From: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org (precious-things-digest) To: precious-things-digest@smoe.org Subject: precious-things-digest V7 #277 Reply-To: precious-things@smoe.org Sender: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-precious-things-digest@smoe.org 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 Wednesday, November 20 2002 Volume 07 : Number 277 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Tour weirdness and the Riverside Church concert [Tasha325@aol.com] RE: precious-things-digest V7 #270 ["h." ] hartford courant oakdale review [dances with virgos ] providence journal concert review [dances with virgos ] new york times riverside review [dances with virgos ] mansfield news journal article [dances with virgos ] UK Tour Meetups ["Captain Scarlet" ] pictures.. [ALaro22912@aol.com] Tori show Camden ["Tom xxxxx" ] Seattle Key Arena seating question ["Tony Fernandes" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 00:37:16 EST From: Tasha325@aol.com Subject: Tour weirdness and the Riverside Church concert I agree with the weirdness about this concert. (riverside nyc) it was blown up so big! ticket fever and fiasco. then we waited for hours to get in. expected, whether we meant to or not, fireworks and special treatment. i think the majority of the crowd (in front that i could see anyway) was worn out. the church handled the crowd rather well. better than a lot of venues i've seen. let me use the bathroom like 8 times (forgive the UTI). and had access to their cafeteria (veggie ziti!). they were mostly calm and the crowd seemed to react likewise and positively to that. she seemed angry for the first 3 songs or so. then tapered off into a drone almost. venue was beautiful! sound was great where we were. the bass was not as overwhelming. but the show was a lot like atlanta and the others, i think. i affectionately refer to this tour as the 'Bore the Regulars 2002' tour i'm not the oldest or most die-hard fan anymore, but i've been to multiple shows on every tour since 1996 and have never felt this way. or never had this lack of feeling and interest for a tour. i'm relieved to not be doing any more shows until 2nd leg. i hope something gives. every show on previous tours was like a christmas morning. or like i think tori said once. dinner or a kitchen or something. what's cooking? what will you bring to the table for us? does anyone have a clue what has happened this our? i think it must be an epic thing. like they can promote her more if there is a more standardized setlist? i don't know. but just for the record. i like the album. it is deep & multileveled and i know it will grow on me. beautiful art as well. probably the best yet. tasha 'This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.' ~Ecclesiastes ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 01:01:45 -0800 From: "h." Subject: RE: precious-things-digest V7 #270 > > Aha! I've just figured out what the song "Wednesday" > > reminds me of! Anybody a fan of the Monkees? It > > reminds me of the style of Michael Nesmith's Monkees > > tunes! I know that sounds far out, but if you've ever > > really gotten hooked on Nesmith's songs, "Wednesday" > > is very reminiscent! heh, no offense to any monkees fans, but wednesday immediately reminded me of the beatles. and i always think of the monkees as a sugar pop imitation of the beatles. redstamen ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 11:42:40 -0500 From: dances with virgos Subject: hartford courant oakdale review Amos Connects With Audience November 18, 2002 By ERIC R. DANTON, Courant Rock Critic Large crowd, small crowd - Tori Amos captivates them all. With her riveting stage presence, sly humor and restless energy, Amos holds her audiences rapt, mesmerizing them with quirky piano and her breathy voice. On tour with a compelling new album, "Scarlet's Walk," Amos performed twice in Connecticut Saturday. The first stop came Saturday afternoon at Tapeworks, a Hartford recording studio, where the red-headed singer and songwriter performed as part of the Acoustic Cafe series sponsored by WTIC-FM (96.5). About 40 contest winners squeezed into the studio to hear Amos sing four tunes from the new album. Later Saturday, she played for nearly two hours with her band in Wallingford at the careerbuilder.com Oakdale Theatre before a crowd of more than 4,000 people. The performances displayed different aspects of her range. The radio gig showed Amos at her barest, singing a heartbreaking version of "A Sorta Fairytale" and a stark "Pancake." Those songs turned out much differently when the band played them at the later show, but her drummer and bass player added flavor to "Strange," also from the new album, and helped to propel the bouncy "Wednesday." Amos also played a brief solo set on piano at the Oakdale show, which included the concert mainstay "Icicle" and "Baker Baker." She was always in motion on stage, standing up, sitting down, crossing and uncrossing her legs while playing and switching between a stately grand piano and warm-sounding Fender Rhodes- and Wurlitzer-style keyboards. Her audience, mostly young and mostly women, listened with an attentiveness unusual among concertgoers, bursting into applause and cheers for their favorites. The crowd seemed to already know most of the new songs, and welcomed such older tunes as "Crucify" and "Cornflake Girl." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 12:18:45 -0500 From: dances with virgos Subject: providence journal concert review Storyteller reveals her emotional journeys 11/18/2002 BY VAUGHN WATSON Journal Pop Music Writer PROVIDENCE -- Pianist and singer Tori Amos writes songs that play out as stories scrawled in loose-leaf notebooks, then left opened to the tough parts. Amos is fueled by cloudbursts of emotional angst. She lingers on its cause only long enough to detail the consequence to follow. Like an Alice Sebold novel, Amos's delivery is a bracing plain speak. Her themes, from psychological abuse to physical abandonment, can be as tough to hear as they were for her protagonists to endure. Last night she held down a sterling set of those songs in a sold-out concert at the Providence Performing Arts Center. The sellout crowd was a statement itself; you don't hear Amos's latest songs all over the radio anymore. But she's a populist poet nonetheless, speaking on what others don't. "Figures that my courage would choose to sell out now," she sang in "Crucify." The character of that song loathes self-consciousness. Amos performed that song with the house lights on the audience; the point was that this was group healing. Performing solo at the piano, she was a one-on-one storyteller, chronicling bad relationships and shattered and sheltered lives. She moved from cheerful to cheerless in the space of a piano line. As a songwriter-pianist, she is tethered to her piano. Still, she managed to expand the meaning of songs with expressions. She made over-the-shoulder glances, playful and suggestive. At one point she straddled the piano bench, playing piano with her right hand, and separately a keyboard with her left. The point was that Amos plans to tackle every role, the seeker and the fulfilled. When a bassist and drummer completed her trio, Amos's group played as the pendular opposite of the soloist. She was as bold and bad as she wanted to be. The trio setup allowed for some of the sonic experimentation of her latest disk, a concept album called Scarlet's Walk. On it, Amos portrays Scarlet, a woman who literally walks across America, after Sept. 11, to hear its stories. The trio played songs pulled from different regions, funky Austin, Tex., blues to foot-stomping Western swing on "Wednesday." As always, the lyrics, ill-tempered and patriotic on Amos's terms, woke up the songs. "You give me yours, I'll give you mine," she sang. "Cause I can look your God right in the eye." Pop vocalists of the 1930s and '40s sang love songs dabbed with piano jazz, and Amos is a musical heiress of that style. Except you can't call her explosive storytelling and piano work, which drops crashing improv bombs like little earthquakes, simply torch songs. Amos is a scorch-song balladeer. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 14:03:37 -0500 From: dances with virgos Subject: new york times riverside review Tori Amos Gathers the Faithful to Church By KELEFA SANNEH Tori Amos stopped to acknowledge the audience at Riverside Church on Wednesday night. "To be in church together," she said. "Wow." The locale may have been unusual, but it made sense: Ms. Amos's songs are full of religious language and hymnlike melodies (her father was a Methodist pastor), and she has a devout following that any minister would envy. Ms. Amos began her concert with an a cappella introit: "In our hand an old, old, old thread/Trail of blood and amens/Greed is the gift for the sons of sons/Hear this prayer of the wampum." Then, a few songs later, she growled her version of a pastor's welcome: "Have a seat while I take to the sky." Ms. Amos's band consisted of nothing but rhythm instruments: she accompanied herself on piano (and sometimes keyboard), and she was joined by a drummer and a bassist. And yet her music isn't driven by anything so predictable as a beat. The tempo varies from one line to the next; each phrase is a new gust of wind, pushing the song forward while changing its momentum. One of her best songs, "Cornflake Girl," starts with a muscular groove then floats up and away on a falsetto refrain. "Peel out the watchword," she sang, and the song drifted back down to earth. A few weeks ago Ms. Amos released "Scarlet's Walk" (Epic), an impressive collection of songs about love and loss and travel. Songs from "Scarlet's Walk" accounted for nearly half the set, and many of them sounded just as good as Ms. Amos's old material. (The concert also included an excellent version of "Cool on Your Island," by Ms. Amos's 1980's band, Y Kant Tori Read.) Part of the reason "Scarlet's Walk" succeeds is that Ms. Amos manages to take lyrical and musical digressions while keeping her songs light, even playful. Near the end of one new song, "Wednesday," she placed her right hand on the piano keyboard and tapped on it a few times with her left hand to create a brief, amusing interlude. Ms. Amos's fans are ardent enough to dye their hair to match hers. But even these redheaded stepchildren seemed weary by the end of the 19-song set. Still, they brought their hero back for two encores, and they were still clapping when she skipped offstage for the last time. As the houselights came on, the churchgoers filed out, looking content and maybe a bit tired. But a few still managed to shake hands with the pastor before they left: Ms. Amos's parents were sitting in the pews. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 14:04:33 -0500 From: dances with virgos Subject: mansfield news journal article Artist dealing with terrorist attacks By John Benson News Journal correspondent When singer/songwriter Tori Amos arrived onto the alternative music scene precisely a decade ago, there was no Lilith Fair movement or Alanis Morissette momentum to usher her into the ranks of grunge. Perhaps paling in volume compared to the utter rage of Kurt Cobain and the biting disillusionment of Eddie Vedder, the demure but confident red-haired singer, with her highly trained vocals and delicate piano skills, told equally horrific stories on her debut album "Little Earthquakes" about dysfunction and abandonment. Today, the enormously popular artist is still dealing with issues but unlike the personal politics of her past, Amos' latest disc "Scarlet's Walk" details a coming to terms after last year's terrorist attacks. "After Sept. 11, people were experiencing America as a friend, as a being, who was hurt," said Amos in her press materials. "She wasn't an object to them. We won't go back to just referring to her as just a nationalistic concept. She was a mother, a friend, who had been put through pain. Once people started opening up to that, questions started to come. Questions like, 'Why did this happen?' There was an awakening on many levels for a lot of people. It became clear, a road trip was something that we were taking. The songs started coming fast and furiously. I was on my own quest for answers and to ask the right questions. I was on Scarlet's walk." Throughout her career, Amos' handful of discs have collectively sold more than 12 million copies. While each album possessed a unique musical style and mindset, none of her releases were ever considered concept albums. Therein lies the difference with "Scarlet's Walk," which details the free-living geographical escapades of our main character, Scarlet, as she experiences the sins of America and the hopeful redemption of the red, white and blue spirit. This is pretty impressive stuff for any singer/songwriter, but Amos has always pushed her audience with creative ventures that may have fallen short when compared to her early successes but never suffered from redundancy or stagnation. As intimate a message as her new disc attempts to make, there's a high level of intimacy and affirmation Amos' fans experience when seeing the artist live. Her lush sound fills up any room with hypnotic desire and emotion, which normally results in a rousing live performance. Amos is touring "Scarlet's Walk," including a show Saturday at Columbus' Palace Theater and Nov. 26 at Cleveland's State Theater. Clearly, while she's a veteran performer and songwriter, the diminutive artist has succeeded once again in not only rediscovering herself but offering insight and understanding to her audience that they may have lost after Sept. 11, 2001. Said Amos, "What you believe in ... it matters now to you and me." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 00:37:52 -0000 From: "Captain Scarlet" Subject: UK Tour Meetups Hello all, I was just wondering if there are any English tour junkies around who fancy meeting up for coffees/chat/stalking tips etc before/after the January shows? I'll be at Manchester on the Monday (and hitting Canal Street the Sat before if anyone's making a weekend of it!); Wolverhampton on the Tuesday and London on the Friday. In the past I've always been to shows accompanied by the occasional non-Tori civilian, but this year Indulgence is the word so, Manchester excepted, I'm probably travelling solo - any one want to meet up for pre-show stalking.... err, i mean, "enthusiast" banter?? pete xxxx ~~~~ I felt centuries of a life together. I felt like an eternal soul when we touched. And I thought, Oh shit. ~~~ sophie b hawkins ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 20:40:02 EST From: ALaro22912@aol.com Subject: pictures.. Ok.. I have been overwhelmed with requests for pictures.. unfortunately i tried to send the pictures in a zip file, and my computer freezes at 100% and the computer doesnt send it... i tried over and over again.. and still it doesnt work.. so i am willing to make trades for them in the flesh or something like that... but i cant send them over the internet.. anne http://members.aol.com/oboeanne ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 02:03:06 +0000 From: "Tom xxxxx" Subject: Tori show Camden Here is my better-late-than never review of the Camden Show. This was my 5th Tori show and the first one Ive seen this tour. I hope this isn't too long for y'all. Howie Day, the opener, was awesome. One of the best opening acts Ive ever seen. It was so enthralling to watch and hear him record loops, play with them, over and over to build beautifully complex music. After Howie, the scent of sage filled the air, the lights dimmed, and out of the darkness came Wampum Prayer. Im not sure if Tori is performing this live or if its a recording, but it is a powerful opener, in any case. Unfortunately, the cheering never died down, and I could only just hear it. This rowdiness would continue throughout the show and detract from an otherwise excellent concert. During the night, so many people were moving around, I was frequently annoyed and distracted. Not cool. I really liked that on the Strange Little Tour there were signs posted on the theater doors informing folks they would not be admitted during songs. I think that is something Tori should do for future shows. After Wampum Prayer the curtain goes up, and out comes the band. They start up a groove and Tori bounces to the stage. She was wearing this white and red dress (floral pattern?) with flowing sleeves. It was sort of Stevie Nickish. She raised her hands, sank to her knees, and then sprang to the piano to start A Sorta Fairytale. This came off OK, but the music seemed to drown out Toris voice. Luckily, this problem was resolved by the end of the song. In the Springtime of His Voodoo: Tori put a lot of energy into this one, and although not a personal favorite, it kept my attention and interest at the peak. The rhodes filled in for the harpsichord very nicely. Bliss: This totally rocked. I liked that it started with this sort of subsonic growl. Tori nailed the piano on this one. I loved the fiery red and orange lighting. I think at this point she made the little speech about how some musicians make her go eh (makes a gesture with her hand as if going limp) so she knows how guys feel. But the band she plays with now never makes her go eh. Then she introduced Jon and Matt, referring to Matt as the creature. Amber Waves: She started this with the Ballerina improv as has apparently been normal for the tour. Very nicely done. Cornflake Girl: Wow! I was so impressed the Tori played the rapid guitar beginning part on the piano. It was excellent and really got the crowd up and moving. Pancake: Tori played most of this song standing up at the whurly. Very intense, and the red lights cooked the stage again. Crucify: This is not your moms Crucify; there is a whole different personality for this girl on this tour. It started with this kind of crackly, techno beat and Tori drew the opening vocals out slowly. The verses were played on the rhodes and the chorus on the piano. Toris vocals were killer. After this, my friend said, That was worth the ticket, right there. Wednesday: This one got faster and saucier live. It was really apparent that Tori and the guys like to play this one. They seemed to be having a lot of fun. The guys leave and the Roadside Cafi sign comes down out of the ceiling. Tori starts an improv about not having her feet on the ground or on the pedals and this leads to Doughnut Song: Tori really drew out the piano parts and the part that goes so if you say its over Just beautiful. Gold Dust: Again, Tori drew out the piano part making the music come alive. In my opinion, this song is more poignant without the strings; this solo version was perfect. River: Totally unexpected and it knocked me on my ass. At first, I just thought Tori was fiddling around with a Xmas song, but then she sang out the first line and I nearly died. Wonderful. When she got to the last bit about singing songs of peace, Tori sort of shrugged and the audience cheered. The boys start to come back and someone in the audience yells Play Cooling. Tori said in a cute voice, Maybe. Maybe not. And they launch into The Wheels on the Bus, that old childrens song. This was really wacky with audience participation. Strange and funny, but I hope she doesnt start doing it regularly. Your Cloud: This is my least favorite from SW and it gained nothing for me live. I will say that Tori played well and the band gave it more of a jazz feel. Also, the white, indistinct lights on the screen seemed to move and float like clouds, so that was cool. The Roadside Cafe light goes back up into the ceiling. Concertina: Toris voice seemed to get drowned out again at the beginning of this one, but it was quickly fixed. This song was slowed down a bit and played on the rhodes and piano. Sugar: Very similar to the version on Venus but still rocked the house. The music was intense and Toris vocals soared and dove in a very Robert Plantesque fashion. Taxi Ride: Didnt seem much different than the studio version, but it kept the energy level up nicely. Take to the Sky: At first I really enjoyed this version with the band, but it seemed to drag on too long at the end and lose some of its intensity. However, the blue and green kaleidoscopic lights moving on the ceiling and walls held my attention when the music didnt. I Cant See New York: The lights were awesome! The stage started out totally dark with just some deep blue lights on the edges (sort of like runway lights. hmm). The lights got a little brighter when Tori started singing, but it was still all blue. Then when the drums kicked in, the stage got very bright. This song came off really well live, and Tori really nailed the vocals. Spring Haze: This was cool and well played, but sort of anticlimactic after New York. Tori and the band come to the end of the stage, hug, and bow. Then they leave, Tori practically bounding like a deer. After a short break, they came back. Tori and the band are playing and Tori says her mom is in the audience and wanted to hear this song and the band wanted to do it with Tori. Tori told them that they didnt know it and they said they could rehearse it right now, so that's what they are doing... Black Swan: It started out quite a bit up tempo compared to the studio version. After the first verse Tori says OK guys, we need to slow this down a little because Im getting confused. They do and start at the beginning again. This was a sleepy, jazzy version that came off really nicely. Lots of blue lighting again. Black Dove: Played on rhodes and piano. The loud parts were very intense and the red lighting was back in force. Sweet Sangria: Tori stood for much of this one and did a lot of swaying with the music. This song has a killer groove when played live. They leave again, but are back in short order. Putting the Damage On: Jon plays the stand-up bass on this one, and in the middle uses a bow on it, which was just awesome. Again, the sound on this one is very jazz. Tear in Your Hand: Awesome. Just awesome. The audience cheered wildly on the lines about Neil. Tori waves goodbye at the appropriate line. Then it was over. Tori finishes another fantastic show. Thanks again for the ticket, Paula. Hope I didn't bore any of you. Tom "I will climb the ridge at daybreak, I will kiss the sky at noon, Raise my yearning voice at midnight to my mother in the moon." Dave Carter, "When I Go" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 18:29:49 -0800 From: "Tony Fernandes" Subject: Seattle Key Arena seating question Although I confirmed this with Key arena, I am still wondering (just because I wonder a lot!) if I have this right. If you had the following floor-level seat (Row 1 Section AA Seat 1), would you be in the middle of stage? In other words, for both sections AA and BB, the seat numbers start in the middle and go outwards (so that seats 40 in both sections AA and BB would be on the extreme outsides). Correct? Here's the link to the seating chart...just to visualize. http://www.ticketmaster.com/seatingchart/122918/3546 Tony What's more likely? That an all-powerful mysterious god created the universe and then decided not to give any proof of his existence? Or, that he simply doesn't exist at all? And that we created him so that we wouldn't have to feel so small and alone. -Eleanor Arroway, Contact ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 22:13:42 -0500 From: "Lisa Zwick" Subject: Re: Tori show Camden Interesting....at the Riverside Church, they had for that song lights that looked like either lots of cracks, or clouds/lightning. I was thinking how well either one would fit with the song. I guess they don't use all the same lights at each concert? - -Lisa - ------ > I Cant See New York: The lights were awesome! The stage started out > totally dark with just some deep blue lights on the edges (sort of like > runway lights. hmm). The lights got a little brighter when Tori started > singing, but it was still all blue. Then when the drums kicked in, the stage > got very bright. This song came off really well live, and Tori really nailed > the vocals. ------------------------------ End of precious-things-digest V7 #277 *************************************