By Rebecca Bush
Tori Amos takes to the grand stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the 9th time tonight and the setting is befitting of an artist of her calibre.
Despite being an avid fan for over 25 years tonight is my first time experiencing Tori live and to say it was emotional is an understatement.
Opening the show tonight is Norwegian singer Skarr. She exudes a delightful and gentle energy. The room is still and everyone seems truly captivated by her beautiful voice. Talking to the crowd in between songs she injects a little humour which has the audience laughing on several occasions, she has a wonderful presence and warmth on top of a stunning set of pipes!! Skarr take to the UK and Ireland for their own headline tour in October and are well worth checking out.
There is such a fantastic energy vibrating around the great walls of the Royal Albert Hall as we await the arrival on stage of the woman herself – Tori Amos.
When the lights drop there is an excited flutter of applause and it erupts as the flame haired songstress takes to the stage. There is such a calm and ethereal aura to Tori and she almost floats to her position between her array of pianos and keyboards. A lot of care and thought goes into her performances with no two set lists the same, a luxury she can afford with such a rich tapestry of hits to choose from. From the moment the first notes drift through the air, we are transported into Tori’s world – and what a magical place it is. Over the years she created hit after hit and there is plenty of room for her to promote her new album ‘Ocean to Ocean’ and also dazzle us with firm favourites such as ‘Crucify’ and ‘Little Amsterdam’. For myself and I’m sure everyone in the room, the moment that stood out the most came after Tori told us of a letter she received from a fan who had accidentally discovered her many years ago and was subsequently attending his 50th show tonight. With this, she played a rendition of R.E.M’S Losing My Religion transitioning into an absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful performance of ‘Silent all these Years’. All around me the audience were completely in awe and I myself found tears rolling down my face and jumped up with the whole room as they gave a standing ovation. Tori is a musician in its truest form and collectively the room hung to every word and every note that flowed from her. The precision and skill she exhibits are like nothing I’ve ever witnessed, playing her instruments with pure passion as if they are simply an extension of her.
A night that truly spoke to the hearts of everyone in attendance – just beautiful.
