It’s often very difficult for the general population to find new, up-and-coming musicians among the thousands that already populate today’s music scene. October 3 brought one of the most talented female singer/songwriters, twenty-six-year-old Russian pianist Regina Spektor, to the 9:30 Club. With a unique solo piano style, often characterized by individual notes with minimal accompaniment rather than chord progressions, Spektor blends her distinctive Russian roots with her Brooklyn upbringing.

The seven o’clock concert, early by 9:30 Club standards, was an hour and a half of the most interesting and positive music I’ve ever seen performed live as Spektor entertained her audience from the moment she humbly strolled on stage with nothing but microphone to open the show. Her brilliant, unrestrained songwriting, her stunningly unique voice, and the music itself set her apart from most musicians, playing to a sold out crowd comprised mostly of college students.

Highlights included “On the Radio,” “Sailor Song,” which featured the chanting chorus “Marian’s a b****” over and over again, and her two most popular songs, “Samson” and “Us.”