From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V14 #228 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Tuesday, August 18 2009 Volume 14 : Number 228 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Tori Red Bank [Karen Hester ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:33:10 -0400 From: Karen Hester Subject: Tori Red Bank It's ridiculous how personal these things are. I much preferred the Red Bank NJ concert to NYC because I was in fifth row centre with a wonderful view of Tori's face, and the setlist was Karen-calibrated. I'm jealous of you sensible people who can enjoy shows from a balcony seat, but I feel the distance and lack of emotional connection if I'm not close enough for the musicians to be people sized with visible facial expressions. Red Bank NJ is handy to NY so there was a huge meet & greet full of out-of-towners. (Why make 100s travel down here instead of playing a second NY show? We could have given Tori our gas money and train fares.) After a couple hours standing in the sun I garbled to Tori for 30 seconds. I was trying to say how sad I was to have missed seeing all her amazing musical incarnations between LE and ADP, and how wonderful it was to hear songs from throughout her career, but I said "you've changed so much" and she stepped back and I thought Oh no she thinks I want her to play LE forever and Oh no she thinks I mean her plastic surgery Mustn't stare, Mustn't stare. I needed a script to stick to :) The concert included Karen favorites Horses, Pandora's, Siren, Tear, Hotel, Doughnut, heart-breaking solo Taxi ride, Fast horse, Take to the sky. I enjoyed my non-favs too such as Glory of the 80's, Bliss and Josephine. Second solo song was Joni Mitchell's 'Boys in trees' which I didn't need - I like Tori better :) 'Not dying today' was premiered and the lyrics still suck but as Meredith pointed out, when you ignore the lyrics you can enjoy the bouncy beat, and it was better as a rock song than the album's pop version. With three Neil Gaiman mentions (Tear in your hand, Hotel, Not dying today), she could have added Carbon and thrilled us to death, but that came the next night in Philly instead :( A happy Karen. I wonder if her voice sounds as gorgeous without all the reverb making it velvety and rich. I'm sure it does, but is it ever unadorned in concert? K ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V14 #228 ***************************