Regina Spektor at Town Hall (October 17, 2016)

It’s hard to believe that I haven’t been to Town Hall since I saw Grizzly Bear there in May 2009. I returned there for the first time since last night, for a sold out performance from Regina Spektor, in support of her newly released album Remember Us to Life

For whatever reason, I remember Town Hall seemingly larger to me back in ’09. I was surprised by how fairly intimate it was for a seated venue, with not a bad seat to be found in the house. Although seeing Regina at her even more intimate show at Rough Trade NYC tonight would be even more ideal, there was something so appropriate about catching her in a place like Town Hall where the talented singer and pianist’s music can truly shine.

As expected, a good chunk of her setlist featured songs from the new album, but this was a well balanced 22-song set that featured all the career-spanning favorites that one would expect. What started as a very hushed and polite crowd (that Regina even spoke out about how quiet we were a few times early on in the show) soon became one that started shouting out requests and even one rude lady blurting out “When does the song start?” in the middle of some banter. It was a bit odd shift, but Regina was always the professional and powered on through.

This was my first time seeing her live, and it went even above and beyond the expectations that I had set. There’s a lot of noise in todays music world, it’s nice that we still have someone consistent like Regina Spektor to balance it all out.

Regina Spektor Setlist:

1. On the Radio
2. Better
3. Grand Hotel
4. Older and Taller
5. Bleeding Heart
6. Tornadoland
7. Black and White
8. Blue Lips
9. Ballad of a Politician
10. Après Moi
11. The Light
12. Small Bill$
13. You’ve Got Time
14. The Trapper and the Furrier
15. Sailor Song
16. Sellers of Flowers
17. Obsolete
18. The Visit
19. Us