Regina Spektor @ Sydney Opera House

A Delight to Host the Queen of Topsy Turvy in “Upside-Down Land”

Joshua Hoey’s suggestion that the Opera House’s acoustics are flawless is a bit far-reaching since they’re actually notoriously bad, but he’s on the money in saying Regina Spektor’s performance last night was a rare class of show. Mixed in with the radiance that she’s managed to bottle and sell as the Regina Spektor brand of anti-folk, the Russian-born US-raised chanteuse made motions to her sound guy throughout the show in polite, silent pleas for sound adjustments.

Hoey summed up the experience with, “Spektor’s bumbling powdered doll routine is tedious and kitsch, nothing more than indie by numbers” which I think most will agree is scathing even by this reporter’s standards.

Full disclosure here, I am rather besotted with the singer/pianist/song writer but I was in good company at the show. Fans were crying out the standard “I love you’s” (which did manage to travel around the concert hall with surprisingly strong audio,) one fan bellowing out “Thank you thank you Regina on behalf of Australia…” only to be cut off by the songstresses powerful, open throat top notes as she launched into yet another beautiful, swooping song.

There were no questions about sheer talent with a packed house and the very bare staging of Miss Spektor on a grand piano alone for more than half the set. She opened and closed backed by her three-piece band (cellist, violinist and drummer) but mostly accompanied herself and even sang to a captivated silence during her a capella version of Silly Eye-Colour Generalisations.

There have been reviews circling the nation testifying to her conversational style and chatter which I felt a little gyped out of but then again she did explain herself by saying “I’m feeling a little speechless so I’m just gonna sing.”

Then there was the magically Sydney;

Regina : (whispered girlishly) “I can’t even believe this is a real place.”
Fan : (bellowed from the boxes) “It isn’t…”

She played it all. The new (from her 2009 album Far), the popular (from her very successful Begin To Hope album) and oldies like Sailor Song or the well You-tubed guitar routine Bobbing for Apples.  The haunting flowed to the toe-tapping Dance Anthem of the 80’s with her sturdy Yamaha synthesizer, which changed the tempo but not enough to get the crowd out of their seats. Despite the lightshow, the more rollicking numbers seemed wasted on an audience dressed up and tucked into their cushy $92.00 seats. I thought it was Sydney that held back, not Regina.

She offers herself to the piano as though her heart were feeding the music through an invisible cable; arching forward, hanging her head to it, pumping away while the audience listens in on the resounding love affair between the two. This was most evident in her six song encore when she belted out Human of the Year. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Hallelujah quite so beautifully sung as it was in the final moments of this perestroika baby’s show.

She thanked profusely and the audience loved her back with a standing ovation despite the reserved vibe of the Opera House crowd. Perhaps the rough and tumble era of putting her up in the Enmore Theatre has passed but lets hope she’ll be back to visit the “upside-down” Australians soon.

By Estelle Pigott

Tags: Regina Spektor

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 10:51 am and is filed under Australian Literature, Australian Music, Events & Festivals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.