Let's Reconnect with Tori, Shall We?

Tori Amos
Unrepentant Geraldines Tour, Mesa 7.25.14

Whoa! I was pleasantly surprised by the amazingness of this concert.  After being disappointed with the last 2 performances we went to (I think it was maybe the shows for the Beekeeper album??), I had skipped out on buying tickets for her last 2-3 concerts here in AZ.  There was a week back in March where I got into a major nostalgic Tori kick and spent an embarrassingly amount of time glued to my computer screen singing along with her while watching live YouTube performances.  I decided then and there that I missed this strange little redheaded woman that I used to be absolutely obsessed with throughout high school and college (to the point where I made collages of photos of her and even wrote a college paper about her), and that I was not going to miss out on her next stop here in the desert.  So glad I didn't miss this performance because I fell in with her love all over again.

Setlist:
Parasol
Sister Janet
Icicle
Jamaica Inn
Marys of the Sea
Weatherman
Playboy Mommy 
A Sorta Fairytale
Honey
Wrapped Around Your Finger (The Police cover)
Real Men (Joe Jackson cover)
Father's Son
Zero Point
Cloud on my Tongue
Scarlet's Walk
In the Springtime of His Voodoo
Cornflake Girl

Encore:
Precious Things
Bells for Her
Wedding Day
Purple Rain (Prince cover)



Tori is one of the best storytellers out there and that is one of the reasons why I've held her songs so close to me all these years.  Although "Precious Things" is one of my all time favorites and was happy to hear it, I found myself hit by an emotional dart while listening to "Playboy Mommy."  I knew Tori wrote this song after the miscarriage of her baby girl many, many years ago and it just tugged at my friggin soul hearing her sing this to us.  The power of Motherhood is no joke, friends.  I am touched by happenings that once had no power over me.  The very reason why I stopped listening to Tori's music for the past 3 albums (Motherhood) is the exact reason why I am reconnecting with her (trust me, even I am rolling my eyes over here.)  And this song's message hit me hard without an effing warning.  I had tears in my eyes and I held my own growing baby girl bump close to me and I took in every single word as I sang along.  There I was, a pregnant lady singing her heart out and holding her bump close while crying.  I am surprised Justin didn't run for the hills or give me a fish slap to the face to snap out of the sappy downward spiral I was in.  So good.  

I was really OHPLEASE- OHPLEASE-OHPLEASE-I-AM-CHANNELING-MY-WISH-TO-YOU-TORI-CAN-YOU-HEAR-ME hoping for "Gold Dust", but sadly it never came.  Maybe the Gods knew it would be emotional overkill for me and prevented it to come.  I've listened to that song 489475098245763 times since getting pregnant and I cry every time.  Every. Damn. Time.  Oh, well, I've heard it live before at a previous Tori concert, and I'll just wish for it again in the future.

Her voice was perfect during this concert.  If you are a frequent Tori concert goer, you know how she can lose herself in trying to make her voice sound throatier, flatter, I dunno, just not the same crisp, clear, beautiful voice we all know and love.  She only got cray during "In the Springtime of his Voodoo" but changed back to normal during the jazzy last part of the song.

I read a Phoenix New Times review about the concert and while this chick had a very accurate understanding of some of the events that happened that night, she lost me when she wrote, " This is the first show where I've had to use Twitter as a guide. I don't think you should have to work so hard to understand a performance."  If you don't understand it, you are not a true fan.  Also, you admitted you've only been to one other concert of hers.  In any case, I swiped the photo at the top of this post from that article since I forgot my camera.  

If it weren't for being in my last trimester and the beginning of another school year, I would be searching for flight deals to see her in another city ASAP.  I needed more.  Loved this concert and loved that she brought the magic that drew me in all those years ago.