"...these are my seats. I give them to people who like music..."

How can I possibly write a post about seeing Tori Amos on tour and do it justice? There's no way I can say enough! Nevertheless, this is going to be a marathon post. Are you ready? Here we go:

Last Wednesday, Freddy and I went out to San Diego. This trip had been planned for months and I thought it was never going to be time. He surprised me with tickets to see Tori. So the wait for December 12th began.

I hadn’t been in the San Diego airport since January of 1994. I didn’t remember it at all. What I do remember is how my parents told me my life would be ruined if I went to California on that trip. I was willing to take that chance. They were right. California got stuck in my brain and I have been trying to go back as often as I can.

After we arrived and checked into our hotel, we decided to take a look around the “old town” area. We saw some really neat looking houses.

Walking around the funny little street with all the tourist trinket shops we ran into a Mexican restaurant called “FRED’s” I was so excited. We HAD to eat here! So we had a couple margaritas and quesadillas and brought home a souvenir glass! I love it!

The show that night was amazing in so many ways. Anticipation proved to be too much for me. Unable to stay in my seat, I went to the front to check out the stage and Tori’s Bösendorfer piano.




This guy opened for Tori. His name is Yoav. I think. He said his name 42 times, but I never understood it. He was really cool actually. Everyone really seemed to enjoy him. Loved the British accent. Maybe I'm an Anglophile like Tori?






There was a brief wait. Then the lights went down again. Everyone screamed. I was holding my breath scanning the stage to see which of the Dolls would be coming out tonight. (if you’re STILL not caught up on who the Dolls are, see my previous Tori post.)

Then someone in the balcony screamed. The curtain parted and Santa came out and danced around the stage as the band played.

She open into Body and Soul. After She’s Your Cocaine she took a break to pour mojitos to the band.




Next Hoochie Woman and Raspberry Swirl, and then Santa was gone. Wait. Gone? No! Come back! Santa only did four songs.

After a brief break the curtain parted again! I was expecting to see Tori, but I was shocked to see Isobel! I assumed from the crazy cheers that went up that the rest of the people were shocked as well. San Diego was the only time on the entire tour that there was more than one of the Dolls in a show.

Isobel open with Yo George. The lighting was amazing all night and Yo George was one of my favorites. It looked like an abstract American flag. It was perfect for that song.


Isobel also did Mountain, Tombigbee, and Scarlett’s Walk.


Then there was the Professional Widow (remix) intermission. It was so much fun.




After the break Tori came back to Big Wheel, Cornflake Girl, and the Doughnut Song.




























The band took a break and left for the T & Bö section. It was so amazing! Tori gets so much out of a piano. Her passion and energy is very addicting.


She did a little improvisation then launched into Twinkle and an unscheduled (!) Leather. I LOVE that song! I especially get a huge kick out watching Tori perform it. “...if love isn’t forever and its not the weather, hand me my leather...” The expression she gets is so cute.



The band returned and continued with Your Cloud, one of my favorites from the Scarlett’s Walk album. I think I nearly squeezed Freddy’s arm off at this point (sorry Freddy). I cried through the whole song. It’s a song about separation and how it seems impossible to do so from the love of your life. “...if the rain has to separate from itself does it say ‘pick out your cloud?’...”

Next was Virginia.





Tori ended every show on her tour with Code Red. This time, though, things went a little differently. All night there were these two women who kept wandering around the floor. They were getting drinks and chatting with each other like they were in a coffee house or something. I don’t know if this is true but someone said that when they found their way to a couple seats in the front row one of them was on her mobile chatting away. Well, it proved to be too much for Tori...

(watch the whole thing. it is an amazing performance. but especially up to two and a half minutes in.)



She kicked their asses out of the theater! It was amazing!!!! Everyone went crazy! Tori began again where she left off with a newfound i'm-not-gonna-take-it passion. Code Red was such a perfect song for this! "...what you stole i would have given freely..."


Immediately after, everyone rushed the stage to be in the front with the “people who like music!” The first encore was Precious Things and Bliss. Both are top Tori songs to me! Second (!) encore was Space Dog and Hey Jupiter. (No. I don't know whose hand that is.)




Here’s the set list that didn’t play out exactly as planned. I loved the show we got for sure!


The night was pure magic. Freddy said I didn't stop grinning the whole time.
Not ready for it to end, we went outside to wait to see if Tori would come out and say “hi.” I’m not really an autograph person, but I just want to be near Tori and say “hi back” and hear her talk to every one.

Poor Freddy waited with me in the cold for 2 hours! (Love you so much Freddy!)

I think because of earlier incident Tori didn’t relish a confrontation with the booted women. So when she did come out, she made a beeline for her bus. Honestly, I don’t blame her. Plus it was very cold that night. We did get to meet and chat with some other rabid Tori fans. That was fun.

I can’t believe her tour has come to an end. It was a really incredible show. If I could have, I totally would follow her around the countries.

Please tour again soon Tori! I love you!

the cure for the holiday spirit (qotd:120607)

I’m starting to get into the holiday spirit. You know, the fear that years are passing you by while you blink, worry that next year will be the same, and paralyzing depression. I thought that maybe I would feel better after shaving, showering, and getting out of the house. I’ve been trying to see the sun at least once a day.

So I was out running an errand for my brother at Borders, and I may have stumbled across the cure for this holiday spirit. I was in the Paradise Valley Mall (PV Mall to the locals), so I thought I might as well stop in “Puppies ‘n’ Love.” It won’t hurt just to look.

I wandered around awhile looking at all the things you can get for your dog. That’s when I realized that this “all things dog” store had 200 different styles of leash and harness, but nowhere in sight was dog food. And there were x-mas ornaments with your dog’s picture, but no “accident” cleaning supplies. They have enough doggy clothing to fill a trunk and play dress-up for days (let me tell you, this is where I get suckered into it). Yet somehow when ordering inventory for the store, someone neglected to put those little bags you use to pick up poop on your 5 daily walks on the list. hmmm...

That’s when I realized that is how they get you. They show you all the fun stuff, and none of the responsibilities. So when you get to the $2000 (correction: in interest of fair reporting, the Chihuahua was $1999) adoption fee for your little bundle of joy, it seems worth it.

And why does a living being come with a 2 to 4 year warranty? There’s something disturbing about that to me.

Anyway. The cure: I really did have a great time seeing the puppies. It was like being at the zoo. Their frolicking and barking made me smile. The best part though? I don’t have to clean up. If one of these doggies makes a mess, I can simply leave the store. Nice, huh?



I stood there trying not to grin too much as the little Chihuahua tried to eat his cage mate, and overheard several mothers in the store with their children. Their conversations with the kids were so amusing.

I overheard one say, “I love the Shit-tzu.” Then her son said, “Mom, you already have a Shit-tzu.” To which she whined, “I know, but I want it!”

Then I heard a young girl ask her mom, “What kind is that? It’s soooo cute!”
“The sign says it’s a puh-pill-lun.”
I shuttered involuntarily.
“What’s that?”
“I think it’s a cross between a Pomeranian and something,” the mother surmised.
I tried not to judge. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know that breed either. I resisted the urge to correct her. But in my head I became Wikipedia.com’s page on Papillon. It’s actually pronounced paw-pee-yon which is the French word for butterfly (and nasal it up! this is French, okay? not Freedom Fries day at the White House). This breed got its name from the way the adult’s ears and face resemble a butterfly.

In her defense, Pomeranian is a great guess for this fuzzy looking puppy! awwww!
And with all these designer breeds these days, who knows what they’re gonna cross next.

As depressed as I may get, it’s good to know I haven’t lost the time-honored tradition of looking down on the common folk. Oh look! I really am in the holiday spirit!

entertainment at target (qotd:120307)

I woke this morning thinking, “I need to buy deodorant.” Well, not so much thinking, as smelling. But either way I was all out. So I was on my way to the bright red circle in the sky. (Target for all you regular folks not living in my fantasy.)

On the way, I ran into some pretty lights that made me feel like I had driven into one of those Corona commercials. It’s beginning to look a lot like Feliz Navidad! love it! (I took these pictures on my mobile while driving. so give me a break on the quality alright.)






Anyway. I picked up my favorite flavor of deodorant and then wandered around the rest of the store awhile. I went to check out the electronics section. I always inexplicably end up there for some reason.

I resisted buying Invasion of the Body Snatchers (only $9.44!! I know! I should have gotten it.) and checked out Target’s price for Super Mario Galaxy for Wii (ouchy!).

As I was leaving the area to go check out, I crossed paths with two very young boys. Their conversation went something like this:

stripped shirt: Where’s your mom?
blondie: I don’t know. But if she’s not going to stay in one place, I’m not going to carry around this chick flick “Hairspray” any more! (throws the dvd onto the nearest shelf)

And that’s very close to a word-for-word quote.
So much anger from a boy around seven years old! I wondered to myself where he learned to say “chick flick” with so much disdain at such a young age. I bet his dad is a wonderful, loving man. Either that or here’s a 7year old who is desperately trying to hide a secret.

okay?