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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Tori Amos kicked off her cross-country Strange Little Girls tour here Friday night in a most incongruous way. The gentle-voiced ethereal queen of the ivories delivered a riveting interpretation of
Without changing the lyrics, Amos managed to deconstruct the song and retell it from the perspective of the song's dying woman in the trunk of the car. After an opening that captivated the Kravis Center audience, Amos spent the rest of the night treating her appreciative fans to an intimate evening swaddled in the familiar as she delivered a mix of songs dominated by older works. Amos performed without the band she has been touring with in recent years. The stark stage held only her piano and keyboards. Of the 22 songs played over the course of just more than two hours, only four came from Strange Little Girls, her gender-bending studio album of cover songs written and originally performed by men, including Slayer, Neil Young, Tom Waits and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (see "Tori Amos Says Eminem's Fictional Dead Wife Spoke To Her"). Amos released the collection in September and will tour through November, wrapping up in San Francisco (see "Tori Amos Lines Up Strange North American Tour"). The audience didn't seem to mind the lack of material from the new album. And many said they were enthralled to see Amos back onstage with just her grand piano and two electric keyboards. On several songs she straddled her bench, left hand tickling the grand, right working the Rhodes. "It was just an amazing show," said 22-year-old Kim Maguire of nearby Coral Springs, who had seen Amos play live four other times. "This is just totally Tori and so much more personal. I love that she did so much of her older stuff." Amos reached back to her 1992 debut, Little Earthquakes, for five of the evening's songs, including a moving version of "China" and the always transfixing "Me and a Gun," Amos' chillingly detached a cappella story of her rape by an armed male "fan." Amos played her expansive voice with as much nuance, touch and passion as she played her piano. Without competition from drums and guitars, her voice almost served the role of a delicate but powerful wind instrument accompanying her turns on the keyboards. Other highlights of the evening included an inspired "Crucify," and strong versions of "Hey Jupiter" and "Horses," both from her 1996 album, Boys for Pele. The other selections from Strange Little Girls — Lloyd Cole's "Rattlesnakes," Tom Waits' "Time" and Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" — meshed seamlessly with Amos' own compositions. "Time," in particular, was transformed into something that sounded as if Amos could have penned it herself. Amos easily slipped in and out of the roles of performance artist, Tin Pan Alley vamp and gauzy queen during the two hours, as she played with the devoted crowd, chatting with them occasionally and always acknowledging those who felt compelled to yell out to her. "You're a goddess, Tori!" one woman screamed. Amos waved and then hunched up her shoulders. "I'm a mommy," Amos, 38, said with a mixture of sarcasm and wonderment in her voice. She recently had her first child, a girl (see "Tori Amos Gives Birth To Daughter"). "You go, girl," yelled out another. From all indications, Tori Amos has every intention of doing just that. This report is from MTV News
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