Anatomy, Spektor delighted devoted fans and enamored less familiar listeners with her diverse style and range of musical abilities. From the pop sound of "On the Radio" to the less definitive "Musicbox," each song was almost flawlessly executed.
Spektor's phenomenal musicianship was evident from the moment she graced the stage. After opening act Only Son and a half hour of anxious waiting, the feature artist meekly appeared on stage, grasping a tea cup and a water bottle. Without much glitz and glamor, she placed her mug on a chair, approached the microphone, and began singing. Using the side of the microphone as percussion, Spektor's powerful voice filled the hall and stunned the audience into an enchanted silence. Spektor, using just her voice, her persona, and her piano, soon had the audience singing along, enraptured by vocal pyrotechnics and the range of abilities displayed by the modest woman on stage.
The beauty of the concert, aside from Spektor's pure talent and honest demeanor, was her stage presence. Without directly addressing listeners, she engaged them and seemed to sing to this particular audience. The performance seemed more of a personal serenade than a large concert experience. Each rift and ripple in her voice expressed a burst of emotion meant for each member of the audience personally. Even when overenthusiastic fans leaped onto the stage, surprising her into forgetting the words of her popular "Fidelity," she cheerfully acknowledged, "I forgot what [...] I'm singing anymore, I got scared," and continued on enthusiastically, replacing lyrics with "something, and something else, and another thing" until she found her place. Even when missing notes while covering John Lennon's "Real Love," Spektor could have butchered the song and still retained audience adoration with her good-natured acceptance of her imperfections. In any case, with a brief moment of prayer, her final rendition of the refrain resulted in successful execution of all the correct notes, much to the delight of musician and audience alike.
Other highlights of the concert included an upbeat and entertaining beat-boxed rendition of "Hotel Song" featuring opening act Only Son on vocal percussion. This a cappella version gave the song an entirely new flavor that boosted energy in the hall and got listeners clapping and dancing along. After the soulful, mellow nature of Spektor's ballads, this was a nice change of pace in the set list. Even more spectacular was the multitasking involved in her performance of "Poor Little Rich Boy." Rapping a chair with a drumstick in one hand, playing the piano with the other hand, and stomping her feet simultaneously, Spektor truly showcased the extent of her abilities by creating the sounds of an entire ensemble – all with her own limbs. For a woman whose meek smile and cute curtsy have all the qualities of down-to-earth personality, Regina Spektor's talents and performance style render her a musical super hero. Upon closing her concert with the soul-wrenching "Samson," it was evident that Spektor had picked the perfect end for an almost flawless concert experience.
