g~y ili t 0o#1ot Stage 1tvlDf
Orson Welles' "Moby Dick Rehearsed"
will be at the Performance Network
July 30 through August 9. Call 663- Monday f
0696 for more information. July 27, 1998 7
Amos pleases old & new fans u:n
By Alexandra Ruh
Daily Arts Writer
I went into Thursday night's Tori
Amos show knowing very little
about the performer or her music.
When I emerged from the Palace, I
was a fan. I had always grouped
Amos with the many recent solo
female singers whom I find quite
boring; that was a mistake. Amos
has emotion, energy and a fire in her
belly that is rare, and this translates
into some great music and an even
reater performance.
The Devlins, an all-male band
from England, was the opening act
for Amos and proved to be a surpris-
ingly good male
complement to
her music. The
Devlins played
songs from the Tod Amos
hand's new
a I -b u m Pine Knob
ahldn W a i ti n g, l 2319
c eluding the
title track and
"Where are you
tonight." The
band's music
went back and
forth between
acoustic and
electric, all the while consistently
tilling the auditorium with rich
sounds. For an opening act, this band
.icited unusual enthusiasm from the
rowd.
.......===::. , - ma
As the openers left the stage,
excitement began to grow. There
was a buzz in the air as the crowd
grew in anticipation of Amos'
arrival. (The crowd was undeniably
mostly female, although there was a
healthy male contingent present.)
Before she even set foot on stage,
you could tell how much they loved
Amos just by listening to them talk.
Fans spoke of her as if she was a big
sister, best friend and an inspiration.
As the lights dimmed. the enthusi-
asm of the crowd seemed to penetrate
every nook and cranny of the massive
interior of the Palace. Amos took the
stage, and the crowd exploded with
screams and cheers of "I love you,
Tori." This was not the fairly subdued
response I had expected to a singer
whose strength lies in her rich vocals
and her mastery of the piano. But the
minute Amos sat down and started to
play "Precious Things," all _my pre-
conceived notions of what the show
would be were shattered.
Amos may be a classically trained
pianist, but she uses her prodigal talent
to belt out complex and rich rock
songs. Her music is deep and thick; the
kind that overwhelms and fills you with
emotion. Backed by her band (the
members of which she refers to as her
brothers) and enhanced by wild-col-
ored lighting and smoke, Amos put on,
a show that rivals any I have ever seen.
Although she sits behind her piano for
mnst of the show her dramatic motions
Tori seemed to want to interact with
everyone, especially the photogra-
phers, at the Palace last Thursday.
parallel the mood and intensity of her
songs.
Amos played new songs such as
"Cruel" and "Spark" off her latest
album,-"From the Choirgirl Hotel,"
as well as some of her best known
songs like "Cornflake Girl" and
"Caught a Light Sneeze." The crowd
sang along with every word of each,
song. Her fans' familiarity and love
of her music made the huge space
within the Palace seem like a small,
intimate venue.
At one point during "Spark,"
Amos messed up. She immediately
caught herself and pointed out the
mistake to the audience, and the
crowd cheered. It is candidness such
as thisthat is part of Tori's huge'
appeal. She comes across as less of a
rock star and more of a confidant
playing a great rock show.
Amos' show revealed a harder and
more aggressive performer than her,
earlier years, and the songs off her
new album reflect this. For someone
who knew only Amos' first release,
"Little Earthquakes", I was caught
off guard. But Amos' more aggres-
sive sound is not off-putting, just
stronger and more intense.
Amos still shows off her amazing
voice, which is rich and multi-lay-
ered, rising and descending with
beautiful perfection. Initially, this
style of vocals captured the atten-
tion of the public with songs such as
"Crucify." She has the ability to
sound innocent and childlike one
moment and strong and voluptuous
the next.
I have been meaning for quite some-
time to listen to Amos' newer songs.
After seeing her energetic and gifted
performance Thursday night, I plan on
making a bee line to the record store to
buy up everything I can. I came into
the concert with ignorance and left
mirroring the sentiments of the fans.
After seeing only one performance, I
too "love Tori.'
Although showing signs of fatigue after touring for so long, the Pietasters still had
the energy to make a detour to Detroit and put out some great ska.
Warped Pietasters
reserved but read
By Gabe Fyaurl doubt). Regardless of the audience
Daily Arts Writer makeup, the Murphy's took the stage,
A cozy crowd gathered downtown greeted by raised fists, beer, and chants,
for the Pietasters' triumphant retum to all nicely backed by the sound of-bag-
Motown last Sunday. Fresh from a stint pipes filtered through the loudspeakers.
on the Warped From the back of the club, the Murphy's
tour, the' was nearly swallowed up by the hyper
Summer-long % crowd that overtook the stage enough
punk n' ska times to make venue staff tell the band
extravaganza, to stop playing more than once. General
the Pietasters PietaSterS mayhem and draconian bellows of "Oi"
looked a bit The Shelter from the feisty crowd characterized the
road-weary, but u i, se' duration of the band's set, and the head-
still gave the liner had yet to perform.
audience what it The 'Tasters took to the sweat-
deserved - an drenched platform around 9:15 to a
energetic, if severely thinned crowd. From the
slow, hour of looks of things, the Murphy's had
soul ska that the brought in almost half of the customers
band has built its that night and sent themhome when its
reputation on. set ended as well.
Hailing from Boston, 4i-rockers The See PIETASTERS, Page 10
Dropkick Murphy's took the stage after
a bland offering of straight-ahead punk
from Detroit's very own Gutter Punx.
There were a few noticeable grimaces in
the crowd when a handful of Nazis were
spotted (there to see the Murphy's, no
Great Brands - er QA
0
2050 Commerce E Ann Arbo M 48103
663 33
/t~* * Nt
Student discotts
an ey e examrs and '
eyegiage
Hours
Mon-Tue-Thu-Fri 9-5:30
Wed_& Sat 9-1
320 S State St. 9ichardson's
Decker Drugs)l
662-1945 ,
Perhaps the concert was a trifle too intimate, but fans thrive on the unpredictabil-
ity and frankness of Ams both as a performer and as a composer.