Tori Amos
Yesterday I had the double pleasure of meeting the darling, small, and highly misunderestimated Dan'a (of Maudelynn fame), and watching Tori Amos live at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Now, I have to admit that I'm not actually a Tori Amos fan. My knowledge of her music extends as far as hearing the occasional tune on the radio. So I didn't really know what to expect. Sometimes, having no expectations can be a good thing!

The entire set was pretty amazing.

Now, I could talk from a backstage perspective, but that might give away a few too many secrets and spoil the magic for some people... so I will just say that from my perfect seat, close to the stage and bang in the middle, Tori is one hell of a pianist. It seemed to be the popular consensus from the band that she's also never sounded this good before; her vocals were perfect! And talking of the band, I have to pay proper dues to the bassist, the guitarist... and most importantly, the drummer!

Of course I'm a little biased, because of the compact and mighty Dan'a, but really... Matt was so, so good.

I wish I could actually list which songs were played, so I could give you some idea of which songs were just very good, and which ones were immense. I recognised Cornflake Girl, which in itself was awesome, but was followed by some less-exciting numbers. Then the band went off and a solo set with just her piano ensued. And THEN! The band came back on -- this was my favourite set of about 5 songs.

I think you'll all agree that the magic behind live music is not so much the sound quality, or even seeing the star in question, but it's the pure and raw, unrestrained and unleashed energy that gushes from the artists on stage.

While I don't think I've become a Tori Amos fan over night, I'd certainly see her again if I had the opportunity.

Next up is Foo Fighters in Scotland I think...