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some patchouli please I walked out of work this morning feeling free. I had finished my paper in the early morning hours and knew that I need not return for a week. In other words my vacation had started and I was ready for it. ... I hadn't been to a concert in a year so I was a little nervous. As always the idea of a being trapped in a crowd tends to wear on me and this time I'd be with someone else instead of alone like I was the last time. That meant I'd wouldn't be able to leave if it got to be too much. Thankfully that didn't happen. Now hours later I can honestly say that I had a good time and it was a great way to start my one week vacation. After a nice dinner, Jen and I made our way to the concert. Standing outside was a healthy sized crowd of people, but we didn't stay there long enough to get an impression. We just made our way inside where I was immediately reminded that people get searched at concerts. At first I wasn't sure why that surprised me, but then I remembered that I had been to the same venue two years ago and wasn't searched that time. Maybe the crowd that goes to see a Riverdance performance is thought to be more subdued than the followers of Tori. Looking around at the people at inside I noticed that I was in the minority. There was a sea of nose ring bearing women with a few gay guys mixed in for color. Of course that was what I had expected to see. Tori has long been a magnet for such a crowd although I suspect that she has moved slightly away from that goddess and or protectress of the emotionally damaged role now that she is married and a mother. The next step of the evening was seeing how far away from the stage we were going to be sitting. We soon found out that we had the definition of nose bleed seats, but in some ways I think that that was better for me, because being caught down in front is not my style. Plus I got to sit for most of the concert which may or may not be a sign of old age. Performing as an opening act has to be one of the worst things that a musician has to do in his or her career. Very seldom do people care and quite often people get up and leave once that person starts to sing. I, however, was impressed by the young, sincere and talented Howie Day. Yes, when I first read the name an image of a prop comedian was the first thing that came into my mind. Instead what I saw on stage was a man with his guitar and an array of pedals that he used unlike anyone else I had ever seen. Through those pedals he sampled himself to provide a drum beat by slapping his guitar a few times and playing it back. He then did the same trick again to get a bass line going. Finally he'd sample his own vocals to harmonize with himself. It was something that definitely got my attention. Not only did it get my attention, but it made the sweater clad, low rise jean girl sitting in front of me turn around to ask me if I knew his name. I did and told her as the scent of her patchouli oil drew me closer to her. After the required intermission, Tori made her entrance with a bass player to the left of her and the drummer on the other side. It was simple and left the focus of our attention on the music. A barrage of special effects is not something that I like in concerts. For me the less is more theory is much more preferable and Tori seems to think the same way from I saw on stage. Oh, there were lighting effects, but we're not talking smoke and explosions either. Even though she was far from where I was sitting, I still could feel the energy that she was putting into her music. She is anything but passive. There was one moment that made her seem even more human and it was during the second encore. She had just started the opening lines of Hey Jupiter and then stopped. Suddenly she was talking to someone standing at the stage. Tori asked them what they were doing and could they stop. It seems that two emotionally pitched fans were arguing about taking Tori's picture and it was bothering Tori. Now this wasn't an arrogant performer feeling as though she being ignore. This was just Tori making sure that other people could enjoy her music rather than listening to some people argue next to the stage. I was very impressed by the way that she handled the situation. I can't say whether or not I would have liked to have seen Tori when I first became aware of her years ago instead of just now. What I can say is that she put on a great show and I'd go see her again if I got the chance. She still has something to offer that is unique and that isn't seen that much in the world of music. |