Sorry, Kite! I just haven't been online much the past week.
The show was beautiful. The weather was perfect. We got upgraded from 15th row to 2nd, which actually seemed slightly better than the 1st row to me, and we were almost dead center. Tori looked gorgeous in her white/yellow party dress and shoes that looked challenging to walk in, lol.
Once again I was blown away by her musicianship. She's like a force of nature or something, lol. I was completely in awe of her on the organ. I mean, in case you all weren't clear on this, I love this woman! I was a bit disappointed in the setlist, especially the covers and a few songs that I've heard just about every time I've seen her so I was hoping for a little bit more variety. Still, there were some real unbelievable standouts: "Muhammad My Friend" was just amazing, as was "Spark," "Mother," "Black Dove (January)" (a song I don't even like on the record) and, the surprising highlight of the night for me, "Running Up That Hill/God." "God" has become tiresome for me over the years but I love how she reworked it and slowed it down for this tour. It's just stunning and in fact you can hear it here:
http://www.hereinmyhead.com/sounds/index.html
and I see they've also just added her Austin cover of "When the Levee Breaks" (must hear the minute I finish this post).
The covers were eh, nothing special--"Wild World" (Cat Stevens) and "Let it Be." I mean, everyone likes "Let it Be" I suppose but it's just--here's that word again--tiresome, especially compared with the recent Damien Rice, Radiohead and the next night in SLC, Bjork, covers.
One criticism of the show is that even though Red Rocks is an incredible venue with near-perfect acoustics and gorgeous views (of the stage, the city, the landscape), I feel these outdoor ampitheatres are too big for this show. This was an intimate show that I think works best in theatres. Everyone's right about the stage design--it's dumb--and an outdoor venue needs more of a "show" in my opinion. Of course the music and her performance are strong enough on their own but it might’ve been more fun and awe-inspiring had there been more visually. And maybe I'm realizing that I might prefer her with the band, I don't know. But the show was excellent and the audience members around me were all very cool (of course, we were the hard-core people who got upgraded!) except for the one drunk girl who when trying to rush the stage during the encores stumbled down the bleachers and landed on my feet during "Mother" which was shocking and annoying, kind of like when the woman fainted beside me during "Running to Stand Still" when I saw U2. What is it about me and people falling down beside me, or in this case, on me, during poignant moments of shows?!
Thanks, Kite, for not letting me talk to myself in here! If you want a copy of the Red Rocks show, I downloaded the torrent and it’s really fantastic quality.
Here's the full setlist:
Original Sinsuality
Carbon
Amber Waves
Silent All These Years
Goodbye Pisces
Muhammed My Friend
God/Running Up That Hill
Wild World (Cat Stevens cover)
Let It Be (Beatles cover)
Cars And Guitars
Spark
Marianne
Black-Dove (January)
The Beekeeper
1st Encore
Tear In Your Hand
Jamaica Inn
2nd Encore
Cooling
Mother