Playlist Rewind: Regina Spektor at the Factory

We've lamented—frequently—the craptastic acoustics at the Electric Factory. The warehouse venue has made even some of our favorite acts, who we know are great live performers—The Honorary Title being the most notable example—pretty much unlistenable. Could someone, anyone, conquer the cavernous, metallic echo chamber that is the Factory?

Amazingly, yes. The hero who achieved the monumental feat of delivering high-quality, totally hearable show in the demon venue: Regina Spektor (MySpace). The soft-spoken, petite songstress delivered an hour and 40 minutes of really enjoyable, well-mixed music that left us wondering whether we've been harsh on the Electric Factory, or whether her sound people are just that good. Of course, it helps that Spektor's music doesn't have to be played—actually shouldn't be played—at ear-blistering volumes.

Apart from the fact that Spektor sounded good in a notoriously bad venue, we were struck by Spektor's stage persona. Or, accurately, her lack of one. We don't mean that in a bad way at all. When she spoke between songs, Spektor seemed genuinely surprised at the loyal following her music has inspired. Most of the audience knew just about every word to just about every song. This proved helpful on two occasions in the show when Spektor herself lost track of the lyrics of what she was singing. Something about her audience interaction reminded us of Sally Fields's, "You like me, you really like me" Oscar acceptance speech—only Spektor's musings were interspersed with almost-embarrassed giggles rather than tears. The words that came to mind most when thinking about her stage were "adorable" and "charming."

Of course, all of the charm in the world wouldn't be able to save Spektor if her music and performance wasn't rock-solid. The early part of the setlist skewed, unsurprisingly, towards material from her recent album far (Amazon, iTunes). The opening song of her show at the Factory, "The Calculation," (also the lead song from far) was a warm introduction to Spektor and left us instantly craving more—which she delivered, delightfully. From new material to non-album songs, Spektor performed a ranging setlist that kept the audience going from start to finish. We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly the show went by, not because it was short, but because we enjoyed almost every moment of it, so we didn't look down at our watches once to try and figure out when it might be over.

The only real downer of Spektor's performance was a structure and setlist that left her pretty much glued to her piano seat for a large chunk of time at the start of the show. Because the stage dressing was very understated, and Spektor wore all black, we would have liked to see some movement—her getting up to play guitar earlier and more frequently in the set, having another pianist come on stage to free her to walk about the stage and sing, anything—to keep the show from becoming visually monotonous—which, unfortunately, it did.

But anytime we can see a show that keeps us interested musically, and sounds good, by a performer who charms our socks off, we've got to give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.