Tori Amos Experience

It's official - I made it!

Well, it's been a week. I think enough time has passed for me to write an official post about my first Tori Amos concert experience.  If you don’t already know - and how could you not - I’m a huge fan of Tori Amos. Since I first heard her cover of Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” when I was in high school and after my purchase of Little Earthquakes, I can easily say I haven't been the same. As a person who has always loved music, I don't think I had ever heard or connected with such a musical artist until I listened to Tori. Every song somehow speaks to me in a way that I can't even try to explain. 

I'm ready for my date with Tori

It’s not surprising to think that I haven’t seen Tori Amos in concert until now, mostly because I was a lone Tori fan in my circle of friends. None of my friends knew who she was … let alone wanted to see her in concert.

However I did meet a fellow Tori lover in college, I’d call her more of an acquaintance than a friend.  She even provided me with bootleg versions of Tori’s live concerts; but I wasn't close enough with her to be like “hey, let’s go to a concert.” 

It wasn't until I met my cousin’s now wife that I found my “kindred spirit”. She’s just as big of a fan as I am - if not bigger. She’s always told me that seeing Tori live in concert would change my life, and indeed it has.  When we learned that Tori was touring this summer we immediately agreed to go. Mind you, said “kindred spirit” was pregnant with twins at the time, but this would not stop a Tori fan … except that it did. 

So, I was left with a pretty expensive ticket on my hands, to a show that I figured no one would want to go to.  I had it set in my mind that I would be going alone … until I wrangled my dad into joining me for the evening.  As a  music buff himself (and the person I get all my music knowledge from) I knew he would enjoy a live show, but I was hesitant about exposing him to such a femmy and angsty artist, and showing him a part of myself that not everyone sees. 

Tori Amos is easily my most played artist so I didn't change any of my habits leading up to the concert.  I would stalk her twitter feed after every show and check out the set list, even creating my own “ideal set list” that I’d like to hear on August 7^th at Cain Park, Cleveland, Ohio. In anticipation of the concert, I made sure to listen to zero Tori songs all day ... because I wanted a fresh perspective the night of the show.

The day of the concert I felt like a kid on Christmas!
See evidence below. 

I had a seminar for work from 2-3:30 pm, which allowed me to work from home the rest of the day. So I was conveniently able to calmly (but excitedly) get ready without feeling rushed. When my dad called me to ask me what time I would be meeting him at the house, I told him that I was “primping” and “I feel like I’m going on a date with Tori tonight.”  I wanted to be sober for the concert so I could remember EVERYTHING and I wanted to be completely immersed in my experience, but I did have a glass of wine while getting ready … and my dad and I “cheers-ed” to Tori with a beer before she took the stage.

It was my first time at Cain Park and I was blown away by the venue. It’s a very intimate setting and our seats were perfect! We were on the left side in row K, so we had a great view, especial during her dual piano playing! When we got to our seats I was sitting next to 3 gals about my age, who were such pretentious Tori fans … I felt at home.  We talked about our favorite albums, how “old Tori” is better than “newer Tori stuff”, but that her “latest album has a hint of old Tori”.  I kind of left my dad to himself for a couple minutes as I’m sure he had no idea what he was getting himself into with this conversation. 

note the red nervous blotches on my neck

The opening act was pretty bad (in my opinion). The folky male and female duo sounded like they played the same song for 20 minutes.  Nothing varied and it wasn't anything that put me in the mood for Tori ... but then again, what could? Instead my anticipation grew even MORE and I started to become anxious … my red blotches are always evidence of my nervousness. Also, the guy who would come out and polish her piano keys must have done this two or three times and I just kept wondering … “OK, how much longer are you gonna make us wait, Tori?!”

The other thing that irritated me about this wait were the two girls in the row ahead of us, who were flirting with the security guard – and probably 3 songs into the concert he allowed them to move up to one of the first rows.  I said to my dad, “I’m cute and pretty, and can flirt too … but I’m with my dad, so I won’t!"  I wasn't too upset though because I paid for some pretty damn good seats.

Finally around 8:40 pm Tori fluttered onto the stage.  The next hour and an a half went by in a blink of an eye, but I took in as much as I could. I love the connection that Tori has with her fans. She feeds off the energy of the crowd ... off their excitement ... their rowdiness ...all the "I love you, Tori!" shouts. 

The experience from what I can remember is as follows: 

I of course found myself getting teary-eyed during Northern Lad, "I thought we'd be OK, me and my molasses"; I got chills and threw my hands in the air at the first key strokes of Spark, "if the Divine master plan is perfection / maybe next I'll give Judas a try"; during Mother I was pretty entranced (probably with my mouth gaping open) and I remember staring at her wondering how any one human can be so amazing: "tuck those ribbons under your helmet / be a good soldier"; I smiled during the crowd favorite Cornflake Girl; finally, and maybe my favorite of the night, Precious Things during the encore, "I wanna smash the faces of those beautiful boys / those Christian boys". 

It was MORE than I could have ever asked for! At times I leaned over to my dad and said “this is my favorite” and his response was, “I thought they’re all your favorites.” This is kind of true. *shameless* As we were walking to the car, after the concert my dad broke the silence with this statement, "All I can say is she's INTENSE!" I think he enjoyed himself and may have possibly walked away a teeny-tiny Tori Amos fan. In my case, I walked away from this experience as an even bigger fan than I was before. Thankfully I had Friday off (which I totally planned) because I knew I would have an emotional / Tori hangover ... 

Thank you for making my year, Tori. You are a legend in my book.  Until next time . . . because there will hopefully be a next time.  

Cleveland, Ohio set list (8/7/14)