Concert: Regina Spektor - Nokia - Nov. 12, 2009

The past few weeks have been excellent in the way of concerts -- Brand New was on October 30th at the Palladium Ballroom, and tonight's Regina Spektor concert was equally amazing. I've seen few fans as devoted as many of the Regina fans were; it's always good to hear people singing along. Also, while most venues are standing-only, all of Nokia had seats, and when Spektor first came out on stage, she received a standing ovation without even playing a note.

Although she could have taken the praise and phoned in a performance, Spektor seemed to put everything into each song, and simply said a modest "Thank you" after the thunderous applause that followed each song. She opened with material that sadly, I'm not entirely familiar with, but the encore featured familiar favorites such as "Us", "Samson", and "Fidelity" from Begin To Hope. Her live version of "Apres Moi" has never made Russian sound so sexy, and her final song, a country-fied "Love, You're A Whore" provided an almost perfect closer.

The opening band, Jupiter One, was a typical eighties-influenced indie rock band, similar to say, The Airborne Toxic Event, complete with faux-British accented lead vocals and synths, but incorporated unique violin and flute loops [performed by band members before the start of each song] and performed with high energy. I'm happy to say that they also got the love they deserved -- many audience members went down to the stage to chat with the band while they broke down their equipment. Kudos goes to the Nokia security staff for allowing that to happen.

It's always good to see a strong bond between fans and artists, and Regina Spektor's performance, along with Jupiter One's, certainly proved that the praise the audience gave to them is earned.