News: Houston Chronicle "Blogview" (November 26, 2007)

Whether or not the Houston Chronicle publishes a traditional review of last night’s show at Jones Hall in Houston, one can be found at Handstamp, the newspaper’s music blog. Sara Cress, one of the blog’s curators, takes the concert’s measure and doesn’t find it wanting.

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Tori Amos shines at Jones Hall

I wasn’t surprised when I was unable to find anyone to accompany me to Sunday night’s Tori Amos concert at Jones Hall. The piano-bench-straddling singer-songwriter is an acquired taste, what with her her often off-the-wall lyrics, her twee voice and her overt sensuality. Despite this (maybe because of this?), I’m a fan from way back.

I must have been introduced at the right time: Just after graduating high school, Caught a Lite Sneeze from Boys for Pele was on regular rotation on the radio. Around the same time my oldest friend dating all the way back to elementary school sent me a mix tape with a few older Tori songs. Take to the Sky was a favorite. Amos’ music speaks to the lost, the misunderstood, the unsettled souls wanting a voice. The goth kids loved Tori. The gay kids loved Tori. Unsettled in my own way, I loved Tori, too.

Why, then, had I never seen Tori Amos in concert until Sunday night? I suppose I knew it would be a weird experience. I’d seen her on chat shows and PBS specials. She does those dramatic head turns. She straddles the piano bench, moving rudely with the music. She runs her hands over her body. She twists her lips around words in an exaggerated way, a way she didn’t on the record. She makes you a little uncomfortable.

Upon seeing her live, and from far back in a concert hall, I have to admit these are the very things that make her a fabulous performer. Amos’ mannerisms set her apart dramatically from the rest of the chick-singer pack.

Every second of the show was gorgeous. Amos was in perfect voice, stretching and slinking while playing two pianos at once — her Bosendorfer and an electric piano. The lighting shimmered, punctuating every song with dozens of colors. The band was tight. My eyes kept moving to drummer Matt Chamberlain (a North Texas University alum), whose powerful presence was nearly as important as the piano.

If you get a chance to see your favorite band at Jones Hall, don’t hesitate. It’s true, you can’t move around, but a Tori Amos concert isn’t a party; it’s a worship service and Jones Hall was the perfect church.

The only disappointment was hearing so little from Amos aside from the songs. She offered a brief hello and introduced the band members, but nothing else. This was a calculated performance with no room for improvisation.

I don’t often go to concerts with costume changes, so I have the mention Amos’ sole costume change — from a black getup with splashy gold shoes to a goofy stars-and-stripes sequin pants suit — which came early in the set. I expected more, given how silly the costume was (the point? Tori, weird as she is, is just as American as apple pie. And so are you, weird audience members. Go vote.) but she stayed in it for the duration.

Opener Yoav warmed up the audience with a brief set of earnest singer-songwriter fare with a twist: He turns his sole instrument, an acoustic guitar, into a full band with sounds he records on the spot, looping them for a beat, stopping them at just the right moment. He did this with bare feet, his toes reaching out for pedals and buttons.

Yoav’s lyrics stuck to light social commentary. Adore Adore, he says, was inspired by watching the VMAs and being depressed about the state of today’s music. He also threw in a cover of the Pixies’ Where Is My Mind? Dozens of audience members streamed out of the concert hall after his set to grab up an EP he had available, but he says a full-length is due out in January 2008.

Here’s a set list I cobbled together:

Bouncing Off Clouds
Little Earthquakes
Mary
Little Amsterdam
Beauty of Speed
Big Wheel
Space Dog
Pancake
Cornflake Girl
Doughnut Song
Glory of the 80s
Cloud on My Tongue
Peeping Tommi
Virginia
Black Dove
Code Red

Encore:
Precious Things
Not David Bowie

Second encore:
Hey Jupiter

Posted by Sara Cress at November 26, 2007 12:10 AM