Oooohh Tori! :D

Tuesday October 23rd @ 8pm
Sony Centre
Yoav***** / Tori Amos (and Pip... lol)**********


I'm so happy Don & I went to this concert! Our first Tori concert together was actually 13 years ago this month, and it was great to hear a bunch of her old stuff. Scarlet's Walk and The Beekeeper and American Doll Posse are all, you know, great in their own ways, but LE, UTP, and BFP (see right) pretty much shaped my whole teenage life (along with GNR, Don & Kim, music @ Huron, and Chris McCormack). Thanks to the raging insanity of other Tori fans, reviews, the set list and oh yeah, the entire concert, were immediately available online.

Hands down the "classic Tori" moments were during the T & Bö section...
1. She improv'ed a piece about shopping with her daughter that day in Indigo... "What do you do when your daughter is smarter than you?"... and Tash (age 7) informed her that really there wasn't anything in the age 9-11 section for her, and in particular that if Madonna had written a book, she could certainly handle reading it. (Ya, ya, Tori told it better; buy the damn bootleg.)
2. Unbelievably she chose to play Winter... I had almost made it through one of these without crying... well it was gorgeous, the interlude in particular was amazing... and some assmunch in the balcony ruins it by starting a chain of "I love you Tori"s and "I love you more"s... and milady closes her eyes, pauses and whispers into the mic "Eat me." Clas-SIC.


I would be remiss not to mention that Yoav is, simply put, the shit. Listen. Watch.
Live in concert is better, but these are still pretty good. He's the boy/guitar version of Imogen Heap with the crazy dialed down a bit.

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Tuesday October 23rd @ 2pm
Festival Theatre
Saint Joan***

Sunday October 21st @ 2pm
Festival Theatre
Mack & Mabel**

Definitely one of my favourite trips to Niagara Falls, but not quite one of my favourite trips to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. But that's OK. I thought Benedict Campbell stole the show in M&M, except that it wasn't that hard to steal the show from everyone else! Tara Rosling absolutely carried the entire production of SJ. In my head Joan of Arc is always going to be the Carl Dreyer silent film Joan of Arc (probably due to my age when I saw it and sang Voices of Light with TMC), so it was tricky to accommodate the Shaw play with its witty moments and hammy actors. TR was amazing though, really.

We stayed at a different place (here) than usual (here). It would have felt ridiculously indulgent, but since I was still sick when we got there, I really think it helped the healing process ;) ... the delicious food, the massage, winning $100 at the casino, and oh yes... the view:

Nice start to the weekend...

Saturday October 20th @ 4:30pm
the real Opera House
the Canadian Opera Company's
"Don Carlos" by Verdi

I'm home sick and missing this. Good times.
Here are some reviews...
Globe & Mail, NOW, the Sun, and the Star.

"Adrianne!" I cry. :(

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Friday October 19th @ 8pm
Roy Thomson Hall
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa****

Last night my Dad & I attended Dame Kiri's 8th recital in Toronto, and probably her last, given this is her farewell concert tour. She looked very beautiful, and sang a recital that came out mostly sweetness and light, given the un-raised lid of the piano, the sparkly mermaid dress in the first half, and, you know, that she's that kind of soprano, I guess. Personally I would have liked a little more power in all the Strauss pieces. For a retiring singer, I thought she sounded exquisite in her top notes, with only tiny hiccups in two ascending passages. Her final encore, O mio babbino caro, seemed to be the crowd favourite of course, but mine was the Heggie: Final Monologue* from "Masterclass".

The concert was sold out; great for DKTK & RTH, but tragic for those of us into listening to the singer and not to other people turning pages loudly, coughing, and my favourite... the elderly lady behind me who exclaimed "Oh my! She didn't even come out and say hello or introduce herself!" after DKTK began the concert. Lady... you know who she is!!!

My Dad seemed to enjoy the concert, and I think we had one of our nicest times together. We didn't stick around for the CD signing, instead heading for York to visit my sister and her new apartment and... her new puppy! :)

*Since this ain't the most popular blog on the 'net... I'm going to risk posting this and hope I don't get sued or something! "Masterclass" is a play by Terrence McNally, and American composer Jake Heggie set this piece to music. DKTK's friend Frederica von Stade introduced this to her, and it was originally written for Joyce DiDonato and premiered last May.
FINAL MONOLOGUE
If I have seemed harsh,
It is because I have been harsh with myself.
I'm not good with words,
But I have tried to reach you.
To communicate something of what I feel
About what we do as artists as musicians
And as human beings.
The sun will not fall down from the sky
If there are no more Traviatas.
The world can and will go on without us
But I have to think that we have made
This world a better place.
That we have left it richer, wiser
Than had we not chosen the way of art.
The older I get, the less I know,
But I am certain that what we do matters.
If I didn't believe that.
You must know what you want to do in life,
You must decide
For we cannot do everything.
Do not think singing is an easy career.
It is a lifetime's work; it does not stop here.
Whether I continue singing doesn't matter.
Besides, it's all there in the recordings.
What matters is that you use
Whatever you have learned wisely,
Think of the expression of the words,
Of good diction,
And of your own deep feelings.
The only thanks I ask is that you sing
Properly and honestly.
If you do this, I will feel repaid.
Well, that's that.

"The Beatles Musical"

Saturday October 13th @ 6:50pm
Silvercity Newmarket
Across The Universe****

OK, this entry is cheating a bit since this wasn't a live performance. Oh well, it's my blog. Paul and I (finally) saw Across The Universe last Saturday. The theatre was packed with high school kids, and and my students have since assured me this is a film destined to achieve Rocky Horror Picture Show cult status... ummm... ok, kids. ;)

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I did love the movie. Most of the singing is beautiful, the colours are luscious, and the choreography is outstanding and by far my favourite aspect of the film. The "I Want You" sequence is terrifying and probably the first of a few places I teared up a bit.

I must admit that I didn't like the way it ended. Unfortunately I'm so jaded and realistic that leaving out a significant death in the end only seemed to empower an anti- "All You Need Is Love" message. Also, I hate that people call it "the Beatles Musical"... it's not... it's another amazing piece crafted by visionary Julie Taymor, and deserves to be recognized as such.

Who needs a Little Big Band?

Tuesday October 9th @ 8pm
Markham Theatre
Colin James***** & Craig Northey****
"Up Close, Personal and Slightly Unplugged"

I've been lucky enough to see Colin James four times now, including at a Blues Fest at Molson Amphitheatre sometime in the 90s with my Dad, and a few years ago at Massey Hall and at Markham Theatre with Paul. You can always count on an amazing show with wizard-like blues guitar solos and his wicked sexy voice! His showmanship and sense of humour are second to none, and a concert with Craig Northey was quite inspired! We laughed as much as we clapped. Well... almost as much!

I don't have anything funny to say... the night was all good! From the programme: "Frequent collaborators and good friends... Tonight's show [...] is a show not to be missed. Sharing their acoustic side of music, Colin and Craig's songwriting partnership spans four Colin James albums and 8 years of touring. These two musicians with awe-inspiring guitar abilities boast an acoustic energy comparable to none."

I went with Paul, my Dad, and my sister Rachel, and we sat up in the first row of the balcony. Yep, that's it. All good!