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So here is my review of the Regina Spektor show here in Portland on 8-8: The opening band/dude was less than entertaining, and had virtually no stage presence, but that was to be expected. When I showed up he was playing, which gave me the perfect opportunity to go and have a couple of beers--which I did. The staff was not allowing people to enter the auditorium except between songs, so this made the drink lines quite manageable, and the event staff were all very helpful, so the venue was good. Regina was awesome! She came on stage around 9:20 and played until 10:50 so she was on stage for the better part of an hour and a half. This was adequate for her to play all the hits, including Better, Fidelity, Dance Anthem of the 80's, Blue Lips, and eet. She did a fine job with talking to the crowd, seemed humble, and played the piano well, and did not hit any off notes while singing. Not that any of those things would have mattered to the mostly 25-65 year old, well healed white audience, who are die-hard fans, and were completely mesmerized, by Ms. Spectors every move. She wore a rather awkward looking eastern European pattern dress, that was way to mono-chrome, and made here appear frumpy. An evening gown would be out of the question? The crowd sat for the music and only got to it's collective feet, when she left prior to the 4 song encore, which included the hit Fidelity. I found the stage lighting too bright, and it washed out all the color on stage, except when the stage lights were set to all one color, such as amber, which made Ms. Spector appear jaundiced.
As she was touring in support of her new album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats, She played the entire 10 songs to mixed reviews. The new album sound somewhat derivative, and this was not lost in the live format. It may have been a better use of the one and a half hours, playing some of the more beloved of her music, such as The Call, Laughing at God, or Aprs Moi, or even the guitar anthemThat Time. As concerts go, in the great big, world of live music, she needs more time before a live audience, she should spend some time touring with the Violent Femmes, or even Weezer, to get a better feel for what a great live show should be like, and how to introduce new music.
So since I got to hear three of the four songs I love the best, I give the show an overall grade ofA! I would see here again in a heartbeat. If you were one of the people that I asked to this show that could not make ityou missed out!

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