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Many thanks to Woj for bringing this to my attention. You can read this press concert review online at dfw.com or below if the link has expired.


Amos' changing set has lovely surprises

By Mark Lowry
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

GRAND PRAIRIE -There's an important rule to remember when planning to see Tori Amos in concert: She never performs identical shows in any two cities on a given tour. So an Internet search for previous set lists won't predict what she's going to do.

On the tour for her newest album, the Sept. 11-inspired Scarlet's Walk, she usually opens with Wampum Prayer and A Sorta Fairytale, and closes her main set with the haunting I Can't See New York and Iieee. But the songs in between are anybody's guess.

On Wednesday night at NextStage, she drew heavily from her 1992 album Under the Pink, performing Space Dog, God, Cornflake Girl and a lovely arrangement of Bells For Her.

On last year's tour, she performed only with her piano. This time, she's using her band again -- bassist John Evans and percussionist Matt Chamberlain. This means that many arrangements are unidentifiable until the lyrics begin, as was the case with a funky performance of Crucify, in which the band played the verses, and she joined on piano for the chorus.

Another Amos rule is that she always performs a few unexpected covers. She has been singing Fleetwood Mac's Landslide in concert for more than a decade, but it's still nice to hear. An overly emotional rendition of Dixie Land was simply bizarre, but her version of Harry Belafonte's Abraham, Martin and John was gorgeous.

In short, it was like a sorta fairytale.

Opening was Dallas' Rhett Miller, best-known as lead singer of alt-country heroes the Old 97's. Furiously strumming his guitar, he clung most to songs from his solo album The Instigator, but included a few 97's songs, including Indefinitely. After eight weeks of touring With Amos, his voice was still in tiptop shape.