A review of Welcome To Sunny Florida appears in the June 24, 2004 edition of The Age newspaper in Australia. The reviewer gave the DVD three out of five stars.

More Details

Here is the review:

"Amos makes no attempt to downplay her reputation as a consort of the pixies, claiming to be an interpreter of "sonic shapes" and even "a little plug coming out of the teapot."

Interviews with the titular artist's elderly mother are not common on the bonus menus of music DVD's. Perhaps Tori Amos and her director buddy Loren Haynes have begun a trend here. Maybe we will see Lou Reed's mum telling her side of that electroshock therapy incident, or Mrs Yorke recalling little Thom's dissappointment over the school rugby selection process. Whether we need Mary Amos describing her daughter's "naturally God-given gift", ler alone her sadness about the demise of the American bison, is something only the most obsessive fan can answer. Luckily, hordes of these people follow Tori Amos wherever she goes. Haynes's two-hour-plus concert documentary begins with a series of them recalling how many of her shows they've attended in the dozen-odd years since Little Earthquakes made her an alt-pop goddess. The professed record is 125. Casual admirers, on the other hand, are likely to be challenged by the rather intense, 18-song set filmed in Palm Beach last September, the last night of Amos's year-long tour for her Scarlet's Walk album. She looks a treat with her flaming red hair and billowing sleeves outstretched between keyboards like Rick Wakeman's fairy queen muse. But with bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlain frantically noodling away, her songs elongate mercilessly in concert, often becoming more like trippy incantations than any other lucid form of communication. They can also be terrifically moving, mind. The recent I Can't See New York and her early confessional tune, These Precious Things, make a stunning finale. Crucify, Leather and Professional Widow are all here, and even at seven minutes, Cornflake Girl doesn't lose its nutty crunch. Still hungry? There's cute backstage footage of Tori with her three-year-old daughter Natashya, a photo gallery with a live recording of Past the Mission and a bonus CD of six new songs. One suspects that only fans in the 20-concerts-or-over category will sit through the 25-minute pre-show interview without fidgeting. Amos makes no attempt to downplay her reputation as a consort of the pixies, claiming to be a interpreter of "sonic shapes" and even "a little plug coming out of a teapot." However bizaar it may sound to the mortal ear, her conviction is beyond doubt. She's the one who's been composing piano symphonies since her third birthday, so who are we to question her sources?

--Michael Dwyer