Regina Spektor At Town Hall

I've been seeing a lot of concerts lately and my run of luck continued with the delightful show by Regina Spektor at Town Hall. She's clearly another talent in it for the long haul. It began with her standing on stage alone, tapping the microphone for percussion and singing a song a capella. Other various touches -- clapping her hands while playing the piano or using one hand to beat out a rhythm on the piano bench, seemed awfully avant garde. I suppose anything out of the ordinary can seem shocking. When Spektor strapped on an electric guitar and sang another song, I had the giddy thought that all the instruments strewn about the stage were solely for her and that she'd play them all one by one. Sadly, that didn't happen and when the band came out she sometimes seemed a tad overwhelmed by them. (Spektor has mostly performed solo.) But her songs were witty and fun and suddenly when you least expected it she'd hit emotional paydirt. And her voice -- I didn't appreciate how terrific it is from her recordings. The audience was extremely passionate -- reinforcing my impression about how organic her development has been. Spektor has recorded four albums, toured, built a fan base, improved as a performer in confidence and songwriting, all without reams of overwhelming press attention. This is how it's supposed to work. Can't wait to hear what she does next.