Remembering Matthew Shepard

Ten years ago this week, the murder of Matthew Shepard rocked the Tori Amos fan community. If you were on any of the Tori mailing lists at the time (yes, this was in the olden days, before forums really took off), you remember what it was like: the horror, the shock, the disbelief, and the heartbreak that something like this could still happen in our world.

We’ve come a long way since then. I still can’t get over the fact that in many high schools, students are able to be openly gay now, something that was not remotely the case when I was in high school.

But we haven’t come far enough.

Shortly after graduating from high school, one of my friends killed himself because he was gay. Take that in: he killed himself because he was gay. All these years later, I still think about Robbie all the time. It’s something that will always haunt me. He wasn’t beaten and tied to a fence and left to die, but I believe if he had lived, he very well would have been. In the place and time where he lived, I believe he saw that coming and couldn’t live with the fear of that kind of hate day after day.

And even now, in 2009, there are places where that fear remains a reality.

No, we still haven’t come anywhere near far enough.

Jeremy Elder has written Merman, a touching essay in memory of Matthew Shepard. Please take a moment to read it and remember all the people who have suffered, even died, simply because they loved.

Abnormally Attracted to Berlin

The final German show on the Sinful Attraction tour took place at Berlin’s Tempodrom last night and, at long last, the title track of the latest record finally found its way into the tour’s sets. In addition to the debut of “Abnormally Attracted to Sin,” the Berlin show also featured “Sugar,” the “Beauty Queen”/“Horses” diptych, “Pretty Good Year,” “Northern Lad” and, two rarities during the Lizard Lounge: “Take Me With You” and “Flying Dutchman.” The full setlist, thanks to @ta_ru again, can be found in the Tour section.

If you were there and would like to share your thoughts about the performance, please use the comment form there to post your review for the world to see!

Crossing Your Line In Frankfurt

Even as the European leg of the Sinful Attraction tour winds down, the setlist surprises keep coming. Tonight at Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, Tori pulled out “Apollo’s Frock” and “Goodbye Pisces” during the Lizard Lounge and sprinkled the rest of the set with “Sweet Dreams,” “Girl,” “Hey Jupiter,” “Little Amsterdam” and “Talula.” With thanks to @ta_ru and @lenoreva who live-tweeted the show on Twitter, the full set has been posted in the Tour section.

As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts about the performance via the comment form on the Frankfurt page if you were in attendance and will be happy to post video and photos on Undented as well.

This Is Your Midwinter Graces Bonus

We have a bit more news about Tori’s upcoming Midwinter Graces holiday album.

First, two additional photos (click to see larger versions).

And here’s the tracklist for the Deluxe edition CD, with two additional songs:

1. What Child, Nowell
2. Star of Wonder
3. A Silent Night With You
4. Candle: Conventry Carol
5. Holly, Ivy and Rose
6. Harps of Gold
7. Snow Angel
8. Jeanette, Isabella
9. Pink And Glitter
10. Emmanuel
11. Winter’s Carol
12. Our New Year
13. Comfort And Joy
14. Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent Night! Holy Night!)

Still no word on what the DVD will contain.

Antwerp: Would You Like Waffles With That?

Tori’s performance at Antwerp’s Lotto Arena tonight is in the bag. Thanks to @miumina and @Mitholas on Twitter, we’ve got the full setlist up in the Tour section for y’all. The set featured two tour debuts during the Lizard Lounge — the b-side “Merman,” prefaced by an improv about Antwerp, and a cover of The Cure’s “Lovesong” — while highlights from the rest of the set include “Spark,” “Little Earthquakes,” “Pandora’s Aquarium” and “Digital Ghost.”

As always, we welcome reviews and media about the show. If you were there and care to share, please do so using the form at the bottom of the Antwerp page.

Autumn In Paris

The Paris show just ended. Tori played “Girl,” “Concertina,” “Josephine,” “Baker Baker,” and the tour premier of “Smokey Joe.” Head over to the Paris page to check out the full set. If you were at the show, you can submit reviews, pics, or video at the bottom of the page.

Many thanks to @kreestal for tweeting the setlist.

While we haven’t been able to write concert recaps here on the News page for a couple of weeks (long story), we have indeed been covering every single show. Yes, really! We cover every show live on Twitter and update the concert pages with setlists, reviews, and video. (We’re still behind in getting photos up, but we’re working on it.)

You can view flashback pages for concerts 24 hours a day by visiting the Tour section and clicking the flashback links. You can also reach the Tour section any time, day or night, by clicking “Tour” in the black bar at the top of every page on the site. Yes, really! It’s like magic!

Amazon Lists Deluxe Midwinter Graces

Eliot Lear was the first of several folks to point out that Amazon is now listing a deluxe CD/DVD edition of Midwinter Graces that has the same November 10th release date as the album itself. While there is no confirmation of a deluxe release from any official channels or any details about what the DVD will contain, a deluxe package should come as no surprise as it is in keeping with the pattern of offering a DVD companion to an album’s release to sweeten the pot for those so-inclined to purchase it.

Thanks to Eliot and the many others who mentioned this.

Early Show In Vienna (Friday, September 25)

Friday (September 25) evening’s show in Vienna will not have an opening act, so Tori will actually be taking the stage at 8:10pm. Heads-up to everyone to get there and in your seats in plenty of time!

Off The Edge in Luxembourg

Although it was touch and go there for a bit, thanks to Rabih (Smegma) and @arjanwelles, the setlist for the Luxembourg show came in and has been in the Tour section for a bit now. The Hammond organ didn’t fit on the stage so some staples from the set didn’t get played (“Strong Black Vine,” most notably) but the set’s structure was still pretty much the same as the other shows on the tour. “Take To The Sky” featured prominently in the first part of the show, along with “Glory of the 80s” and “Lust.” The Lizard Lounge was comprised of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Silent All These Years” and “Juarez” preceeded “Precious Things” to close out the main set.

Check out the full setlist and, if you were there and care to share your thoughts on the performance, post a review on the Luxembourg page.

Playing That Organ in Amsterdam

Yesterday’s stop on the Sinful Attraction tour was at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam. As one might expect, the song “Little Amsterdam” made an early appearance in the set but the nod to the Netherlands didn’t stop there as she also performed a cover of “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” Don McLean’s tribute to the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. “Here. In My Head” and “Leather” rounded out the solo songs of the Lizard Lounge. Other notable songs included “Concertina, “Virgina,” and, during the encore, “Talula.”

The full setlist (including the previously missing “Bells For Her”!) is up in the Tour section with thanks to @arjanwelles for updating it on Twitter.

As always, if you’d like to review of the show for all the world to see, please do so using the form there…