Regina Spektor - Chicago Theater, Chicago, 9/10/2022

  by Lisa Torem

published: 7 / 1 / 2023

It was a grateful and exited Chicago crowd that patronized the kick-off point of Regina Spektor’s 11-city U.S. tour. Needless to say, the opulent auditorium was jam-packed. After all, Ms. Spektor’s tour was in celebration of ‘Home, before and after,’ a ten-track studio album; her first in six years. During that time period, Spektor (like many of her peers) endured the unpredictability of the pandemic. She raised her second child and enjoyed a Broadway debut. Fans had also been privy to ‘Papa’s Bootlegs,’ a limited-edition set that honors her 2001 debut, ’11:11,’ but also includes a wealth of contemporary treasures. Spektor’s back story speaks to her resilience. At nine-years-old, she and her family emigrated from Moscow to the U.S. during perestroika, a reforming of the then-political system of the U.S.S.R., when Soviet Jews who experienced discrimination had a brief window of opportunity in which to emigrate. That backstory would not be lost on this audience. Mid-show, Ms. Spektor expressed gratitude for her citizenship in the U.S., while lamenting the current state of affairs between Russia and the Ukraine, both places in which she has relatives. A first flirt with fame came about when supporting the Strokes on their 2003-2004 Room on Fire tour, followed by her support of Kings of Leon. After that, she was off to the races when Sire Records took over the distribution of her previously self-released ‘Soviet Kitsch.’ Since then, she has achieved acclaim for her sophisticated piano arrangements, vocal versatility and a virtually endless array of original songs that run the gamut of pop, blues, hip-hop and aria-like classical. In media-centered circles, Ms. Spektor also wrote the theme song, ‘You’ve Got Time’ for ‘Orange is the New Black,’ an American program about female prisoners. The show started fashionably late but fans showed no signs of distress. When she came onstage, donning a plush, flowing purple gown that would have looked de rigueur in the Renaissance, the audience promptly stood and cheered. Ms. Spektor smiled shyly and exclaimed: ‘On a lot of these mornings, I’m blown away. Do you ever have those days when you don’t want to sit down at the piano but you have to?’ Before communing with the Steinway, she sang in lusty a cappella, ‘Ain’t No Cover.’ Then, in a somewhat more subdued tone, she waxed about an encounter with God on ‘Becoming all alone,’ a hip tune that, while deeply reflective, recalls the casual stylings of Lou Reed: ‘Hey, let’s grab a beer, it’s awful late…’ Part of this singer-songwriter’s connection with the audience tonight, I believe, came about because of her ability to share without self-consciousness and a genuine regard for her audience: ‘It’s so nice to be back here. I have been living under a rock and this is so beautiful. I’m happy.’ Her themes and lyrics, however, often take on an air of mystery. At a fast clip, she performed, ‘Folding Chair’ (‘Far’). She repeated the guarded lyric, ‘There’s a shadow, you can’t see my eyes,’ with more zeal at every turn. ‘Now I’ve been sitting on this abandoned beach for years,’ she sang, chronicling the gauzy passage of time by executing faster and increasingly more emphatic rhythms. The piano accompaniment was mesmerizing. I’m not sure if those in the ‘cheap seats’ had my vantage point, but I enjoyed her pianistic expertise. Several times, she reached one hand over the other to strike a note and emphasize the melodic intensity. While at other moments, she simply lifted up spirits with a series of brightly ringing chords. On ‘Better,’ from ‘Begin to Hope’ (2006), she broadcast her impeccable enunciation and freewheeling spirit. Ms. Spektor’s word play on the recently recorded ‘Loveology’ was arguably magical on this second a cappella offering of the evening. ‘What Might Have Been’ from her latest recording includes inventive pairings: ‘Citrus and flowers go together, passion and madness go together.’ Spektor’s most memorable fast-talking patter song is ‘Baby Jesus,’ which in an earlier time might have fit snugly into a Gilbert and Sullivan review. To perhaps break the ice, after a well-deserved moment of solitude, she said, ‘This is just me thinking, this is what it looks like,’ which set off some belly laughs. A more penetrating number was ‘Prisoners’ from ‘Songs’ in 2001. She embellished the tune with a fluid bass line and equally striking vocals in her upper register. She followed up with ‘On The Radio.’ In a more somber moment, she raised a glass to the people of Ukraine, ‘I’m so glad I got to come here as a refugee,’ she sighed before introducing the impassioned ‘Apres Moi,’ with the moving choral line, ‘I Must Go on Standing’ (also from ‘Begin to Hope,’ 2006). At the electric piano, she banged a drum stick heartily with one hand and ushered in ‘Poor Little Rich Boy,’ experimenting with guttural sounds. ‘Ballad of a Politician’ from ‘What We Saw From the Cheap Seats,’ released in 2012, showcased a hybrid of cynical observations and rock ‘n’ roll jargon. Both stood in heavy contrast to earlier songs. She stood her ground and impishly announced, ‘I might do a very narcissistic song.’ It was aptly entitled: ‘Reginasaurus’ and was followed up by ‘Spacetime Fairytale,’ a winsome expose of time slipping away. Back at the acoustic, she sang, ‘Two Birds’ (‘Far,’ 2009), a charmingly poetic ballad with an ambiguous theme. Is it about friends, lovers? Whatever the case, a serious symbiosis exists between the metaphorical subjects, and the relationship was lovingly expressed. Then, Ms. Spektor did an about turn. She stood up to strum a turquoise, hollow-body electric guitar. At this point, her voice sounded cunningly country on the quizzical ‘Bobbing for Apples.’ The song features absurdist, and catchy lines like ‘rock and roll, you ate my soul.’ The intriguing arrangement has been highly regarded and was included in ‘Live in London’ as well as ‘Live at Lollapalooza.’ ‘That Time’ and ‘Love Affair’ came in quick succession. Back at the Steinway, and after opening up the stage for requests, she tolerated a predictable barrage of shout-outs. Taking in the hum of voices, and looking somewhat amused, she then half-whispered: ‘I feel like it’s a snowball fight and I always lose.’ But after allowing the shout-outs to subside, she acknowledged: ‘Those were some real deep cuts.’ Nevertheless, time was fleeting… She set to work, concentrating on the task-at-hand. She completed her performance of ‘Eet’ (which also heralded back to 2009 from ‘Far’) with an amazing display of mouth percussion, amplified accordingly by the mic. The simple, but poignant theme, a throw-back to a perplexing childhood, found the New York-based singer--songwriter straddling second-and third-person subjects. The finely structured ‘Raindrops’ had a bittersweet quality, upheld by soft arpeggios and sotto voce. Ms. Spektor’s final selections were also well-chosen. The airy-pop confection, ‘Fidelity,’ which once peaked at 20 on Billboard (also from ‘Begin to Hope’) was followed by the long-awaited encore: the biblical ode, ‘Samson’ from sophomore album, ‘Songs’ released back in 2001. In an entertaining evening of favorites from the vaults and with a fanciful look to the future, Ms. Spektor easily won over the audience. Her on stage sincerity, vocal and instrumental skill and smart song choices made for a unique, intimate performance. I felt like I was visiting the home of an old friend, who just happened to have an electric guitar, Steinway and an electric piano in her living room, and at her disposal—a modern artisan harboring a Renaissance soul. Photos by Madi Torem

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