Charming pianist and whimsical lyricist Regina Spektor brought her manic-pixie-dream-girl wonder act to the Orpheum Theatre on Thursday night in support of the release of her sixth studio album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats.
Prior to her last album (2009’s Far), Spektor often performed solo, filling in her own percussion in the form of a drumstick-on-wooden chair or microphone tapping and throat noises. This past Thursday, however, Spektor performed with a backing band that included a full drummer, cellist and synth player.
The overall effect of the band gave the show a fuller sound, with the same fleshed-out traditional pop tendencies that marked Far. However, part of Spektor’s charm on previous albums like Soviet Kitsch and Begin to Hope was her knack for creating rhythm and melody through non-traditional avenues and creating music out of, well, noise, which was something that the backing band managed to eliminate for many of the live renditions of her songs.
That being said, Spektor remains one of the greatest vocalists I have ever seen live, with a range wider than the Brooklyn Bridge and a soulful yelp to rival any R&B diva in the business today. She opened the show with the never-recorded live classic, “Ain’t No Cover,” a bluesy ditty backed only by Spektor’s hand tapping the microphone rhythmically. The fact that she could open a show and hold the full Orpheum Theatre’s attention solely on vocal power speaks volumes about the integrity and sheer power of her live performances.
Spektor went on to introduce many yet-unreleased songs from her new album, touching upon the new single, “Don’t Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)” (a new rendition of her song “Ne me quitte pas” from her 2002 self-released album Songs) with unwavering enthusiasm despite technical difficulties with the Orpheum’s sound system.
Right before the encore, Spektor giggled a little and sing-whispered into the microphone, “So can we all just agree that we love each other and pretend that I already left the stage and came back?” Judging from the roaring affirmative that Spektor received in response, I think we can agree that the crowd was, indeed, in love.
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