This is my concert review, because I like you, porcupine

[vovat]

Last night, bethje and I went to see Tori Amos at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby. The only other time I went there, I took public transportation (it was supposed to be the elevated train, which stops about a block away, but they were doing construction on the track so it turned out to be a bus instead), so I didn't really know where to park, and that always worries me, not least of all because I'm not very good at street parking. I was able to call the venue and find out the location of a nearby parking garage, though, and I found it without any real trouble. (It's at Chestnut and Heather Streets, about a block southeast of the venue, for those of you who might be considering driving there for some other show.) Anyway, the venue itself is a lot bigger than I had thought. We sat in the upper balcony, which I'm not even sure was open when we saw Belle and Sebastian there. So our view wasn't that great, but the sound was a LOT better than that at the Tweeter Center, which was the last place we saw Tori.

The opener was YOAV, another single dude with a guitar, but at least he tried to do something different and kind of interesting. While I didn't think he was that great, I much preferred him to Howie Day and Matt Nathanson. His set included a cover of "Where Is My Mind?", which the audience seemed pretty excited about. YOAV didn't play for very long, but it was a while before Tori took the stage. Fortunately, we were sitting down, so the wait wasn't as annoying as it usually is. Tori started the show in a short blonde wig. I think it was the Santa one, but it might possibly have been Isabel. As I've said, our view wasn't that good. I had considered the possibility that she would wear all of the American Doll Posse wigs, but she only changed once during the show. In both guises, she wore somewhat slinky dresses, instead of the weird flowing gowns she'd been sporting on other recent tours. I think playing dress-up is rejuvenating her youthful energy to a certain extent.

The set was heavy on American Doll Posse songs, many of which weren't particular stand-outs from the album for me. She also played quite a few numbers from previous albums, though, including "Crucify," "Precious Things," "Leather," "Cornflake Girl" (okay, I don't think I've been to a Tori show where she DIDN'T play that one, but still), "Cloud On My Tongue," "Sugar," "Spark," "Hotel," "Liquid Diamonds," "Purple People," "Pancake," and "Hoochie Woman." Her closer was "Hey Jupiter," which, while it was a single and all, was kind of a low-key song to go out on. But then, I've noticed that she often ends with quiet songs like that, rather than big productions. Tori has returned to using a full band for this tour, which is somewhat disappointing. I'm not sure if they're the same people who were playing with her last time we saw her on a full-band tour, but they had the same habit of playing exactly the same way on every song. I prefer the shows where it's just Tori and her various keyboard instruments.

In unrelated news, Anderson is back home now, but I'm not sure how well he's doing. He's been eating a lot of his special food, which is good. But he still seems to be having some problems peeing, and he has to wear a cone around his head to stop him from licking himself. I'm really hoping he'll get better.

Comments

commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

I saw Tori at the Tower Theater...a long, long time ago. during the tour for Boys for Pele, I believe. a friend of mine bought the tickets, and they were scattered about the theater, so he turned them upside-down and had us each pick one at random. I ended up getting front row...very cool experience.

anyway...the point. I dislike the area the Tower is located. go just a block or so away from it, you're in a not-so-nice neighborhood. last time I was down there with the missus, we were going to see The Kids in the Hall Live tour thing. we were hungry, so we walked up the street to a little indoor mini-mall. holy crap. we thought a shooting was going to occur many times. not being racist or anything...just that a few private discussions that were going on around us sounded like they were becoming very heated. ended up wolfing down our food so we could get back to the theater post-haste.

after telling a friend who lived in that area this, he said what we did was very stupid. he's heard of many bad things happening to people not familiar with the area who wander around. won't be doing that again. and actually, out of the many shows I had seen there, that was the only one I went wandering about the town prior to the show.

okay. sorry for the random, long comment. I'll go now.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think the area around the Tower is that nice, although I'm sure Philadelphia has much worse. I don't know whether it's true, but I read somewhere on the Internet that they have a lot more police around during concerts, which would make sense. It wouldn't exactly be good publicity for the venue if people were getting shot or mugged on their way there or back. Really, there are a lot of concert venues that are in reputedly bad areas (although I rarely see statistics offered to prove this, so it's possible that it's more a case of their being in seedy-looking areas more than anything else), which I'm guessing is more a result of the neighborhoods around them changing than of somebody saying, "Hey, this high-crime area is perfect for touring bands to play in!" Actually, a few years ago, I saw Tori in the Holmdel arena, which has its own exit off the Garden State Parkway, and hence doesn't really HAVE a neighborhood around it. But I'm sure that was very expensive, and most musicians I like tend to play in much smaller venues than that one.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I've been in the "worse". Not fun.

Now that I think about it, the Electric Factory is a much more seedier area. I took a wrong turn once in that area and was in what looked like a warzone. My first concert there, the guy that drove us down had his car broken into. And the parking situation isn't the best...I think that's the place where guys will act like they are parking attendants at some abandoned lot, take your money, and then take off. Later on, the towing company comes and starts taking the cars to the impound lot. Nice.

At least with the Tower, you can pretty much hop on the train, go to the theater, and then get right back on the train to go home.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[vovat.livejournal.com]

It's annoying that the Electric Factory is pretty much only accessible by car. Cabs don't come into the area much, and no public transportation comes that close either. As far as location goes, I much prefer the Trocadero, since it's right near the bus terminal. Not that many artists I like play there, though; it seems to be more for local bands.

And the parking situation isn't the best...I think that's the place where guys will act like they are parking attendants at some abandoned lot, take your money, and then take off.

I've never had that happen (I've usually been able to park right up next to the theater), but that doesn't necessarily mean it never does.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, that lot out in front gets filled up quick. At least it did the last time I was down there.

And yeah...it's like a public transportation dead zone in that area.

I can't even rememebr the last time I went to the Troc...it's been ages. I'm getting too old for concerts...well, the ones I used to go to when I was younger. I can get through a Tori concert, but forget about something like...like...something heavier :) I had to escort my little brother to a Gwar concert...while it was fun, those kids get way too rough.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I usually arrive pretty early for concerts. When the bulk of people show up seems to vary depending on the artist. With They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds, it's pretty typical for there to be a line all around the building more than an hour before the doors open. With others, the place can be pretty empty until people think the openers have finished.

I'm getting too old for concerts...well, the ones I used to go to when I was younger. I can get through a Tori concert, but forget about something like...like...something heavier

At least you can usually sit down at Tori shows. Before I started attending a fair number of concerts, I wasn't aware of how many of them were standing room only. You can usually sit down for really small acts and pretty big ones, but for the ones who draw intermediate crowds, they usually leave out the seats and try to pack in as many people as possible. I've heard some people say they PREFER during concerts, which just seems weird to me. Perhaps these people are made of cast-iron.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

I never realized people sat down at concerts until well-into my concert going days. I was always one of those kids, out on the floor, fighting to get up front. when I went to the show with my brother, I immediately went upstairs, got a drink, and sat down through most of the show, only venturing downstairs to make sure I knew where my brother was.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I've started trying to sit down whenever I can, but it's not always possible unless you arrive early. I don't drink at concerts, though. I'm not much of a drinker anyway, and I don't really want to encourage the ridiculously high prices that venues charge.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

yeah, I don't drink much...I'll get one, maybe two at the most. if that. when I went with my brother, I had a drink just because I wanted to get through the night without a headache...

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[bethje.livejournal.com]

Oh, I thought it was a fine area.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[bethje.livejournal.com]

And I was at that Kids in the Hall show, too.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I thought it looked rather run-down, but then, it's often hard to tell what areas are truly dangerous. Usually people go mostly by hearsay and appearances when talking about such things.

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

maybe we weren't feeling too safe because it was night?

Re: commenting while I'm bored and looking at little_octagon's friends' entries

[zombiekiller13.livejournal.com]

well, no. I think that show was during the day. and we were fine until we wandered away from the Tower...