Tribute to a Muse: Tori Amos

Last week I got to see my muse in concert, Tori Amos. She played at the Jackie Gleason Fillmore Center in Miami Beach on Wednesday, July 29th and it was one of the best concerts I've seen to date.

I've been a huge fan of Tori Amos ever since she released her first solo album, Little Earthquakes, in 1992. Something about her music has always spoken to me, even as a young girl teetering on the edge of adolescence. I don't think I would've managed to escape the hell of my high school years as unscathed had her music not been there to light my way.

So who is Tori Amos? She is the goddess of the piano, playing as many as three different types (standard, harpsichord, and keyboard) during her shows. She writes her own music, and while she's amazing when she's alone with her piano, in recent years she's added a band and this has given her music a richer, fuller sound.

It's hard to categorize Tori -- her music sounds a little bit like Kate Bush, but her lyrics are completely her own. She writes such enigmatic lines as: "Perhaps the answer to the question/Lies in the question" and my personal favorite: "My heart is like the ocean/It gets in the way." Some may find her seemingly nonsensical lyrics off-putting, but personally I find them inspiring. In case you didn't know, the name for my blog, ThreadsThatAreGolden.com, is named after a lyric in one of my favorite songs of Tori's, "Horses." So I was beyond thrilled when she played it in last week's show, and ecstatic when I saw that someone had video-taped her performance of the song and put it on YouTube. You can see that video below along with another favorite of mine, "Flavor." Thank the faeries for YouTube...

Overall, the show was great, one of her best I've seen. I try to see her every time she comes to South Florida, and this was the closest I've ever been from her, one row away from the pit. It still wasn't that close, but still... Next time I'll try to get front row or thereabouts. She's worth it! Her concerts are always awesome because she likes to reinvent her "girls," the name she gives her songs. This one was no exception -- she sang a lot of songs I wasn't expecting, too, like "Raspberry Swirl," "Carbon," and "Winter." She had seemingly endless energy throughout the show, smiling and interacting a lot with the audience, even getting up to dance (and smack her butt!) to "Big Wheel" near the end of the show. Yep, she's definitely still an "M-I-L-F/Don't you forget," as her line goes.

The only blah moment in an otherwise awesome experience was when I went to buy some goodies after the concert. I wanted to purchase one shirt in particular -- it was a white T-shirt with Tori's face on the front and on the back the following line: "Perhaps the answer to the question/Lies in the question." I really wanted it!! But the one guy manning the stand kept ignoring me because I didn't have cash, only credit. And by the time he finally attended me, it had already sold out... :-( I made do with a program, a cute bag, and my second favorite shirt:

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Below are two videos from this performance. After the videos I've included some of the pictures I took. Enjoy!

"Horses"



"Flavor"

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To learn more about this show and see the set-list, go here.

So who's your muse? Let me know in the comments!

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6 comment(s):

Betti Gefecht said...

Tori is a great artist, and furthermore beautiful to look at. She made the mostest awesomest music videos ever and as a musician and artist myself, I owe her respect.
But... (I guess you suspected there was a *but* LOL) ... I have to admit she never really reached me, never touched me inside. Can't help it. *shrugs*

My personal muse?
I'm lost to Joni. Always was. Always will be.
She never failed to have an effect on me, from her early days (Blue) til today...

I remember watching the DVD of "Love, actually", one of my fav movies btw, and then a very moving scene was unexpectedly underlayed with Joni Mitchell's late rendition of "Clouds" (the jazzy one with symphony orchestra).
It caught me off guard and I slowly, but utterly went to pieces. I couldn't stop crying for what seemed an hour or so.

Well, I use to think of myself as a pretty tough bitch. But that's what happenes to me, when Joni washes over me without warning.

ok *shakes head to compose herself again*
Have I told you lately I really love to FELLOW you?

Betti

P.S. Readreradread Cross Stich (and the 5 (or 6? - dunno) sequels...

Anonymous said...

I don't listen to a lot of Tori, but I have some of her songs and she's quite unique. Must've been great to see her live!

Love the stuff you purchased btw :D

Cheers,
Robyn

Brittany said...

Wow! Great photos... I saw that you mentioned her in your other posts... I'm going to take a look at some of her songs... they seem cool. To answer your question, I don't really know who my muse is... I mean I'm a huge fan of Paramore... I listen to them like almost all the time. I guess you can call them my muse for now...but I just really listen to all the Top 10 iTunes hits, etc. Glad you had fun at the concert :)

-Brittany

Malia said...

I used to not like her music but just this last year my friend gave me a few of her songs like cornflake girl and I really like them.

My muse? Not so much in popular music world, but in the musical theater world I have a couple like Lea Salonga. They really inspire me musically.

Unknown said...

It's a great feeling to see your muse in concert, huh? It makes you feel revitalized! I always cry when it's over. I can't help it.

My muse: Gloria Estefan. I know. Not a popular answer, but I can't help it...I am in love with the way she writes. And while she may not be the greatest singer on earth, she is herself and she doesn't try to change her image for anyone. My obession with her is crazy -- we just met, and I don't want to scare you away, so I won't tell all just yet. But you'll find out eventually...lol.

Cyntianna

Unknown said...

Great show I Was there, and was amazing... My Muse? I Have 2 Tori Amos & PJ Harvey...

pura vida from Costa Rica