A lot of us feel pretty depressed and maybe even a little threatened right now, so here’s something to soothe you just a little, maybe:

NPR.org has posted the audio from a wonderful, 80-minute concert by Regina Spektor, performing at Washington DCs 9:30 Club. Ive become increasingly fond of Spektors most recent albums, 2004s Soviet Kitsch and 2006s Begin to Hope, but even so, this concert surprised me.

She starts out with a handful of tracks that I didnt recognize (perhaps from her earlier, self-released albums?) and really hits her stride after abot 33 minutes with a heart-stopping redition of Apres Moi that features some lovely Russian-language singing. If youre just looking for an introduction to Spektor, fast-forward to the encore, where she lays down favourite after favourite, much to the audiences delight. Her vocals are perhaps even better live than on record. I often get the sense that singing is some kind of serious play for Spektor: she blows through her anti-folk with an exuberance and child-like (and most unladylike) love of vocal noises that set her apart in that melodic sea of female singer-songwriters.

But I think my real favourite thing about this show is the high-pitched screaming before Spektor walks on stage. You can totally tell that the audience is like 98% girls.