A Pinoy Blog About Nothing

Orlando, Florida
Bob Carr Performing Arts Theatre
03 April 2005

Something we’ve planned for and almost didn’t get to see. We didn’t have tickets when we arrived at the Bob Carr Theatre. The online ticket-ordering site wasn’t very convenient despite trying to charge almost an extra 20 USD for a convenience fee.

We just decided to take a chance and make the two hour drive to Orlando anyway. Having no idea where the theater was, finding out where it was in relation to the other alternative destinations we had planned was the first order of the day. We found it and the girl at the main box office said the only tickets available where at the balcony. Drawing from having experienced concerts in lousy venues in the past, we declined. We had no idea how the place looked and for all we know that balcony seat she offered us might be right smack in front of a speaker. We went on our way.

Late in the afternoon while taking in the tourist attractions, we decided to drive back and check it out one last time. It said on their website the box office for the theater doesn’t open till three hours before the concert. I had a feeling Mr. Online Ticket Distributor won’t be releasing any tickets until then. Suprisingly, our persistence paid off and we got good seats. We were rewarded with one amazing performance we haven’t seen in a long while.

The venue had 2,518 seating capacity and it was full that night. Tori Amos didn’t make an appearance until past 9 pm. Matt Nathanson, the singer who opened for her almost an hour earlier got a good reception from the crowd although we only caught the last two songs of his set. He had that John Mayer vibe going although his songs are definitely less sappy than Mr. Mayer. There’s a reason why he’s on tour with Tori Amos.

When the curtains finally opened, we see Amos beneath a single spotlight. Her flowing white blouse and white pants are luminous beneath the light, a red-headed pixie magically appearing before the crowd. The crowd gives her a warm ovation. The stage was bare except for four keyboard instruments. She’s not playing with a band in this part of the tour. After greeting the crowd, Amos then proceeds to the biggest instrument beside her – her beloved Bosendorfer. She opens with Original Sinsuality from her latest album The Beekeeper. Right off we experienced what we’ve known and loved about Tori all along: the girl’s got the voice and the skills. What you hear on her albums is her, not some studio engineered creation. It was just her, the piano, and the audience. And it rocked.

Amos at the Bosendorfer

She proceeded next to Leather, one of my personal favorites off her first album Little Earthquakes. Next came Parasol from Beekeeper. She goes on like this for the entire night for 18 songs – with very little preamble between songs and all the heart and soul she can pour in each one. She did acknowledge the presence of her mom in the crowd and proceeded to tell the story of her upcoming Australian tour. She stopped short about an incident regarding a reporter and magazine article about “Tori Down Under” wherein she was caught one hot day without…

Amos did two covers during her Tori’s Piano Bar. It was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s My Favorite Things (yup the same one sang by Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music) and John Lennon’s Imagine. When Amos sang in her unique way about “when the dog bites/ when the bee stings/ when I’m feeling sad” you really do feel sad. And when she sighs the last note in “imagine all the people/ living life in peace” you’d know the ex-Beatle would approve.

Petite was amazed at Amos just barreling through the songs on her setlist and imbuing each one with their own particular emotional resonance, whether it’s the wistfulness of Ribbons Undone or quiet strength of Crazy. The crowd appreciated it and was mesmerized by her performance. She would then go on to do two encores.

Amos is one of those musicians today with a very unique sound. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but listening to her is a rewarding experience. Now having seen her perform live just adds one more dimension in our appreciation of her talents. I mean how can you go wrong when you watch someone who has said one of her favorite on-stage performers was Led Zeppelin?

The setlist:

Original Sinsuality
Leather
Parasol
Beauty Queen/Horses
Bells For Her
Mother
Ribbons Undone

Tori’s Piano Bar:
My Favorite Things (from the Sound of Music)
Imagine (by John Lennon)

Marys of the Sea
Jackie’s Strength
Crazy
Strange
The Beekeeper

Encore:

Not The Red Baron
Famous Blue Raincoat

Never Seen Blue
Cloud On My Tongue

More reviews at A Dent in the Tori Amos Net Universe.