Acoustically Attracted To Sin
So the Tori gig was last night. Here's the set list (courtesy of Undented):
* Famous Blue Raincoat
* Lady In Blue
* Curtain Call
* Crucify
* bodyguard improv > Leather
* Maybe California
* Taxi Ride
* Mary Jane
* Jackie’s Strength
* Wednesday
* Welcome To England
* Cool On Your Island
* Silent All These Years
* Barons of Suburbia
Encore
* Over The Rainbow
* Putting The Damage On
Since the audience, for once, seemed to respect the no photography rule (there was a flurry of flashes at the final bow, but otherwise pretty much nothing), I was not that disrespectful asshat who took pics anyway and so I stole a pic from Getty Images instead
It was, without a doubt, the best I've ever seen her. And I never thought she'd top the 2005 concert when she was joined by the gospel choir. But she did. her cover of "Famous Blue Raincoat" is one of my absolute favourite tracks of hers and I could not believe it when she opened with it. When "It's 4 in the morning, the end of December" rang out, every hair on my body stood up. And they pretty much stayed that way for the next 90 minutes. The new material sounds so much better live and stripped down than the album tracks I've heard so far. The old songs were so much stronger, so much more vibrant than I've heard them before. The best example of that was "Wednesday", which was slightly slowed down and so much more playful than previous live renditions.
Vocally, she's never sounded better. Whatever ailed her two weeks ago and caused the postponement was obviously entirely cured. There wasn't much talking to the audience, I'm guessing it's because the second she opened her mouth, some idiots started yelling song requests at her. My dislike for her rabid fans continues unabated, it seems. I'm interested to see what the full tour with band turns out like, but at the same time, if I don't get a ticket for the tour, it'll be ok. The memory of this incredible concert is enough to keep me going until the next time.
