11.02.209 Regina Spektor / Jupiter One
I've been wanting to see Ms. Spektor since I heard her first (major label) album Soviet Kitsch. A luck would have it, she wouldn't hit Vancouver until the tour afterwards. Unfortunately my school exams kept me from catching her on latter tours. I think that happened twice actually. When I found out that she would be playing at the Orpheum this time around I got excited. It's a beautiful venue and the acoustics in this building are awesome. As I entered the building I overheard someone tell their friend that when their Dad found out that the show was at the Orpheum he offered to go instead just to stare at the decor inside.
Jupiter One apparently knows how to market themselves. They have a who slew of songs that appear on commercials and video games. Sadly I didn't recognize any when I was watching them. I would describe their sound as corporate indie pop rock. I kind of feel sorry for the people on the right side of the venue because the way Jupiter One was set up, they only occupied the left side of the stage. Makes, sense, it's pretty hard to move a grand piano, which was in the center of the stage. Anyways, I found the band to be pretty boring, their sound was a little to safe for my tastes. It didn't help that each member seemed to be confined by an invisible box and wouldn't move outside it until the last song, which is when they started to rock out.
Like I said, I feel sorry for the members of the audience on the right side of the venue, especially in the front couple of rows. Their sight light couldn't have been that great because Regina was on the piano the majority of the time. The length of the grand piano (Steinway and Sons, if you're curious) probably would have obstructed someone's sight line. Anyways, Regina started her roughly 80 min set with "The Calculation", the first song off her new album Far (or as she would like called, Far(t), I didn't bring it up, she did..) I was actually pretty impressed with how well behaved the crowd was. Most people were refrained from talking to their neighbour and spent the night listening to the music. I guess the classiness of the Orpheum rubs off on everyone. A couple songs in, she introduced the band. There was a violin player, a cellist and none other than a certain ex Pearl Jam-mer, Matt Chamerlain on drums. I can only imagine how those previous Commodore shows were. Anyways between songs, Regina seemed humbled by the show of appreciation the crowd had for her after each song. She was taken aback, when between a song, someone yelled out if she would join them for dinner. Being too nice to decline the offer, she went into the next song. She played all the favorites from her past albums, like "Fidelity", "On the Radio" and "Apres Moi", and the majority of the new album, though I was a little surprised she didn't play "Blue Lips". For "Poor Little Rich Boy", the stage hand, brought out a wood chair and put it beside the piano. Immediately I thought there'd be a duet. Instead she was given a drum stick, which she used to perform the song's percussion while playing the piano and singing. She hits the sticks hard too, pretty sure I saw splinters flying. No wonder they were selling drumsticks at the merch table for $5 a stick. The final song of the night was a country song called "Love, You're a Whore". I don't think it was ever released, but it's a very fun song, which got everyone up on their feet and clapping. I guess you could call it a barn burner.
$70/$50
Jupiter One apparently knows how to market themselves. They have a who slew of songs that appear on commercials and video games. Sadly I didn't recognize any when I was watching them. I would describe their sound as corporate indie pop rock. I kind of feel sorry for the people on the right side of the venue because the way Jupiter One was set up, they only occupied the left side of the stage. Makes, sense, it's pretty hard to move a grand piano, which was in the center of the stage. Anyways, I found the band to be pretty boring, their sound was a little to safe for my tastes. It didn't help that each member seemed to be confined by an invisible box and wouldn't move outside it until the last song, which is when they started to rock out.
Like I said, I feel sorry for the members of the audience on the right side of the venue, especially in the front couple of rows. Their sight light couldn't have been that great because Regina was on the piano the majority of the time. The length of the grand piano (Steinway and Sons, if you're curious) probably would have obstructed someone's sight line. Anyways, Regina started her roughly 80 min set with "The Calculation", the first song off her new album Far (or as she would like called, Far(t), I didn't bring it up, she did..) I was actually pretty impressed with how well behaved the crowd was. Most people were refrained from talking to their neighbour and spent the night listening to the music. I guess the classiness of the Orpheum rubs off on everyone. A couple songs in, she introduced the band. There was a violin player, a cellist and none other than a certain ex Pearl Jam-mer, Matt Chamerlain on drums. I can only imagine how those previous Commodore shows were. Anyways between songs, Regina seemed humbled by the show of appreciation the crowd had for her after each song. She was taken aback, when between a song, someone yelled out if she would join them for dinner. Being too nice to decline the offer, she went into the next song. She played all the favorites from her past albums, like "Fidelity", "On the Radio" and "Apres Moi", and the majority of the new album, though I was a little surprised she didn't play "Blue Lips". For "Poor Little Rich Boy", the stage hand, brought out a wood chair and put it beside the piano. Immediately I thought there'd be a duet. Instead she was given a drum stick, which she used to perform the song's percussion while playing the piano and singing. She hits the sticks hard too, pretty sure I saw splinters flying. No wonder they were selling drumsticks at the merch table for $5 a stick. The final song of the night was a country song called "Love, You're a Whore". I don't think it was ever released, but it's a very fun song, which got everyone up on their feet and clapping. I guess you could call it a barn burner.
$70/$50
Labels: Jupiter One, Orpheum Theater, Regina Spektor, vancouver
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