Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor is cute and funny, quirky and talented, but she’s nearly a carbon copy of Nineties queen Tori Amos without all the controversy. Just another chick at a piano, right? The difference between Spektor and her contemporaries is pure sincerity. The Russian-born New Yorker seemed overwhelmed as she looked out over a sea of humanity, barely making it through the a cappella blues of “Eight Miles High” without bursting into laughter. Every time she moved to the piano, however (“On the Radio,” “Better”), the magic dissipated, aside from notable exception “Poor Little Rich Boy,” which turned the beauty into a one-woman jazz band, kick drum at her left foot, whacking box at her right, and piano for left hand only. Switching to guitar for a minimal “Bobbing for Apples,” Spektor finally relaxed. “Ghost of Corporate Future” and “Fidelity” drew the appropriate crowd response, but her version of John Lennon’s “Real Love” was lost. Closing with megahit “Samson,” Spektor left with a curtsy.
This article appears in September 21 • 2007.