Strange Little Girl: Tori Amos

[SpinSugar]

oh my god! what an amazing show......it was at massey hall and i actually had the worst seats! we were in the middle, but the second last row of the entire place....but it didn't matter. i could see and the acoustics in massey hall are wicked. so this is my 5th time seeing tori, so i wasn't sure if i'd still be blown away. i was.

so, she opened with 97 bonnie and clyde, playing behind a curtain. man, i thought that song was creepy on the album.....then the curtain dropped and out came tori! she's so cute......

my absolute highlight of the night was when she played 'cool on your island' from her y kant tori read days. other highlights: cooling, sugar, not the red baron, enjoy the silence, pretty good year, mother and crucify. she practically played all my favourite songs. the best was when she sang me and a gun- i've never seen a crowd give such respect....you could hear a pin drop it was so quiet. it was nice to see a concert where the people actually want to hear the music and not themselves screaming or singing along!

i only caught a couple of rufus wainwright's songs, but he's amazing as always. it was a perfect opening act. so, overall- wicked, awesome show. what did y'all think?

plur........sugar

 

[chickpea]

Absolutely amazing...loved Speedracer and the cover of Daniel. We had wicked seats, but kept injuring those around us when they rocked back an forth...tricky

I had goosebumps the whole night.

 

[MoFo]

HEY!!!! I didn't see you there! Icq me and we'll Tori talk.

- Sunny

 

[rejenerate]

*sigh* She's so wonderful.

I had excellent seats (first row centre of the balcony), and I was just in awe the whole time. The "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" opening was stunning. Tori looked beautiful, and I was quite surprised at the setlist...a bunch of b-sides, and she seemed to concentrate on "Pele" more than anything. She even made me like "Cool On Your Island" by doing it on the organ.

I'm also really happy that she's doing "Me and A Gun" again...it makes the friend that I was with unhappy, but I'd never hear her do it live, and I think in the context of her new album, it makes sense.

I swear, next tour I'm going to follow her around the east like some people are doing. There are just too many good songs I want to hear live.

Only complaint: mad, disorganized merchandise booth! Made me miss Rufus.

~jen

 

[Wave]

Glad to read your positive posts.
I had read a less than favourable review by Ben Rayner in the T.O.Star.

 

[rentboy]

that's strange...Rayner is usually on the ball...

hmmm....

Chris

 

[Wave]

I usually am down with what Rayner has to say as well. That's why I was wondering what other people had to say.

He does sometimes seem to be trying really hard to hide his overall dislike of a certain type of music when he does reviews - but it still comes through loud and clear that even if it was the "best show ever" by other people's accounts - he wouldn't necessarily think it was artistically meritable.

I find this even more obvious in his pre-show announcements. For example, virtually anything "techno" is given a high recommend, where as a progressive or breaks night would probably not even be mentioned by him.

Regardless, I think its impressive that The Star even has someone like Rayner on staff.

 

[rejenerate]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Wave:
Glad to read your positive posts.
I had read a less than favourable review by Ben Rayner in the T.O.Star. </font>

Seeing as Rayner used the phrase "dirge-like wallow" to describe her rendition of "Crucify," (dirge-like? It was on a Wurlitzer! Huh?), it seems apparent he doesn't like her much. BTW, it looks like the online version of the review is longer than the published one.

This is how he sums it up:

"It boils down to a matter of taste, I suspect, whether you prefer Amos unadorned by full-band arrangements or dolled up in full, neo-Kate Bush art-pop regalia. Fans of the former, who hurled flowers, cards and cries of "Toronto loves you, Tori!" between songs, certainly weren't complaining about this gig."

At least he recognizes that. I'm never sure how I feel about reviews...I took an arts criticism class that Rayner once spoke at, and I was still unsure. Should a newspaper send someone to a show who is a huge fan of an artist, and will most likely give it a good review? Send someone who considers themselves indifferent to make it "objective"? Could I get over my dislike of N'Sync, go to their show, and judge it based on what it is, and who it's for?

~jen

 

[rejenerate]

The Globe review was even more puzzling. The reviewer, Rebecca Caldwell, called it "cold and uninspiring," yet described how energetic Tori was, and how her lyrics and voice were "dead on and evocative."

She says Tori "didn't manage to connect" with the audience; "the audience, however, lapped up Amos, and even after her 100-minute show, demanded two encores."

She claims the "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" opener was "visionary," but "seemed to simply puzzle an audience that repeatedly called out requests to hear 'Cornflake Girl.'" Huh? I think I heard people yell out stuff besides "I love you Tori" only a couple of times...and just because one or two people wanted CG, doesn't mean the whole audience does...I certainly didn't...I was also hoping she'd play something else instead of "Crucify." &lt;shrug&gt;

I dunno, this review just seemd full of contradictions, ignorance and assumptions.

~jen

 

[anastasia]

I had an amazing time. I went to the meet and greet, only managed to see her because there were so many people pushing and shoving to get in front. I had the most fun meeting people, chatting and finding out what people like.
My favourite moment was when she sang Never Seen Blue - I cried through the whole song. It was definately a Boys in Pele set with alo of B sides thrown in. She played Hey Jupiter for the girl that died in the Sept 11 bombing. I thought that was so nice for her to play it.
It was taped, there are mp3's out there already if people want them.
My fav concert so far was 1999 Darien Lake.
For people who want boots - available now is West Palm Beach, Clearwater, Atlanta, Charlotte and Wallingford.
In my book, Tori is still my fav and her voice take me to a magical place.

deb