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Tori Amos: Live From NY
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Tori Amos: Live From NY
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Here you will find a large selection of photos from the video and my very short review of it. For more information on this video, see my Tori Amos Live From New York Page.
I was thrilled to finally get this video. I was sadly unable to see the show that took place in Madison Square Garden Theater on January 23, 1997. Lifetime showed part of the concert the following evening. Now I have seen the entire thing! This is especially interesting since it was the only concert Tori performed in 1997.
My review will be rather short, since so much has already been said about this wonderful show. You can still read on my site all the reviews from people who actually saw the concert in person. I also have reviews of this video that appeared in Q magazine and Vox Magazine. Lastly, Dennis Snelders also reviews this tape at his Little Amsterdam web site
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I'll start with a few negatives. There are only a few because I do truly love the video! The only part of the concert that they did not include was the part where Tori thanks the audience for coming from all over the world (including Israel!) to see the show. They did show this on the Lifetime airing of the concert however. Since this would have only added a few seconds to the length of the video and would have made the concert that much more complete, I am at a loss to explain why they left it out.
I also find myself getting a little irritated at the camera work in the video. One thing they kept doing that really drove me nuts was move the camera along the front of the stage showing closeups of all the gifts people threw up on stage for Tori. They did this pan way too much. There were also a few times when I thought the camera should have been on Tori, since she was doing something interesting at the piano, but it was on something else instead!
My final negative is the excessive amount of screaming from certain people in the audience. Why some people feel the need to scream in the middle of a beautiful song or remind Tori of her real name is beyond me. This level of screaming was largely absent from Tori's first two tours, and it is something that partially damages the show for myself. But I guess the only way to avoid it these days is to see Tori in Europe, where they usually respect the music too much to scream in the middle of a song. I wish they could have turned the audience down when mixing the video, but they did not.
But all that aside, I still adore the video! Tori's performance was terrific. It was not the best performance I have seen, or the most intense, but it was extremely good. Tori has stated in past interviews how much she hates TV, and I think that might have resulted in her being a little more nervous and "safe" than she sometimes is in concert. I have also seen her more playful on stage, but again I think this has to do with the pressure of that particular evening. This was still an outstanding and at times very touching concert. Tori played extremely well. Her technical prowess at the piano was jaw dropping. She also really got into the songs. At times her body would do whatever it needed to keep up with the music. Some of the faces and expressions Tori made, especially with her eyes, were interesting!
There was an excitement in the air that evening that comes through on the tape. I don't know exactly what I mean by that, but there was something in the atmosphere there that was terribly thrilling. Perhaps it was the fact that this concert was the last one for a long while. The fact that the concert was for a good cause, to benefit the RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), also could have played a part.
Here is each song from the video, a brief commentary, and some photos (which don't necessarily relate to the commentary.) Clicking on any thumbnail will open a new browser window and show the larger image.
The video shows her walking on stage, accepting some flowers from someone in the front, and then sitting down to begin. I love how wide her eyes would get while playing these songs! I also liked the part of "Horses" where she is mouthing words away from microphone.
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Tori introduces this song with these words, "The person that I sang this song to for the very first time I played it is here tonight and I haven't sung it to him since almost that night... So.. Hah." She also gives a playful wave at the beginning.
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Tori seems to really be getting into the emotion that is in this song. After she finishes and hangs up the headphones she often wears at the harpsichord, she looks really angry!
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I love the part where Tori sings "playing thay organ must account for something." It is dramatic and powerful. Steve Caton's guitar during this song is haunting. (This is the first song Caton plays on.)
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Before she sang this song, Tori thanked everyone for coming all over the world to see this show. This video edited that out. But you still see the Cornflake Girl dance, and some mighty piano playing!
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This song was relatively rare during the Dew Drop Inn tour, so it was good to see it here. The introduction Tori did for this song was beautiful and not on the album version of the song. Tori was softly singing something like, "Don't think I don't know what you know...I am closer to that jumping off..." During the refrain the second time, Tori whispered "But I believe in Peace.." at the same time as Caton's guitar and it sounded like an eerie computerized voice!
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I think the intro to this song that she does in concert is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
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This song was my second favorite part of the concert. Tori gave the song a long introduction and was really into it. She sang it extremely well. There was this quality to her voice that seemed innocent and beautiful As you can see, I can not easily explain why it was so special. But it was.
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Tori actually whispered part of the song and at times I thought she was going to cry. I sure did.
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The crowd loved the grrrrlll part, but I found the ending to be the best part. She starts singing "wash me clean, daddy" with a really calm, innocent look on her face that gradually gets more intense. She eventually starts screaming "wash me clean" in this deep, very disturbing voice.
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Contained all the elements we remember from the Dew Drop Inn tour, including the switch from harpsichord to piano and back again while holding the "zone" note. She prefaced the song with a few lines from "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails.
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Exciting song, with drum loops. flashing lights, and intense singing!
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The screamers in the crowd managed to stay quiet during this song. Tori loudly emphasized the word "flat" in the "flat on your stomach" line.
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Without a doubt, this is the highlight of the concert for me. Before the song, Tori says, "This is for somebody who was one of the most magical people I ever knew. She would have been here if she could have been here. Sometimes I think she comes and visits me wherever people go when they leave this planet. I don't know where they go but sometimes I feel her." The way she says "I don't know where they go" really moves me. The performance is filled with tenderness and is so inspiring. She has some the sweetest looks on her face while she sings this to her old friend.
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Beautiful.
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Tori's duet with Maynard James Keenan of Tool. They sing really well together. Tori tells the audience, "So this is one of my dearest friends. This is Maynard from Tool, and uh, and uh, I call him up when I'm feeling terrible and he sings me lullabies. So I asked him to come and sing tonight."
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The final song of the concert. (Actually, Tori planned to end the concert with "Killing Me Softly", but ran out of time!) This song turned out to be a good one with which to end the performance. She looked really happy as she sang it. When it was over she accepted some gifts from the crowd and left triumphantly.
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Email me (Michael Whitehead) at: mikewhy@iglou.com
