From:      owner-precious-things-digest
To:        precious-things-digest@smoe.org
Subject:   precious-things-digest V1 #91
Reply-To:  precious-things@smoe.org
Errors-To: owner-precious-things-digest
Precedence: bulk
X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "precious-things-digest-request@smoe.org"
X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body.


precious-things-digest        Tuesday, 28 May 1996        Volume 01 : Number 091

                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
       YTKR
       Tori on VH1
       New commercial video tape available?
       Trading Videos anyone?
       Re: New commercial video tape available?
       Talula tribulations etc.
       Wilkes-Barre May 19 concert

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Kerry White <zzkwhite@ktwu.wuacc.edu>
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 00:37:58 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: YTKR

  Hi, Whomever told you does't know; use this as a gauge for future "info"
from this source!  YTKR is Tori doing medium-hard rock w/ a band.  The
cover has her holding a sword and she is dressed in leather, this caused
some to say it was "Heavy Metal". Idiots!  If you like Tori doing
something different, then you will like this.  Some boots have some extra 
stuff, some don't. 

                                    KrW
                          "It's not lady-like to 
                      make such noise with your gum!"
                     "It's not gum, it's grasshoppers!"	


------------------------------

From: FroggyJen@aol.com
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 15:46:14 -0400
Subject: Tori on VH1

From the AOL VH1 board...

***********************************************

Subj:  Tori on VH1
Date:  96-05-25 23:48:37 EDT
From:  ShanaVH1        

Tori will be performing in the VH1 Studios. Tune into "Crossroads" on 6/19 at
11pm, 6/23 at 11:30pm, 7/1 at 11pm or 7/3 at 1am (eastern). It a whole
half-hour special hosted by Amy Scott, featuring interview bites and four
songs from Tori.

**********************************************
Happy taping!
Jen

------------------------------

From: Taylor Baumgartner <lee@che.che.tulane.edu>
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 15:19:11 -0600
Subject: New commercial video tape available?

I was wondering if anybody knew anything about this:

AMOS*TORI -- TORI AMOS
Songlist not available.Try the Track List Request Serv.  *I tried...nothing*
Category: VIDEO
WEA/ATLANTIC 7567 50335 3
    $13.95 

I found it in Concert Connection, a part of Cdnow, at this address:

http://cconnection.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=1353351941/page=cc/bandid=1009/se
ction=2

You can even order this (by clicking on the price) through cdnow.  But it is
not available through the actual Tori Amos discography on cdnow (which,
oddly enough, is accessible from the info page for this video).  Strange...

Btw, this is not the Little Eathquakes video, and I can't tell from the
catalog number when it was released.  Any help?  

Thanks,
Taylor


------------------------------

From: Taylor Baumgartner <lee@che.che.tulane.edu>
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 15:26:23 -0600
Subject: Trading Videos anyone?

I am interested in trading videos.  I need several of the recent appearances
that I accidentally missed, such as ALL the morning shows.  :)

I have a large list available.  E-mail me if interested.

Thanks,
Taylor

P.S.  If you don't have the ability to dub video tapes, I will gladly make
tapes for anyone who can come up with another fair trade idea...just ask.  


------------------------------

From: beninten@ix.netcom.com (Precious Thing)
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 13:34:47 -0700
Subject: Re: New commercial video tape available?

>I was wondering if anybody knew anything about this:
>
>AMOS*TORI -- TORI AMOS
>Songlist not available.Try the Track List Request Serv.  *I tried...nothing*
>Category: VIDEO
>WEA/ATLANTIC 7567 50335 3
>    $13.95 
>
>Btw, this is not the Little Eathquakes video, and I can't tell from the
>catalog number when it was released.  Any help?  

I'm not sure about that one... I know I've seen two new tori videos down at
the local music store. One is called "Grace" and is just a tape of the
Montreal show and the other is called "Compilamos" and has a compilation of
various live performances. There is not set list given but it does say it
has the "Big Picture" video on it. I already have so much Tori video anyway
I cant justify paying $35 for a video when I dont know what I'm getting.

~Angie

you say the world is getting rid of her demons
I say 'baby what have you been smoking?'
                ~tori amos


------------------------------

From: MATH TRIED ERR <METH@delphi.com>
Date: Mon, 27 May 1996 21:01:52 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Talula tribulations etc.

Hi!
 
So, am I the only one who is disturbed by the news that they will be 
replacing "Talula" on the album with the "Tornado Mix" in subsequent
pressings?  I mean, I like the single version and everything, but why
mess with what's on the album when there's absolutely nothing wrong with
the original version?  In fact, I think it's the best of the bunch -- I
love the way it slowly builds in its one-step-forward-two-steps-back
fashion, and feel the addition of the drum machine beat on the single
takes away from the power of the song quite a bit.
 
Here's what Tori herself had to say about "Talula", in the B-Side interview:
 
"And it keeps moving into the dance of `Talula', and her desperately trying
to dance, desperately trying to figure out the whole idea of loss: it *must*
be worth losing if it's worth something.  So I feel like I am losing some-
thing, at least I valued something enough to lose it in the *first* place...
it's going back into that train of thought."
...
 
"So there's a real letting go: `Talula' is about letting go and getting the 
dance.  I do not want to lose him."
...
 
"And `Talula' came as a nursery rhyme, my little dance that I would do when 
things were so sad.  ...  I want to dance and go `yeah, I want to be with 
Talula'.  I want to be able to dance through the people that come in and go 
out of your life.  I want to learn how to dance with the gifts when they come 
and the gifts when they need to take a different route."
...
 
"They are all stretching forms, particularly with `Talula', where it starts
and stops and starts and stops...there's a reason, because she's trying so
hard to dance!  And once she gets going she stops again!  Then she starts
and stops again, and *finally* she dances.  So everything was a reflection
of what was really going on with the characters.  I tried to make that happen
with the music."
 
That last quote is particularly important: the "Tornado Mix" doesn't allow
for those critical starts-and-stops, but keeps the beat the whole way through.
This completely changes the story and the point of the song, IMO not for the
better, and the album as a whole is going to be weakened as a result.
 
Anybody else agree?
 
On to other matters that have been raised here recently:
 
A while ago, abbe commented:
 
> but there are definitely some people who go to all the concerts by
> anybody who is getting coverage on the radio, and have nice rich
> parents who can pay for their tickets or whatever, who also happen to
> be young enough to have not developed a sense of respect for a
> performer and a sense of what's appropriate to do or not do at the
> concert.  Squealing in the middle of a song or gossiping to their
> friend about random stuff during the concert is kind of rude...why
> waste your money during a concert if you're going to do that?
 
The entire Theater at Madison Square Garden was filled with these people
the night we were there (and from what I've heard, even more so the other
two nights as well).  The girls behind us at the beginning of the show were
so obnoxious, we moved down to the end of the row when we figured no one was
going to show up to fill those seats.  The girls behind us down there weren't
much better -- when "Cornflake Girl" started and one of them squealed to her
companions, "I'm sorry, but I just *have* to sing along to this!" and I turned
and said, "I really wish you wouldn't", they spent the rest of the show yam-
mering away about what assholes the people in front of them were.  (Needless
to say, this part amused rather than bothered me.)
 
What is it about Tori shows???  Sarah McLachlan gets pretty much the same
audiences, and they don't seem nearly as obnoxious at her shows, even in
New York City.  Though I think we've pretty much decided for ever and for
good that we are never, *ever* going to see Tori in New York again.  It's
just not worth the pain and aggravation.
 
>As a side note...It also gives you a weird feeling to know you've been
>listening to an artist since those annoying kids behind you who keep
>screeching at things were about four years old, which was my
>experience at the REM concert this past summer.. 
  
Heh... for some reason, woj and I went to see REM at Madison Square Garden
last year.  It was sad, yet funny to hear all the frat boys around us going,
"What the hell is this?  Man, their new songs suck" whenever they played
anything older than _Out Of Time_.  Sigh.
  
Vanessa inquired:
 
>Did any of you know that Y Kant Tori Read is not Tori's first album?
>I was just listening to the radio (CFNY, Toronto) and I heard that Tori had an
>album before this.  Done in 1980 on her own label - MEA (Mary Ellen Amos), her
>real name.  This album is apparently impossible to get a hold of.  Does anyone
>have it or know anything about it?????
 
I think you're talking about the single "Baltimore", which was released thanks
to a Chamber of Commerce contest she won to write a song for the Orioles
baseball team.  She recorded three songs in the session -- and trust me, 
they're not worth the time and money it's going to take you to track them
down, even considering the novelty value involved.  (Think of the absolute
worst local radio station call-letter jingle you heard in the late 1970's,
and multiply it by eight. :P)  If you *must* have these songs, you can drop 
$120 on the 4-disc bootleg compilation "Tori Stories" -- they're all on there, 
along with the audio of a wedding 14-year-old Ellen Amos played at her dad's
church in 1978 (you haven't lived until you've heard her croon "You Light Up 
My Life" -- not!).  Or find someone on the Tori-boot list to make a tape for 
you of the one-disc "Ultra Rarities" CD folks over there made of the "good" 
stuff from the "Tori Stories" collection.
 
However, the safest thing would be to just forget the whole sad affair 
altogether.  In this case, ignorance *is* bliss. :)
 
woj replied:
 
>tori's music does more than feel magical, it's just plain
>enchanting.  someone sent me a tape of _little earthquakes_ early in
>1992 and it ended up being the only thing i listened to that february
>and march. i was ensorcelled, and had no will or choice in the matter -
>the tinkle of ivories laid a geas on me and i had to bide by the
>spell.
  
The exact same thing happened to me.  I physically could not bring myself
to take the tape out of the player for six solid weeks, and I didn't even
know whether I liked it or not!
 
>it's pretty clear that tori is half in this world and half in the realm
>of fairie (or maybe the dreaming). i think that appeals to many folks,
>including me. i'm not a terribly spiritual person, but i do think that
>there is a piece missing in humanity that was lost sometime in our
>relentless advances. tori's regained that piece and i feel that most
>people still yearn for some kind of magic in their lives, whether they
>know it or not. tori's connection with her audiences, i think, comes
>from this. sure, there's a fair amount of carnal attraction from her
>audiences, but the level and type of devotion is different from other
>performers' and bands' fans. not more pure or somehow "higher", but
>certainly more magical.
 
I think that describes it pretty well.  Maybe that's part of the answer to
my question above... maybe it's not that the audiences at Tori shows are more
obnoxious per se, but the fact that they're not feeling the magic really gets
to those of us who are, and prevents us from feeling it as much as possible.
 
+===========================================================================+
|Meredith Tarr                                               meth@delphi.com|
|Boonton, NJ  USA                        http://remus.rutgers.edu/~woj/meth/|
+===========================================================================+
|             "nothing's gonna stop me from floating" - Tori Amos           |
+===========================================================================+

------------------------------

From: Richard Handal <handal@access.digex.net>
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 01:10:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Wilkes-Barre May 19 concert

Greetings: 

Woj wanted to repost this here, but I told him I'd prefer to just do it
myself. Those of you who, like me, also sub to ToriNews and/or RDT--well,
here this is again.  :-)  I just sent in a sub message. If this doesn't
post directly then woj said he'd forward it along.

Be seeing you,

Richard

<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>

The Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania show was the seventh I've seen so far on
this tour, and as much as I see each of them as a distinct entity within a
continuum, this one stood out clearly in my mind as being highly
anomalous. What intangibles, or simply things running through Tori's mind
and being may make one show one way and another one another way, I
couldn't begin to say. Just the vagaries of the road, I suppose. 

The concerts have more and more been reminding me of Grateful Dead shows,
in that they are at once highly intellectual as well as emotional
exercises, and are also communal get-togethers of like-minded travelers of
a common road. And the interplay between Tori and Steve Caton is becoming
much more of a true musical dialogue--the differences in this regard
between concerts of even two weeks earlier being marked. This shows up
most during what was once Steve Caton's guitar solo in In the Springtime
of His Voodoo, but which has become much more a contrapuntal experience,
with Tori providing accompaniment which complements, yet could stand alone
and make its own musical sense. And it's fascinating to see the growth
over even these short periods of time. This also holds true in the songs
Tori performs alone. 

The first, oh, third or so of this show was one of those harrowing deals
with being totally in the moment--intense feeling pouring from the stage
and into one's soul, with the listener being up on the mental balls of his
feet. I was actually wondering if I was gonna make it through an entire
concert of this. But I was loving every second of it. This is what music
does when it's truly great--takes you from one second to the next to a
different place, and leaves you a changed person at the end of it. Wow. A
real life force. 

It's certainly easy to understand, even from the audience, why Tori sees
the songs as girls. They surely are vital, evolving, pulsing creatures. I
love the company of girls, and, similarly, I love being in the company of
such musical girls. I don't even care all that much for Losing My Religion
as a song, but with the way Tori managed to so richly embody it in this
show, it was having a profound effect on my psyche. And it was indeed
haunting and beautiful. How many times had I heard Crucify before? How
could she have *possibly* performed this song such that I would realize
previously unplumbed depth of feeling and literal meaning from it?
Astonishing.

But then, somewhere around Doughnut Song, all the magic was lost. Gone. 
Where did it go? I have no idea. It simply wasn't there anymore. The
concert became one of merely great music. Her performances from that point
on were well-rendered, but they were just songs, not living beings. 

Now, this is a highly subjective thing, obviously. I'd had a very
spiritually and emotionally intense Saturday the day before, not as much
sleep as I'd have liked that morning, and a 3 1/2 hour drive to get to
Wilkes-Barre. Maybe I was just exhausted. I asked one of the people with
whom I went to the show about this, and she indicated similar feelings,
but I didn't discuss it in depth with her, so the detail I have provided
here may seem foreign to her. And of course, your mileage may vary.  :-) 

Other anomalous things in this show were the lack of Voodoo and Hey
Jupiter on the setlist. I'd think it was possible that Tori didn't play
Hey Jupiter and left early because of the peculiarly misplaced and *loud*
song request from the balcony near the end of Silent All These Years, but
for the fact that the harpsichord was still in place on the stage, and the
harmonium organ was still off to the side. So unless she'd planned a third
encore for that show as she'd done for the April 28 show in D.C., that
wouldn't have been the cause. Maybe she just didn't feel it was working
anymore, so she gave us nearly an hour and three quarters and split. 

The last things I want to note are that this was the most gorgeous theater
I'd seen so far on this tour, and that Willy Porter totally killed! He was
fabulous. And hysterically funny in the process. (This, without his
bassist and drummer.) And although this venue seats but 1,800 people and
the Theater at Madison Square Garden seats 6,000, the overall level of
relaxation and intimacy Tori exuded at the 5/15 show in New York made her
seem, by comparison, distracted during this show. She even said something
to confirm this along the lines of, "Girls, you know those days when you
feel your body isn't quite right, and it's probably just your brain? But
you have a job to do, so you do something like smear Tiger Balm all over
yourself just so it's something different, but it doesn't help, and you
just end up smelling like the inside of a rugby player's jockstrap?"

Atlantic/eastwest really should make an entire full length CD of these
nuggets from the stage. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.  :-) 

Setlist below. 

Richard Handal

<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>====<>

TORI AMOS AT THE F. M. KIRBY CENTER 5/19/96
===========================================

Tori hit the stage at 8:51, left at 10:32
Steve Caton on Guitar indicated by +

Beauty Queen/Horses
Losing My Religion
Crucify
Caught a Lite Sneeze +
Pretty Good Year +
Cornflake Girl +
Doughnut Song +
Happy Phantom
Upside Down
Precious Things
Not the Red Baron
Lovesong (The Cure)
Talula + (with much backing tape track)
Me and a Gun
************
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Putting the Damage On
************
Space Dog +
Silent All These Years

------------------------------

End of precious-things-digest V1 #91
************************************