Manchester Apollo
Tori Amos was never going to enjoy a lockdown. She’s been playing live since she was thirteen years old. She splits her life between Cornwall, Florida, and the road. Her songs are written with the act of traveling and observing. Her last studio record, 2017’s Native Invader, pulled together four impossibly disparate strands – a Tennessee road trip, stories inspired by her ancestors, the ascension of Donald Trump and the slow loss of her mother to a stroke - with an energy and cohesion that made your skin bristle. But without live music, travel, and much at all to observe, Amos had a difficult pandemic; holed up in Cornwall, she hit a place of personal crisis familiar to anyone who suffered during the third UK lockdown – the one in winter, that seemed to go on forever. Against all odds, that crisis resulted in Ocean to Ocean, released via Decca Records/Universal Music Canada, the country's leading music company on October 29th 2021, Amos’ most personal work in years - an album bursting with warmth and connection, with deep roots in her earliest song writing. She descended to an emotional state lower than she had been to for a long time - but the depths became creative, forcing a return to the kind of introspection she recognized from her debut album Little Earthquakes.
Finally Tori is on tour, and doing what she does best, delivering a collection of meaningful songs, straight from the heart. Tori reaches into the depth of her soul, and life experiences to bring music which holds you and won't let go. We're lucky to have one of the finest story tellers now living on our shores.
Before Tori Amos took to the stage, support came from Sister Saint, delivering a selection of their atmospheric folk songs, including one aptly titled "Manchester Air". As they exist, the stage light is reset to blue and yellow, Tori showing her support as we all our for the Ukraine.
Against a well presented back drop, with graphics that perfectly compliment the atmosphere, Tori Amos arrived on stage. After over 40 years Tori has perfected her craft and truly knows suck in and hold the audience attention. Sitting in-between two pianos, Tori rotates from one to another without missing a beat. At times she'll play both whilst engaging with the audience with a knowing smile. She draws your eye centre stage and you're fixated. By the time you leave, you won't know if you'd blinked through the last two hours. Her vocals are glorious, the harmonics of her pianos bounce around the venue landing in your lap as you soak in each story. You leave fulfilled, but yet ready to go again, hoping this time the wait won't be so long.
To find out more about future tours keep an eye out at https://toriamos.com
Set List:
Juarez
Bouncing
Sneeze
Ocean to Ocean
Horses
Father's Son
China
Twinkle
Russia
Little Amsterdam
House of the Rising Sun
Addition of Light
Take to the Sky
Devil's Bane
Cornflake Girl
Spies
Precious Things