When was the last time you heard an artist with an album reaching the top 20 on the Billboard charts with lyrics such as, "Crispy crispy Benjamin Franklin and the doctor, went and had a talk with my boss?" or "He steps right into somebody's fat loogie and everyone who sees him says, 'Ew.'" Regina Spektor is an individual who, with lyrics like these, is creating a fanbase that's sweeping the nation, one venue at a time.
Tonight, at 8 p.m., Spektor will be bringing her obscurity to the Jorgensen Center for Performing Arts.
Born in Russia, Spektor moved to the United States when she was 9 years old. After years of playing piano within her home, bringing together her Russian-Jewish roots with those of her new American neighbors, Spektor went on to study at the music conservatory at the State University of New York at Purchase.
Her debut album. "11:11," released in 2001, introduced the world to her style and proved to be the first of many successes to come for Spektor. From slow-paced songs like "Sampson" and "Lachrymosa," to more upbeat tunes like "$2.99 Cent Blues," Spektor brings together a rare sound unlike any other. Her 2004 release, "Soviet Kitsch," pushed Spektor into the spotlight and she was furthered by her newest album "Begin to Hope," containing her first radio single, "Fidelity."
Pinpointing exactly what kind of sound Spektor accomplishes is almost impossible, for she is a unique, boisterous talent that combines jazz, blues, alternative music and even hip-hop.
"Compare her to other eccentric, female, piano-playing crooners, but New York singer-songwriter Regina Spektor is an oddball unto herself," according to RollingStone.com. "Less miserable than Fiona Apple, less wacky than Nellie McKay and less hippieish than Tori Amos."
Her sound can be further defined by the unimaginable number of influences she lists upon her MySpace page. "Luis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Vladimir Vysotsky, Eminem, Leonard Cohen, John Lennon, David Bowie ... so much more rock, hip-hop, jazz, punk and possibly you," she writes.
Spektor's opening act, Only Son, features the music of NYC-based songwriter Jack Dishel, whose debut album, "The Drop To The Top," is currently in stores.
"Before creating Only Son, [Dishel] was the frontman of NYC band Stipplicon as well as lead guitarist for The Moldy Peaches," according to Only Son's Web site.
Tickets to tonight's concert are $15 for UConn students and $20 for non-students.
Contact Emily Abbate at Emily.Abbate@UConn.edu.
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