Regina Spektor Pops At Chicago Theatre

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 22, 2012 5:20PM

Regina Spektor's show last Wednesday at Chicago Theatre proved that the meek, arty songstress has completed the transformation to bona fide pop star.

Between every song, Spektor was greeted by shouts of praise from those in attendance - from the basic “I Love You!” to greater flattery that would make even Lady Gaga blush.

But Spektor took the compliments in stride. Occasionally, she addressed the audience to tell a short story or to say thank you her small, whispery voice. But she mostly let the music do the talking, and it did so whimsically.

Her set was heavy on material from her latest, “What We Saw From The Cheap Seats,” which is a solid effort, but it definitely lacks the quirkiness of her older releases like “Soviet Kitsch” or “Begin To Hope.” However, when performed live, much of new material takes on a more majestic feel.

“All The Rowboats” conveyed a moody sense of urgency with its tightly knit drumbeat and fluid piano play as the stage was awash in red lighting. A heavy groove showed up in the chorus of “Small Town Moon” thanks to her steady backing band, which included a drummer, cellist and synth player, while “Open” weaved its way through a hazy introduction to soaring heights.

Not all of Spektor’s new songs completely worked, though. The kinks still need to be worked out of the bluesy shuffle, “How,” which may rank as her dullest to date. And while she did give a shout out to Chicago’s “hometown hero” Barack Obama before the blandly dark “Ballad Of A Politician,” not even a Bill Clinton sax solo could have injected it with soul.

Still, it was Spektor’s older tunes that dazzled. Early in the show, she broke out the melodic up-tempo take “Better” and the fanciful, soft-spoken “Ode To Divorce” much to the delight of the crowd. But an encore that featured four of her most popular songs (“Us,” “Fidelity,” “Hotel Song” and “Samson”) brought about the evening’s biggest ovation.

Even as Spektor’s adoring fan base grows by leaps and bounds, the fame isn’t going to her head. She’s still an extremely engaging and talented live performer.

By Richard Giraldi