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Tori Amos- Sugar (Milan 2011)
Because I’ve heard the majority of Tori Amos performances since 1996 due to my obsessive bootleg collecting, it takes a lot for her to really truly blow me away. I almost always enjoy her performances, but there has to be something unique or special for it to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This Sugar is one of those special performances. The first thing I noticed is the absolute confidence and power she’s projecting out into the audience. That “yeah, you just try and fuck with me, see what happens” attitude that was so prevalent in every performance from 94-01 and which seemed to completely disappear after 2005 (unless she was playing a character) is back in spades, and its making the performances feel unpredictable again. I’ve heard over 100 performances of Sugar (I told you I was obsessive!) and there are moments here where I don’t know what’s going to happen with her inflections and tempo, and that’s thrilling because every performance becomes about those particular moments and feelings, with no disconnect between the artist and the material.
The next thing to stand out about this performance for me was how tender it was. There’s still the anger and moments of fury that have been a part of Sugar since 1998 (a performance where “you’re just a pussy, my sweet boy” isn’t delivered right is a shitty performance), but “when they find you out…” has an empathy and quiet sadness that gives the song another dimension. Even as she’s ready to take this boy to task and call him on his bullshit, there’s still an understanding of his pain. And of course, if we learned nothing else from the 90’s, we should know that utilizing the quiet/loud (or sad/angry) dynamic makes both parts of a song more powerful.
Finally, how amazing are those ending high notes? It seems like somebody went back in time and gave Tori her 1998 voice again. They’re so clean and expressive, giving a difficult song a perfect finish.
OK, I think I’ve gushed enough for now. But trust me, I could probably go on for a few more paragraphs.
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[Flash 10 is required to watch video]Hole- Violet/He Hit Me… (Saturday Night Live 1994)
I had been looking for this video on Youtube to show my sister, and couldn’t find it, probably due to how SNL flags any of their content on youtube, but luckily I remembered I had downloaded it years ago and found it hidden on my external hard drive.
This is a thunderous performance of Violet, and one of the things that’s so striking about it is how none of the anger in it feels artificial or put-on. This isn’t Courtney going through the motions and playing her big hit because it keeps the crowd happy, there’s real rage and fire behind it that’s just burning her up. That moment :30 in when Courtney swings her guitar behind her and throws her leg up on the amp is perfect. This video also made me miss Melissa Auf Der Mar too. Don’t get me wrong, I love the new guys, but there’s something special about seeing Melissa throwing her body around as she plays bass and provides back-up vocals that isn’t there anymore.
The other special thing about this video is the small bit of He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss) at the end. After the fury of the previous 2:45, Courtney shows some vulnerability to the audience, with a pained but powerful vocal and alternating between staring directly out in wide-eyed defiance and keeping her eyes tightly shut to the world. This thirty second snippet of the song, for me at least, expresses much more than Hole’s full cover of the song and works as a perfect coda to Violet.
