📍Moody Theater—Aug. 5, 2025
Written by Krysta Ayers
Photo by Shervin Lainez
Under a lukewarm spotlight, Regina Spektor sits behind her piano, her back toward half the crowd, wearing a long white dress which accentuates her ethereal presence, and plays her Midsummer Daydream tour. The crowd is thick with millennial fans who have kept Spektor’s music alive with nostalgic Spotify playlists and burned CDs that were made with the help of Limewire. She taps gingerly at her instrument, and instantly the crowd is swept into the dreamy state of Vans sneakers, painted-on jeans, and layered polos.
Some of Regina Spektor’s songs are older than UT’s sophomores. I say this to remind myself, and maybe others, that 1) this is a seasoned pro we’re talking about; she has an extensive catalog as an incomparable songwriter and 2) 2009 was not, as a matter of fact, just five years ago. But that’s the year we’re immediately taken back to when Spektor opens up with “Folding Chair” off her 2009 album, Far. Without a supporting band, the song is stripped from the album version’s production, but it does not lack in punch.
As a one-woman show, Regina Spektor makes any instrument not in her hand superfluous to the songs she recorded for studio albums.
Spektor also reminds us that her songs are irreverent, sweet, clever, and as imaginative as ever. Her unseriousness is also intact—bolted and silly-stringed inside a piñata. She sings “Reading Time with Pickle” with earnestness, with quick piano notes that dance in the air and vocals that are sharp and clear, and full of inflections.
The inflections hold us captive. She sings “Better,” and we try to sing along, shyly, because we’re unable to keep up. The same thing happens when “Aprés Moi,” “Us,” and “Fidelity” are played.
Something magical happens when Spektor plays the piano, keys, and guitar. She is ubiquitous with her talent, and we were (literally) seated in awe as witnesses. She grabs her guitar to strum out the rhythmic notes of “That Time” off her 2006 album, Begin to Hope, and I wish the crowd joined in as she said her boxes of tangerines were “cheap and juicy!” but alas. Instead, we all bob our heads, grinning like millennial teenagers, and tap our feet along to the infectious music.
And just like that, the show was over. Spektor did a quick, one-song encore with “Samson” and the crowd roared and clapped politely before filing out to end their Tuesday night. And though she didn’t play “Consequence of Sounds,” she played a fantastic list of her epic songs to satisfy any millennial heart or introduce herself to new listeners.