Tori Amos

Tori has released a 2-CD album, "To Venus and Back", with one disc of new songs and one disc of live performances. The first single, "Bliss", is already in stores and features live performances of "Hey Jupiter" and "Upside Down". Tori is also on the cover of the November 1999 Spin Magazine and the October 1999 issue of "A.P. Alternative Press". For those who may not know, there is an official home video out with all of Tori's videos!

I saw Tori in concert on November 19, 1998 in Durham, NH. This was my second time seeing Tori in concert. When I found out tickets would be going on sale I phoned my friend who has been a Tori fan with me since 1992. She had seen Tori at Smith College in October of 1994, and I had seen her at this same arena in May of 1996. I called Ticketmaster right when tickets went on sale and was very excited because I got through right away. Then I found out that the show was general admission. This was very disappointing to us. We each had eigth row at the concerts we had been to before and now would have to fight the crowd to get up front. I had bought "From the Choirgirl Hotel", but had not had time to listen to it that much yet. I really wanted to know the songs before the concert.

The night of the show my friend Sarah came up and we went to the show with my sister. When we arrived there were hundreds of people already in line. Oh wait, I had went over to the arena that day during my lunch break in the hopes of meeting Tori, but all I saw were buses and members of the opening act I believe practicing outside. There were also people already in line, yes it was noon-time and people were in line for when doors opened 7 hours later at 7pm. Even if I didn't have to work I don't think I would have done that. It's not our thing anymore to be up front if we're just surrounded by a bunch of people pushing and leaving no room to move. We basically decided we didn't care where we sat that much, as long as we got in of course. It was cold outside and we stood in line for maybe 45 minutes before doors opened. We each got searched and I had to take out my inhaler to show I didn't have a tape recorder or something. Sarah brought her knitting to do while we waited and they searched her bag.

We ended up getting ok seats. All the teenagers and a lot of college kids ran to the floor to try and get close to the stage. We decided that was not for us at all and we must be "too old" :) Anyway, we got seats near an aisle so that we didn't have to worry about people in the way. It was to the left of the stage and up, and though the stage was fairly far away, there are no really bad seats in the arena anyway. Sarah did her knitting while I went and got a program and then we all looked at it. I have to say this "Plugged" program was much better than the one I got at the last Tori concert. Finally, at exactly 8pm the opening act came out, The Unbelievable Truth. They were ok, but we were all unfamiliar with them and so found them a bit boring. Sarah continued her knitting. Most of the people at the show were high school and college students. There were some older people there and you knew they were really Tori fans because they obviously weren't there to be "cool". After the third song I think it was, one of the bandmembers said, "Tori is not going to come out until she's ready, so stop chanting TORI TORI!!!". That is very rude to cheer that when another band is playing, but oh well. After they left the stage the lights came back on and we waited for Tori.

During this break between acts we just talked and watched people. Two girls thought they were so cool because they were smoking in the arena and weren't getting caught. If they had been sitting in front of us we would have pointed them out. That is disgusting and gross. Basically, we watched lots of people who think they're Tori fans, but as you shall read later it became very clear who was a Tori fan and who wasn't.

Hooray!! About 9:15pm and Tori comes out. She starts out with the band doing "Precious Things". Sarah and I love this song and we always listen for "girrrrrrrrllll", but seeing the song was redone a bit, it wasn't like it is when she does it on her own. However, it was nice to hear the song done with a full band. All of the songs she ended up doing with the band sounded great. It was really different from the show were I was in eigth row and it was just Tori and the audience, but why not try something new, right? Next she did "Father Lucifer". Then they began a song and at first it was hard to figure out what it might be, I guessed "Talula" and that turned out to be the one. Seeing the songs were redone, we sort of tried to see which one of us could guess which song it would be when Tori and the band started each new one. After these songs she sent the band away for a break and said it was time for her to just be with us. She sang "Winter" and "Flying Dutchman". She said she had a lot of requests and that she had been to so many colleges and that everyone here treated her great. Other songs she and the band did that night were "Girl", "iieee", "the Waitress", "Past the Mission", "Raspberry Swirl", "London Girls", "Spark", "Hotel", "Northern Lad", and I believe the others were "She's your cocaine" and "Playboy Mommy" (Let me check with Sarah). She concluded the evening with "Angie".

As I said earlier, it became clear which people were really fans of Tori after about two songs. Kids (meaning high school and some college) started walking around and talking (so rude during a Tori show), etc. They were fairly disinterested in most of the songs seeing they didn't really know them. It was funny because the one song that took Sarah and I the longest to figure out what it was, was "Spark". Certainly there were a ton of people who were devoted Tori fans, I'm sure many in high school and college and beyond, but a large proportion were just there cause it was a cool thing to go to. Then, like at every concert, there are a ton of people who leave before the encores. They think the show is over and leave. I've learned by now that a concert is never over until all of the lights are turned back on. Although I really liked this show, I think I preferred the first one I went to, just due to the fact I was closer and it was all seating and there seemed to be more intimacy between Tori and the crowd. Since the show though I've gotten to know the new CD much better because hearing it live made me listen to it all the time now. Well, that's about it I guess. We didn't wait after the show to see Tori seeing we both had to get up early for work. I'll try to get Sarah to write her perspective.

Hi - Sarah here. I have been a Tori fan since 1992. By total coincidence, I have been listening to Tori all evening. Lately I've been listening to dancehall (check out Lady Saw!!!) and some rockabilly (check out the Amazing Royal Crowns, now known to the masses as the Amazing Crowns) and Marvin Gaye and my old favorites the Misfits. Anyway, I just put this in because it really is coincidence that I am listening to Tori now. I am listening to the Doughnut Song off Boys for Pele, which may be my favorite song on the album besides Father Lucifer.

So - the concert. It was excellent. I have to say I am always concerned about the fan response at shows and am always happy when an artist I like is well received and respected. After a bad spell in the "Under the Pink" era where fans were very rude at Tori's shows, shouting "I LOVE YOU TORI" and yelling songs they wanted to hear in the middle of her sets, I was worried that people might do the same here. I think the band drowned them out if they did, because everyone seemed cool in general and people were quiet and respectful during her straight-up piano and vocal songs (I was so happy she played Winter).

It was really great that they played some lesser-known tracks and B-sides. I love all of her songs but I am pretty tired of Cornflake Girl, Silent All these Years, Blood Roses, Hey Jupiter, etc. since they are played live on most of her television appearances when she's promoting her new albums. So, it was exciting to hear songs such as Father Lucifer, the Waitress, Flying Dutchman, London Girls, and so on. Oh, she didn't do Playboy Mommy, by the way. Which was fine with me since it's one of my least favorites on the new album.

Speaking of which, the new album has some wildly different sounds on it, as in She's Your Cocaine, Raspberry Swirl, Liquid Diamonds, and Hotel. However, there are also some "classic" sounding tunes, such as Black Dove, Northern Lad, and Pandora's Aquarium. The album is interesting in that each of the songs seem to reflect one of her changing styles. Pandora's Aquarium is reminiscent of the slightly meandering vocals and abrupt bridges between cadences seen first in UtP's Yes Anastasia. It also has the wailing vocal styles of her post- Under the Pink pre-Boys for Pele releases (such as "Butterfly"). Jackie's Strength and Spark are really not all that different from past releases except for a difference in instruments; the rhythms, lyrics, chords, etc. are all familiar in previous releases. I don't know if that is coincidence that she released those two as her singles: something different but not too different?

Back to the show. It is always different for me to be at a show like this since I am not used to sit-down concerts/shows where you get tickets from ticketmaster. Being on the college radio circuit, I mostly wanted tickets to small shows in little clubs, and I got a lot of my tickets for free. Many of the shows I go to are also unbalanced in the male/female ratio (most of them are metal/hardcore-type shows). So this was very interesting to me to see so many women at a show. (Also, the shows I am used to seeing have mean ticket prices of around $8. So paying $33 for this show was a little shocking. But of course I did it. And it was worth every penny. I had a great time. Also a tip: bringing knitting to an event like this is always a good idea - you get a lot done on your project. I put probably 3 inches on the sweater I'm doing.

All in all, Tori puts on a great show. It's a lot of positive energy, and there's a wide variety of people of all ages, so there aren't high proportions of annoying "scenester" kids. The best shows, I think, have a heterogeneous audience. One thing I did notice, however, which made me a little uncomfortable, was that the audience was wholly Caucasian with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions (maybe). Was that a function of being in Durham, NH? Yeah, that probably had something to do with it. But still it was weird and freaky. So I'll admit that Tori doesn't draw the heavy-into-urban-music crowd, but it was still a little unnerving.

Anyway - if you get the chance, see her. It's worth it.

Tori was on the cover of these magazines with featured articles: Rolling Stone (6/25/98), Musician (July 1998), and Alternative Press (July 1998). Tori is also in the December 1998 Glamour magazine, as she was named one of the year's top 10 women. I'm going to possibly attempt to make a list of as many magazines as possible that Tori has been in. If you have any contributions, let me know.

Anyone who can provide a personal review of any Tori concert, please email me (see below for address).

I saw Tori in concert on May 8, 1996 at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, NH. It was a great show, about 2 hours of Tori. She sang all my favorites like "Sugar", "Precious things" (a train went by just when she was about to sing 'girrrrrrrrl', it was rather funny), "Caught a lite Sneeze", "Happy Phantom" and many more. Anyone wishing to write to me about Tori's music can do so by sending me email at gwd@rcn.com