This review was written April 2010.
One lady and her piano wooed the audience of her first sold out Sydney show at the Opera House. Executing every song live, she proved that her talent exceeds beyond the studio.
Opening with the banging sounds of The Calculator, her powerful voice projected through the concert hall, setting great standards for what was to come. Though an unexpected choice to begin with, she hit the high registers with flawless vocal jumps, making it a worthwhile opening song.
Back to back we heard tunes from her most recent album Far, getting some old fans jittery. Machine was a standout, her generous use of sforzando on the piano and the distortion on the electric violin adding to the surreal effects of ‘machinery.’
Her vocal control was simply incredible. The walrus-like vocals of Folding Chair, the staccato effects of Better, and her soothing falsettos in Eet - she aced them all. Live, her ability to vocally fragment complicated syllables whilst also holding the melody intact WHILST accompanying herself on the piano, shows how out-of-this-world talented she is.
Regina’s beautiful personality was threaded through her banter. She even made swearing a beautiful thing in Sailor Song, its comical lyrics getting people giggly. On The Radio (oh-oh) was easy to sing along to and Dance Anthem of the 80s brought her face to face with the audience for the first time, playing on the keyboard and revealing her quirky facial expressions.
Silly Eye-Color Generalisations, was sung in a Capella, whilst Regina’s guitar skills were shown in Bobbing for Apples and That Time. She sung Apres Moi and Music Box on the grand piano alone, which was a brilliant choice due to the overwhelming significance of the piano part in both songs.
Her ‘last’ song Summer in the City, seemed like an extremely insignificant song to end on, and the audience was hyped for an encore.
After a couple minutes of cheering and clapping, Regina Spektor returned to the stage to bring one of the best encore performances. Samson, hypnotised every single audience member. Continuing with the theme of romance, Us (from the film 500 Days of Summer) beared the smoothest vocal trills.
After a whopping set-list of 25 songs, it was time for the finale, a country song she had written called, Love, You’re A Whore.
The show ended with a standing ovation.
5 golden stars out of 5.
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