Photos by Dan DeSlover
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Songstress Tori Amos graced the Orpheum Theater stage Thursday night in Madison, Wisconsin, for the sold-out second stop of the “Native Invader” tour, supporting her 15th studio album of the same name.
Dressed in a flowing satin blouse and black leggings, Amos straddled her leather bench situated between an electronic keyboard and grand piano and quickly dove in. Though she had the assistance of vocal effects and background tracks on various songs, the show was an otherwise stripped down presentation that relied solely on her unwavering voice and ambidextrous maneuvering of the keys.
She spoke little, instead relying on her music to speak her mind, reinforced with atmospheric lighting reflecting the mood of a given song, such as a trio of concentric, fluttering hearts during the narrative “Jamaica Inn.” Amos did pause at one point to say she would perform “Your Cloud” for the first time on tour, adding, “People discount these smaller places. Madison. Mesa. My favorite places.” She followed with the live debut of the upbeat “To The Fair Motormaids of Japan.”
A play on the Fox News Channel's logo was also projected on the backdrop as “Fake Muse Network” at mid-set, where Amos gave her take on the classic “Over the Rainbow” and “Rattlesnakes.” She continued with the melancholy “Reindeer King” and dissonant “Beauty Queen.”
A twist into the emotional “Horses” offered a change of pace as she meandered through her catalogue. Crowd favorite “Northern Lad” ended the set proper with a standing ovation from the otherwise pensive crowd. They remained standing as she returned for a trio of “Flying Dutchmen,” latest single “Cloud Riders” and early hit “Cornflake Girl.”
Tori continues her tour into early December, culminating on the west coast with a string of shows at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.