Spektor rocks Electric Factory
Tyler Pietz
Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Coming off the release of her new album "Far," Regina Spektor's show at the Electric Factory Sept. 24 showcased much of her recent work as well as fan favorites and a few wild cards from her earlier albums. Playing to a sell out crowd comprised mostly of women, Spektor, sporting her signature red lipstick, belted out most of her songs from behind a grand piano accompanied by two string players and a drummer.
While a sizable portion of her discography has been devoted to quirky tracks (sometimes bordering on outright strange) she has truly come to embrace this element of her personality on both her new record and the tour supporting it. In what is undoubtedly her most polarizing characteristic, both musically and personally, she doesn't shy away from the giggly cutesiness that her detractors find nauseating and her most loyal fans find, well, cute.
The set list was heavily dominated by tracks from "Far" and "Begin to Hope." The few songs that she did include from "Soviet Kitsch," ("Ode to Divorce," "Us" and "Poor Little Rich Boy") were obvious choices that seemed almost out of place amongst the rest of the selections. The charm of her early albums-the anti-folk minimalism with a certain pop sensibility-is somewhat absent from her more recent material. The middle ground that once existed between her maintaining her eccentric edge and crafting exquisite melodies has largely been eroded in favor of a dual approach that on one hand produces radio-friendly ballads like "Laughing With" and on the other, songs that are unabashedly her own but fail to transcend like "Dance Anthem of the 80s." The result is a roster of songs that seems slightly contrived.
That isn't to say that this has diminished her ability to put on a show. Despite a few hiccups that seemed more like posturing than honest mistakes, she dutifully delivered energetic reproductions of her studio recordings to an adoring crowd. As with most of her shows, she left no one there with any doubt that for her, music is a labor of love.
While a sizable portion of her discography has been devoted to quirky tracks (sometimes bordering on outright strange) she has truly come to embrace this element of her personality on both her new record and the tour supporting it. In what is undoubtedly her most polarizing characteristic, both musically and personally, she doesn't shy away from the giggly cutesiness that her detractors find nauseating and her most loyal fans find, well, cute.
The set list was heavily dominated by tracks from "Far" and "Begin to Hope." The few songs that she did include from "Soviet Kitsch," ("Ode to Divorce," "Us" and "Poor Little Rich Boy") were obvious choices that seemed almost out of place amongst the rest of the selections. The charm of her early albums-the anti-folk minimalism with a certain pop sensibility-is somewhat absent from her more recent material. The middle ground that once existed between her maintaining her eccentric edge and crafting exquisite melodies has largely been eroded in favor of a dual approach that on one hand produces radio-friendly ballads like "Laughing With" and on the other, songs that are unabashedly her own but fail to transcend like "Dance Anthem of the 80s." The result is a roster of songs that seems slightly contrived.
That isn't to say that this has diminished her ability to put on a show. Despite a few hiccups that seemed more like posturing than honest mistakes, she dutifully delivered energetic reproductions of her studio recordings to an adoring crowd. As with most of her shows, she left no one there with any doubt that for her, music is a labor of love.
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