Regina Spektor Is Adorable

Before she came out, walked to center stage and stole our hearts, we were lucky to have made it to the Moore in time to catch the last couple songs from the ex Moldy Peaches guitarist, Only Son. Actually it was more like two songs and a story. A story put to music, told pretty much off-the-cuff and in the first-person about a guy in a grocery store. He sees a girl. She's cute, but he's insecure and awkward and thinks maybe he should avoid the inevitable crushing rejection and just go home to his ever-loving and non-judgmental video games. It could have been one of those you-had-to-be-there moments to really appreciate it, but Only Son (Jack Dishel) was funny and charming and talented enough to win us over.

Admittedly, we're newcomers to the fold of Regina Spektor fans and we'd never seen her live show before Wednesday night, so it was a blind date of sorts. But we're enamored now. Love at first song you might say.

There are those out there (ahem, TIG) who are heavily divided in regard to Spektor. Some absolutely love her, while some write her off as head-to-toe VH1 fluff. (Side note: We'll submit that there was a time when artists on VH1 could easily be written off as your parents' music, but that was back when MTV provided the alternative. These days, VH1 can be counted on to play more and better music than MTV any day of the week). We wonder if any of these nay-sayers have actually seen her live show, because that's where it's at. Gone are the beats and studio magic present on the albums. Simply put, it's a piano or a playfully strummed guitar and it's a girl named Regina with a startling vocal range.

Dressed in a cute black dress and a pair of high black boots (for stomping the nay-sayers?), Spektor entered the stage, smiled and walked directly to a lone microphone, front and center. As the cheers died down, she sang for us a beautiful solo with nothing but a finger-tap on the microphone as the beat. It was a simple maneuver, but it struck us as a brilliant way to introduce the audience to the stripped-down show this was to be.

The set didn't seem to weigh heavily on new or old material. For sure, she played new hits -- "Samson", "Fidelity" and an a cappella "Hotel Song" with the help of Only Son, but she also satisfied long-time fans with older greats -- "Us", "Baby Jesus", "Music Box" and one of our favorites, "Bobbing For Apples", in which she sings, "the people next door are fucking to one of my songs..."

We doubt VH1 will be playing that song any time soon.

Photo: Regina Spektor at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver -- courtesy of tmfhw on Flickr.