Regina Spektor - Live @ The Commodore Ballroom 4/21/07 | MP3s
Regina Spektor
The Commodore Ballroom
Vancouver, BC
Opening Act: Only Son
When Pollstar notified me that Regina would be playing the Commodore, I thought to myself “well damn there’s a show I should go to”. I had every intention of just showing up the night of and buying a ticket at the door. That plan was nixed when I noticed a few days after tickets went on sale that she had in fact sold the place out - confirming something I had long ago come to accept - Vancouver is downright weird when it comes to concerts. In New York, Wolfmother opened for Gov’t Mule. In Vancouver, Wolfmother repeatedly sells out large venue’s, and Gov’t Mule does not (nor does Rose Hill Drive, who are the under appreciated twin brothers of Wolfmother). Where was I.. oh yeah - I decided that it just wasn’t meant to be, and as much as I had been enjoying her latest CD, Begin To Hope, life would go on. Then, the night before her show in Vancouver, she played on Letterman. And sitting through the mindless drivel of Jessica Biel (Daves guest that night) was totally worth it. To the point where as soon as she played the last note of On The Radio, I loaded up the Vancouver craigslist tickets for sale section in search of a not too overpriced ticket. A few emails later and Ken came to my rescue - selling me a ticket @ cost (thanks again Ken!).
The effort was entirely worth it.
The first surprise of the night came when I noticed that there was nothing on stage other than a grand piano. No drum kit, no additional mics (aside from the one Only Son used), no guitar racks, nothing. After seeing her on Letterman, I quietly assumed she had a backing band. That was not the case. It was Regina and her piano, and that’s it. And that’s all she needed. Her voice alone was more than enough to entertain every single underage girl there (more on that later).
I won’t pretend that I know every Regina song, so I can’t give a full breakdown of every song she played, but the highlights included: That Time (imo, her very best performance of the night, and one of the two songs she played on guitar rather than piano), On The Radio, Summer In The City, Fidelity, Apres Moi, Uh!merica, a Lennon cover, and of course Samson.
Now back to that underage girl comment. This was the first concert I’ve been to since Bjork where women outnumbered men by at least 5 to 1. I think that might have contributed to the level of respect shown to Regina - when she played, everyone shut up. It was a hugely refreshing change of pace compared to some of the shows I’ve seen lately, even if I felt like a senior citizen compared to the average age of everyone else in attendance.
April 22nd, 2007 22:03
I hear you loud and clear. I’m a 63-year-old guy with a big crush on Regina. I saw her last month at SUNY Purchase, and, like here, it was just Regina and her piano. And she was sensational. I agree with everything you said, and you said it very well. Thanks.
April 24th, 2007 08:47
seriously, the best concert I’ve ever been to. And one of the only artists I’ve seen live that made me wish she was playing again the next night. Fabulous. And, going home and listening to her recorded music does no justice to the voice she brought live in concert.
April 24th, 2007 08:54
I bought tickets immediately when I discovered Regina playing in Western Canada. My wife and I flew to Vancouver from Saskatoon just to see her. The Commodore is a great venue, it lived up to my expectations. I had some reservations when “Only Son” played, I thought the sound was terrible, possibly caused by the hum from the audiences disrespectful conversations throughout his show. I too was pleasantly impressed by the crowds respect for Regina and got chills down my spine for the warm reception given to the humbled Regina. Regina’s voice and piano were music to my ears, she has such a bright smile and personality, those in attendance were given a memorable experience. My wife elequently describes her music as, “Nora Jones on Speed”.
Thank you Vancouver for a brilliant job hosting Regina Spektor, your reward - she nicknamed her new guitar “Vanc”.