From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #1187 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Monday, August 18 2014 Volume 16 : Number 1187 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Really enjoyed Tori's 2 NY gigs [Karen Hester ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 14:17:52 -0400 From: Karen Hester Subject: Really enjoyed Tori's 2 NY gigs (Not really any spoilers, since at most your setlists will have two or three repeat songs.) Only two songs from the new album Unrepentant Geraldines each night, and usually very little from Beekeeper onwards, so you can safely go if you're a mid/early-Tori fan :) Her voice sounds lovely though there is help from reverb. The new songs she switches between are Weatherman, 16 Shades of Blue, Wedding Day, Oysters, Wild Way, Selkie, Trouble's Lament, Invisible Boy and Forest of Glass. I heard the first four and they were nicely played, they're just uninspired. My final opinion of Unrepentant Geraldines is that the songs are mainly worse than those on Abnormally Attracted to Sin and American Doll Posse, but they fooled me at first because of the cleaner production and arrangements. So... night one, lots of slow emotional songs. Tori said the setlist was made out of requests, and that might be why it felt like a bunch of songs rather than a cohesive concert to me. Little Earthquakes was particularly rich and dark and later in the set Mother had people crying. China-Bells-Pandora-Oysters in a row was lovely but Siren was a very welcome pick-me-up. Mid-concert there's a Lizard Lounge section of covers/mash-ups, and we had the misfortune to hear George Michael's Faith with hairspray Tori's Fayth. Man, she plays some great stuff in this section but Faith had the tackiest keyboard beat and Fayth doesn't need resuscitating. It's fun to hear one-offs, but I'd rather hear something good. The second 'Lounge' song was Chris Isaak's Wicked Game with a bit of Lana Del Rey's Blue Jeans. These were prettier and Tori used her raw voice well in Blue Jeans. The dreaded backing track was back for Bliss, Wedding Day and Cornflake Girl. The energy brought by percussion was good, but I found the pre-recordings jarring, especially the choir of Tori backing vocals and the way she takes a rest from real singing during Cornflake. Blood Roses and Mountain managed to bring movement through the piano playing, not a tinny beat. This tour's Raspberry Swirl is a bit of a mess. Everyone was so excited to hear it and started clapping, but it was a murky muddle so audience participation died away quickly. In my memory, Iieee also was a bit of a muddle, especially the keyboard, but it was amazing the second night. I lurved the second night. Funky Space Dog and sexy Suede. Delicate Icicle and beautiful Black Dove. Lovely Spark and moving Marianne. Charming A Sorta Fairytale and soaring Iieee. Funtime Take to the Sky and pretty concert closer Pretty Good Year. I've always wanted to hear Scarlet's Walk so even though the organ section didn't work, I was thrilled ( that song was the weakest performance of the night.) Lizard Lounge was much better because she played two songs she knew well and was able to inhabit them - Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy (complete with Meredith scream) and Radiohead's Creep. I love the former song and am sick of the latter, but she did an excellent job of both. So glad to be able to enjoy Creep again! Sections of the audience reverted to children - ooh she said a swear word, let's all clap with excitement. Later in the set Tori covered Depeche Mode's In Your Room, another example of how much better a cover sounds when she knows and loves the song. And that's that. So well worth going even if you dropped away from Tori a decade or so ago. K ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #1187 ****************************