Tori Amos at the Iron Horse

[MTARR@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU]

Hi!

Last night I had the intense pleasure of seeing Tori Amos live at the Iron
Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA.  I think I'm beginning to come back down
now. 8)

If you think her music is intense on the album, you'll be blown away by her
intensity live, as I was.  She was up there on stage with her piano and voice
and a bottle of Poland Spring water and nothing else, but that's all she
needed.  The full arrangements on the album almost seem superfluous now that
I've experienced everything but "Girl" live with just a piano accompaniment. 
She began the 80-minute show with "Little Earthquakes", which convinced me more
than ever that she is indeed a witch- she was almost satanic in her movements
and expression while singing this song.  As the show went on she seemed to
settle in a bit more, but none of the emotion was lost.  When she took the
microphone into her hand to begin "Me And A Gun" she introduced it by
explaining the "Thelma and Louise" connection, then dedicated it to "a 14-year
old Irish girl", as she's been doing throughout the tour.  Four minutes later
when the song was over, nobody in the room was unaffected by it, and Tori
herself had had trouble getting all the way through it. It made me wonder how
many takes it took before she was able to record it in the studio!

She played everything from _Little Earthquakes_ except "Girl", as well as
"Upside Down" from one of the CD5s and her covers of "Angie", "Smells Like Teen
Spirit", and another one whose title escapes me now.  Her Nirvana cover was
particularly amusing- it proved to me just what a silly song it is! :)

Afterwards I got to meet her, along with everybody else who thought to go
downstairs into the basement where the "green room" was and see what was up. 
On stage she had been so wrapped up in what she was singing that she could
hardly bring herself to say anything in between songs, but downstairs she was
warm, friendly, witty, and very willing to chat with her fans.  She's
definitely a good witch. :)

If you ever have the chance to see her play live, TAKE IT.  I think this is one
talent we're going to be seeing a lot of, and I for one am immensely looking
forward to the rest of her career.
  ======================================================================
  |Meredith Tarr                      "Get to the point you sappy wimps|
  |Wesleyan University                 I haven't got a lifetime        |
  |Middletown, CT                      Simplicity is beauty            |
  |USA, Earth                          Are there poets less sublime?"  |
  |mtarr@eagle.wesleyan.edu                            -Happy Rhodes   |
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