Monday, October 16, 2006

Concert: Regina Spektor (Park West, Chicago, IL)

Do I know this artist well? Not at all

Do I know this artist a little? Ummm not really

Really the only way I went to this concert is because of the beautiful invitation from Luna who is particularly enamored with her. I didn't want to impede her enjoyment during my visit just because I didn't know an artist. Plus that would go against my whole open-minded to music thing that I like to foster and express.

So here we are at the Park West which is actually a pretty cool venue. There's enough of a space for people to stand and swoon at the artist but also lots of chairs and it all feels cozy and close. Really nice. We need more of these in New York. I always feel to spaced out or too cramped there. Park West was comfortable.

Well this guy with a Jewfro opened named Only Son (yeah you read that right). He wasn't so bad. His band (i-Pod) was great. His guitar work was great. Even his lyrics were kind of on. His voice was kind of braying however. Like the whine of someone coming off a flu and took too many Dayquils. Eh worth a MySpace visit or something.

Anyway, Regina Spektor is a Russian immigrant naturalized in the suburbs of New York City. She is one of the purveyors of a genre of music some have labeled as anti-folk, I guess because it embodies elements of folk music like acoustic instruments and the singer-songwriter dictum but the subject matter is off base as well as some of the other musical influences that make it into the eventual brew. Despite that seriously atrocious run-on sentence, I forge on.

And she was really good. The music was rocking. Whether she was banging away on her piano, using a stick on a wooden chair as improvised percussion, or even with her band, it was all very groovable. She did employ some interesting lyrics like "Non-believers become the dirt and the believers spit on their graves" and "They're fucking to my song in the next room" and also "I'm so cool, I'm so cool, I'm so cool".

It was all so joyful and vibrant. I did leave there feeling a bit effervescent. And a little more open to Regina Spektor. Actually she's just in now.

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