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Recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York on January 23, 1997, in a performance not included in the earlier Dew Drop Tour concluded in November of the previous year, this footage has always maintained a semi-official status, being included in the Atlantic catalog but not in Amos's official discography and videography. However, due to its peculiarities, it has always been considered a little gem by the various EWF scattered around the globe...
Indeed, this concert, held to raise funds and support for the anti-sexual abuse association "RAINN" (Amos herself, a victim years earlier, is among the founders), offers a sharp insight into what the live dimension was in the early part of the American singer-songwriter's career.
The best definition that can be given to the event is "Tori raw and unfiltered". In fact, if you exclude a few songs where she is accompanied by guitarist Steve Caton (the first time in her solo career, recorded, that Amos was accompanied by another performer on stage) and the overdubbing present in a couple of other tracks (especially in "Talula"), the only instruments that dominate are the piano and a harpsichord that she alternately plays, and naturally, her beautiful, versatile voice.
The repertoire presented is a mix of the first three albums: "Little Earthquakes" from '92, "Under the Pink" from '94, and "Boys for Pele" from '96, plus a B-side, the beautiful "Upside Down". Truth be told, it is likely to be more appreciated by those already familiar with Amos because, due to the sparse arrangement chosen, most of the songs appear as in the initial draft, that is, instrument/voice, making it all very intimate and consequently even more exclusive for those who already know how to interpret both the musical and atmospheric evolutions of this artist.
This is a more evident characteristic in the tracks taken from the first two albums (except for the touching "Me and a Gun" which is faithful to the original, meaning without instrumentation and with only the vocals) because the songs from the third album, dominated by an underlying minimalism and the baroque presence of harpsichords, naturally move within this sort of ecstatic void deliberately created by Tori.
From '98 onwards, Ellen Myra would occasionally tour with a real band and, except for the EP "Hey Jupiter" from '97 and some B-sides, the discography up to the official bootlegs released two years ago (recorded during the 2005 "The Beekeeper" tour) only includes "plugged" performances, as she likes to define them. Therefore, this is a precious document for those who, for various reasons, could not see or hear her in those years and offers the occasion for a listen without too many frills of gems like "Leather", "Silent all these Years", and "Waitress".
The cherry on top is the presence as a guest in "Muhammad my Friend" of Maynard James Keenan from Tool (Tori introduces him as the person who comes to sing lullabies to her when she's feeling down), and here I won't say anything to avoid ruining the various personal sensations.
From EWF, the writer would be inclined to enthusiastically recommend this VHS (yes, this is the medium it is still found on), but instead just offers the invitation to try immersing in a slightly retro world made of small gestures, whispers that also explode in sudden surges of anger that tear through a calm that is never monotonous, and to decipher...
Track List:
Beauty Queen/Horses
Leather
Blood Roses
Little Amsterdam
Cornflake Girl
Waitress
Little Earthquakes
Upside Down
Winter
Precious Things
Caught a Lite Sneeze
Talula
Me and a Gun
Marianne
Silent all these Years
Muhammad my Friend
Pretty Good Year
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Precious Things (05:50)
So I ran faster
but it caught me here
Yes my loyalties turned
like my ankle
in the seventh grade
Running after Billy
Running after the rain
These precious things
Let them bleed, let them wash away
These precious things
Let them break their hold over me
He said you're really an ugly girl
but I like the way you play
and I died
but I thanked him
Can you believe that? sick, sick
Holding on to his picture
Dressing up every day
I wanna smash the faces
of those beautiful boys
those Christian boys
So you can make me cum
That doesn't make you Jesus
These precious things
Let them bleed, let them wash away
These precious things
Let them break their hold over me
I remember
Yes in my peach party dress
No one dared, no one cared to tell me
where the pretty girls are
Those demigods
with their nine inch nails and
little fascist panties tucked inside
the heart of every nice girl
These precious things
Let them bleed, let them wash away
These precious things
Let them break, let them wash away
These, these precious things
Let them bleed now, let them wash away
These, these precious things
Let them break their hold over me
Precious
Precious
02 Happy Phantom (05:51)
And if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
and I'll go chasin' the nuns out in the yard
and I'll run naked through the streets without my mask on
and I will never need umbrellas in the rain
I'll wake up in strawberry fields everyday
and the atrocities of school I can forgive
The happy phantom has no right to bitch
Oo who- The time is getting closer
Oo who- Time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will we pay for who we've been
So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel
They'll be my ticket to the universal opera
There's Judy Garland taking Buddha by the hand
and then these seven little men get up to dance
They say Confucius does his crossword with a pen
I'm still the angel to the girl who hates to sin
Oo whoo- The time is gettin closer
Oo who- The time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will I pay for who I've been
Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back
You found a girl that you could truly love again
Will you still call for me when she falls asleep
or do we soon forget the things we cannot see
Oo who- The time is getting closer
Oo who- The time to be a ghost
Oo who- Everyday we're getting closer
The sun is getting dim
Will I pay for who I been
And if I die today
And if I die today
And if I die today
Chasin' nuns out in the yard
04 Flying Dutchman (06:24)
Hey kid I've got a ride for you
They say your brain is a comic book tattoo
and you'll never be anything
What will you do with your life
Oh thats all you hear from noon till night
Take a trip on a rocket ship baby
The sea is the sky
I know the guy who runs the place and he's out of sight
Flying Dutchman
Are you out there Flying Dutchman
Straight suits they don't understand
She tried that one with the alligator boots
but the other side drew her in
Heart falling fast when she left
Even the milky way was dressed in black
Take a trip on a rocket ship baby
The sea is the sky
I know the guy who runs the place and he's out of sight
Flying Dutchman
Are you out there Flying Dutchma
Cuz they can't see what you're born to be
They can't see me
They can't be what they can't believe
They can't see what you see
Keep the boys spinning in their own little world
Tie them up so they won't say a word
Keep the boys spinning in their own little world
So afraid you'll be what they never were
Take a trip on a rocket ship baby
The sea is the sky
I know the guy who runs the place and he's out of sight
Flying Dutchman
Are you out there Flying Dutchman
Cuz they can't see...
05 Crucify (09:29)
Every finger in the room is pointing at me
I wanna spit in their faces
Then I get afraid what that could bring
I got a bowling ball in my stomach
I got a desert in my mouth
Figures that my courage would choose to sell out now.
I've been looking for a savior in these dirty streets
Looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets
I've been raising up my hands
Drive another nail in
Just what God needs
One more victim
Why do we crucify ourselves
Every day I crucify myself
And nothing I do is good enough for you
Crucify myself
Every day I crucify myself
And my heart is sick of being in chains
Got a kick for a dog beggin' for love
I gotta have my suffering
So that I can have my cross
I know a cat named Easter
He says will you ever learn
You're just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird
I've been looking for a savior in these dirty streets
Looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets
I've been raising up my hands
Drive another nail in
Got enough guilt to start
My own religion
Why do we crucify ourselves
Every day I crucify myself
And nothing I do is good enough for you
Crucify myself
Every day I crucify myself
And my heart is sick of being in chains
Please be
Save me
I cry
Looking for a savior in these dirty streets
Looking for a savior beneath these dirty sheets
I've been raising up my hands
Drive another nail in
Where are those angels
When you need them
Why do we crucify ourselves
Every day I crucify myself
And nothing I do is good enough for you
Crucify myself
Every day I crucify myself
And my heart is sick of being in chains
Why do we ...
... chains ...
Crucify ourselves
Everyday
Never going back again
Crucify myself again
You know
Never going back again to
Crucify myself
Everyday
06 Icicle (04:22)
Icicle Icicle
Where are you going
I have a hiding place
When spring marches in
Why you keep watch for me
I hear them calling
Gonna lay down
Gonna lay down
Greeting the monster in our Easter dresses
Father says: bow your head
Like the Good Book says
Well I think The Good Book is missing some pages
Gonna lay down
Gonna lay down
And when my hand touches myself
I can finally rest my head
And when the say take of his body
I think I'll take from mine instead
Getting Off
Getting Off
While they're all downstairs
Singing prayers sing away
He's in my pumpkin p.j.�s
Lay your book on my chest
Feel the word
Feel the word
Feel it
I could have
I should have
I could have flown you know
I could have
I should have
I didn't so
07 Baker Baker (03:54)
Baker baker
Baking a cake
Make me a day
Make me whole again
And I wonder
What's in a day
What's in your cake this time
I guess you heard he's
Gone to LA
He says that behind
My eyes I'm hiding
And he tells me
I pushed him away
That my heart's been hard to find
Here
There must be something here
There must be something here
Here
Baker baker
Can you explain
If truly his heart
Was made of icing
And I wonder
How mine would taste
Maybe we could change his mind
I know you're late
For your next parade
You came to make sure
That I'm not running
Well I ran from him
In all kinds of ways
Guess it was his turn this time
Time
Thought I'd make friends with time
Thought we'd be flying
Maybe not this time
Baker baker
Baking a cake
Make me a day
Make me whole again
And I wonder
If he's ok
If you see him
Say hi
08 Cornflake Girl (05:20)
Never was a cornflake girl
thought it was a good solution
hangin' with the raisin girls
she's gone to the other side
givin us the yo heave ho
things are getting kinda gross
and I go at sleepy time
this is not really this a this a this is not
really happening
you bet your life it is
peel out the watchword
just peel out the watchword
she knows what's going in
seems we got a cheaper feel now
all the sweeteaze are gone
gone to the other side
with my encyclopedia
they musta paid her a nice price
she's puttin on her string bean head
this is not really this a this a this is not
really happening
you bet your life it is
rabbit where'd you put the keys girl
and the man with the golden gun thinks he
knows so much
rabbit where'd you put the keys girl
10 Silent All These Years (05:23)
Excuse me but can I be you for awhile?
My dog won't bite if you sit real still
I got the anti-Christ in the kitchen yellin' at me again
Yeah I can hear that
Been saved again by the garbage truck
I got something to say you know but nothing comes
Yes I know what you think of me--you never shut up
Yeah I can hear that
But what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes I hear my voice and it's been
Here... silent all these years
So you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts
What's so amazing about really deep thoughts?
Boy you best pray that I bleed real soon
How's that thought for you?
My scream got lost in a paper cup
I think there's a heaven where the screams have gone
I got 25 bucks and a cracker, do you think it's enough
To get us there 'cause...
What if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of his with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care, 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes I hear my voice, and it's been
Here... silent all these years
Years go by, will I still be waiting
For somebody else to understand
Years go by, if I'm stripped of my beauty
And the orange clouds raining in my hand
Years go by, will I choke on my tears
'Till finally there is nothing left
One more casualty you know we're too easy, easy, easy
Well I love the way we communicate
Your eyes focus on my funny lip shape
Let's hear what you think of me now, but baby don't look up
The sky is falling
Your mother shows up in a nasty dress
And it's your turn now to stand where I stand
Everybody lookin' at you
Here, take hold of my hand
Yeah I can hear them...
But what if I'm a mermaid
In these jeans of yours with her name still on it
Hey, but I don't care 'cause sometimes
I said sometimes, I hear my voice
I hear my voice
I hear my voice
And it's been here... silent all these years
I've been here... silent all these years
Silent
All these
Silent all these years
11 The Waitress (03:26)
So I want to kill this waitress
she's worked here a year longer than I
if I did it fast you know that's an act of kindness
but I believe in peace
I believe in peace bitch
I believe in peace
I want to kill this waitress
I can't believe this violence in mind
and his her power
all in her club sandwich?
but I believe in peace
I believe in peace bitch
I believe in peace
I want to kill this killing wish
they're too many stars and not enough sky
boys all think she's living kindness
ask a fellow waitress
ask a fellow waitress
12 Smells Like Teen Spirit (04:03)
Load up on guns and bring your friends.
It's fun to lose and to pretend.
She's overboard and self-assured.
Oh no, I know a dirty word.
Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, how low.
I'm worst at what, what I do best
and for this gift I feel blessed.
A little group has always been
and always will be until the end.
Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, how low.
With the lights out it's less dangerous.
Here we are now, entertain us.
I feel stupid and contagious.
Here we are now, entertain us.
Yes... hello, hello, o-ooh.
With the lights out it's less dangerous.
Here we are now, entertain us.
I feel stupid and contagious.
Here we are now, entertain us.
Yes...
a mulatto,
an albino,
a mosquito,
my libido.
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial.
Yes...
a denial...
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