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Reviewing a concert DVD might be pushing the boundaries of Choking on Popcorn a little, but on second thoughts it would be a perfect subject. Although it may not be possible to discuss musical taste, it is possible to discuss the way a concert DVD is shot and mixed. Being a huge fan of Tori Amos, I was very pleased to see the very first official DVD release in her 12-year-old career ‘ especially as she is a delight to watch and hear live (an encounter I have experienced five times already).
The DVD Welcome to Sunny Florida is a recording of the very last show of the Lottapianos Tour on September 4th, 2003 in West Palm Beach, Florida. It provides a fascinating insight on the career of the 40-year-old singer, songwriter and pianist Amos, who started playing the piano at age four and auditioned for the renowned Peabody Institute (a portal for the Conservatory) at age five.
What Amos is foremost is an excellent pianist and a gifted singer and those elements of her art are definitely present on this DVD. The only concern I have is that she has become more and more calm and polished in her singing capabilities over the years. Maybe it has something to do with her being a mother, I don’t know, but I’d rather see her play herself crazy, like she used to do in the old days (for examples, see the VHS video Live from NY from 1997). However, the spare moments in which Amos gives herself totally are the most precious on this DVD: songs like the 10-minute version of Crucify and the amazing jam-session of Take to the Sky/Muhammad My Friend. Other emotional moments are during her three solo songs Leather, Cloud on My Tongue and Cooling.
The whole (post)production is rather clean and smooth and, at times, feels forced. Even more forced is the version of Professional Widow which is full of censored words. Preposterous. But we are dealing with DVD ratings here. However, what is most noticeably disturbing on Welcome to Sunny Florida is the way the entire concert is shot. The DVD was directed by photographer Loren Haynes, also responsible for lots of the official photo shoots ‘ especially in the beginning of Tori’s career. I am not sure if the whole thing was meant as an artistic experiment, but Haynes has completely missed the essence of recording a good concert. The camera is very often out of focus, zooms out when it’s not supposed to and shifts off angle. And Tori Amos is an artist you have to watch for her piano playing skills ‘ also something that the director does not seem to understand. This is definitely the biggest flaw of this concert recording. The fact the concert is cut in bits by so-called interludes (little bits of interviews) is paled by the atrocious and quasi-artistic camera work.
But all in all, this is a good DVD because of the music (albeit polished and smooth, in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround). Tori plays three keyboards: her famous B’sendorfer grand piano, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer organ, and is assisted by drummer Matt Chamberlain and bass player Jon Evans. And it is still an absolute delight to see Tori play two sets of keyboards at once. The extras include a nice photo gallery, interviews with both Tori and her parents and little shots of backstage material taken throughout the concert. The DVD comes with an extra CD with previously unreleased songs. The six of them are worth the purchase alone! If you want to know more about her music videos I suggest you check out her video collection (only available on VHS) to see her highly artistic and fairytale-like music videos.
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Directed by: Loren Haynes
Track-list concert: A Sorta Fairytale ‘ Sugar ‘ Cornflake Girl ‘ Bells for Her ‘ Concertina ‘ Take to the Sky ‘ Leather ‘ Cloud on My Tongue ‘ Cooling ‘ Your Cloud ‘ Father Lucifer ‘ Professional Widow ‘ I Can’t See New York ‘ Precious Things ‘ Tombigbee ‘ Amber Waves ‘ Hey Jupiter
Track-list bonus CD: Ruby through the Looking Glass ‘ Seaside ‘ Bug a Martini ‘ Apollo’s Frock ‘ Tombigbee ‘ Indian Summer
Arjan Welles (213 posts)Arjan Welles - law graduate. I work at a bank, I work as a film critic for Dutch and English media. My favorite directors are David Lynch, David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino. I love arthouse over blockbusters.
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Great review! I have never been much of a Tori Amos fan, but I have an inkling I might like some of her work. As far as reviewing music DVDs is concerned, as a music-lover, I personally am all for it. Although I am more into music documentaries than concerts on DVD, they have an important place in my DVD collection. I say, let’s do more music DVD’s!
Comment by suzero — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 10:15What is amazing is that the DVD very much expresses how she really is (I think). You see her with her daughter Natashya as well as with her husband (and her engineer) Marc. I had the pleasure of meeting her once and shaking heands and she is a very inspiring personality. Some of that definitely came back when I was watching this DVD. So I think it is kinda sincere… Most of her work is covered on this DVD, except for her album ‘From the Choirgirl Hotel’ and the extra CD is a true gem with great piano-based songs, some of them 7-8 minutes long…
the next DVD i hope to see released is one by Kate Bush…
Comment by arjan — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 11:57Just a note–Tori started playing piano at age 2 1/2, not four.
Raven
Comment by Raven — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 17:04A dull concert by an artist who has started to get a little dull herself.
And the Dolby Digital ‘5.1′ mix sucks ass; the ‘center’ channel isn’t used what is is supposed to be used for (vocals and some drums, at most).
Comment by Sprk. — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 18:51I’ve been a tori fan for many years and was very disturbed to know that she allowed Professional Widow to be censored in this DVD. (obviously for marketing purposes)
She has always prided herself in having full artistic expression and not allowing record companies to censor her material. Now the shift. I don’t understand it.
Comment by kris — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 20:12The review above is “fair and balanced,” as far as I am concerned. Tori’s music is something of a religion for me, so I am sure I’m biased, but I love the DVD. Like one of the posters here, I think it shows Tori is a very “real” way…even to the extent of being a mother hen to Tash, and showing her mother acting crazy, then asking Hayes to “edit it so I don’t look crazy”! (She and Dr. Amos are “crazy” in the way my parents are, so I find it endearing.)
I’ve been to about a dozen Tori Amos concerts, and this one is pretty typical of them all, but with some really great musical gems and rarities, “Widow” being one of them. The censoring is a bit ironic, though, since she says in the extended interview footage that she doesn’t sing “Starfucker/Just like my daddy” to play groups. Still, it’s good to see that song live. I’ve heard bootlegs, but never seen it in this quality.
As far as the direction, I think it’s made pretty clear that Loren Hayes is a personal professional friend of Tori’s, and is sort of being granted the opportunity to do his thing here. She sits back and watches him interviewing other people with the curiosity of a…mother, maybe? (Also worth noting: one of the producers is The Bridge, Tori’s own personal label that gives independent artists guidance and a venue through which to produce their work. Epic is probably more of the distributor and censor than artistic investor in this project.)
The interviews, both Tori’s and Mary’s, are great. The yearbook photos are equally great. Overall, the DVD isn’t perfect, but it’s unique and really does show the uniqueness of Tori Amos, and it shows who she was at the time of that concert. Her spirit is captures in the camera work and in her music, and I welcome this into my collection of Tori paraphernalia.
Oh, and Tori putting on her own lipgloss a few songs after Jan The Makeup Girl fixes her face is the cherry on the top of this sweet confection. Leave it to Ms. Amos to remain Queen of the Nerds and the 24 Karat Fruitloop that she has been called.
Comment by David — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 21:19I think that the Tori DVD is awesome! It was probably not her idea to censor the song, especially since you can see her singing the words live! But anyway, that did not ruin it for me because I haven’t met her yet, and I saw her little girl for the first time on the DVD. I had been dying to see at least a picture of her, so this combined with the magical performance and new songs made it worth buying twice!
Comment by Carolyn Rinne — Sun May 23, 2004 @ 23:21I was at this show, in the 7th row center….and I left after about 45 minutes….This show, (and really, the whole tour) sucked majorly…
I’ve seen Tori about 10 times, in the past 10 years, and she has finally lost me as a fan….
If not for the superb opening set by Ben Folds, it would have been a completely wasted night….
I, for one, will not be buying this lame DVD.
Comment by Rob — Mon May 24, 2004 @ 2:44P.S. I forgot to mention….at the show, there was an annoying crane that flew over our heads….and camera people on stage, blocking her…..
That show should have been free, or at least reduced price, for the inconvenience.
Comment by Rob — Mon May 24, 2004 @ 2:45I do miss the old Tori performances when she rocked her brains out, but she’s still quite amazing. I’m still in love with her music, even if she is much more tame now live. I love the DVD and am happy that she finally decided to release another concert. And I can’t believe that she showed Tash! There’s never even been a public picture of her, so wow.
Know what else? Someone on here needs to know that he’s making a complete idiot out of himself.
Comment by ozma — Mon May 24, 2004 @ 6:24So, this DVD is on one hand a huge gift and on another a huge turkey.
Comment by The Dude — Mon May 24, 2004 @ 20:48We get the frigging thing finally, which is good.
Most of the rest is bad however. Tori sounds like she’s either bored or going retarded. The band is laid back and lacking the intensity of earlier shows. The reverb on Tori’s voice is constantly nagging. Tori herself looks like a crackwhore. Sorry, she does.
It’s not realistic to want her to go back to her pre-mommy days, but it’s disappointing to know she has the ability in her and is ingnoring it.
Also, the song selection is SORELY lacking. It is every standard from her older days. Standards real Tori fans already have on her Live In New York video. Missing, and missed, are the Choirgirl gals, more of To Venus anb Back, there’s nothing from Strange Little Girls and even the album the tour was named for (Scarlet’s Walk) gets the shaft as Wednesday, Sweet Sangria and the amazing Virginia all get cut from the original set list.
The interviews with Tori’s fans at the beginning are slightly funny. Could have been better had they found some cooler people with more interesting things to say.
The brief montage (yea, yea, where you see the kid) leading up to Tori taking the stage combined with a hilarious interview with Tori’s mother are the most fresh things on the disc.
I was actually at the show that was filmed for the DVD….I was surprised by the editing for professional widow…luckily I got to hear her scream COCK real loud. As far as the comments of the interludes being a bad thing, I felt that this added a personal touch to the DVD that only a true tori fan could possibly understand. Normally this stuff is edited out of concert DVD to make it look more polished…leaving this in makes the experience a more personal one just like Tori’s music. Overall, loved the DVD…it was basically a personal memoir for one of the best Tori shows that I have ever seen!!!!!
Comment by Tara — Mon May 24, 2004 @ 23:45I don’t know, maybe there’s something wrong with me or maybe I’m just jaded because I’ve adored Tori and her music for the past twelve years but I simply DO NOT find Her the least bit boring or disappointing in her post T.V.A.B years. Tori has not once let me down and surely doesn’t with W.T.S.F. I attended the concert as well as many, many others on Scarlet’s Walk/Lottapianos tour and found them as stimulating,BEAUTIFUL, intense and emotional as the shows during the Under The Pink tour.
Comment by Kim C. — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 2:17So the DVD isn’t perfect but it captures an amazing woman and her musical vision and that’s what I like about it. HER VISION. Tori has always kept me guessing and even though “Under the Pink” is my favorite album of all time I DON”T want seven albums of Under The Pink. I have so much respect and admiration for Tori I love to keep watching where she takes us next.
All of the Professional Widow hype is unsettling and pretentious. Even if Tori did make the decision to censor for marketing purposes Is it so wrong that maybe she wanted to sell some product? What is everyone so worried about? I have full confidence that Tori will never change her musical/creative vision just to sell records.
In the end I just love The DVD and Look foward to 2005 to see what Tori has in store for us.
I have been a mad Tori fan since Winter was released, but she has lost me too, she just keeps making stupid choices…and who is responsible for her artwork on this DVD, and Tales from a Librian? I do think she is just wacking stuff out an belives people will buy it. She should try more than just going through the process of being Tori. If the Scarlet’s Walk DVD was anything to go by, we aint in for much. There are plenty of Tori concerts floating around…let me guess she is wearing another appauling dress. When Tori starts giving her work a little more thought again, maybe like the Lorax, I will come back.
btw:Linda Jose…Tori doesn’t hate men, she stated it an interview in the Under The Pink days, I can’t remember what she said off hand…but the interviewer asked her directly if she hated them…she said no, just thought men were just different creatures (It’s not mens faults for your problems…Your still angry for what you were given at birth.)
Comment by Dalen Jacobs — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 4:55As a long time Tori fan i have to say yes she has slip off the tracks a few times with some of the songs and albums but as far as im concerned she has still stayed TRUE to the music and the fans. I have the new DVD and have seen her numerous times. Nothing that she has ever done is going to change me as a fan. The new DVD shows how her talent shines time after time. I think that the fans get pissed when an artist changes for THEIR OWN REASONS. I feel that I am a purist and look at things objectivly. If I think that Tori’s work sucks then I say… “Well, not my taste but Im sure she will come around eventually” and as far as im concerned she ususally does. Thank you Tori for all the experiences that you have given to me and to all of your TRUE FANS who will never give up on you.
Comment by Kevin — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 5:38I couldn’t wait to dance to Professional Widow in my living room, but the censoring changes the whole vibe of the song, to a point where I can’t dance to it. I am disappointed because there was (although minimal) vulgar language elsewhere in the dvd which could have been cut out instead.
I agree also that the director shifts off focus too much and doesn’t show the piano playing enough. The quality of the visual footage does not justify the obstructions the camera equipment implored on the concert goers.
Comment by Ursula — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 7:14To The Dude–chill! While I’ve been a fan of Tori’s for a long time myself, limited time and $ don’t prompt me to attend every last concert she has performed and collect every last bootleg disc of her shows. Not to mention the countless other collectibles that exist. I collect only the things that are most special–such as this DVD and I loved it dearly. So what if it lacked certain material? While I may agree with you that the Choirgirls (many dear to me) were missing, I don’t miss the “Strange Little Girls’ tunes (Did it ever occur to you that licensing and royalty issues may have kept her from performing them too many times over? Each time just one of those tunes is played, a check has to be written and a credit properly displayed) Did you know that in poll after poll taken of Tori fans, “SLG” is the least-liked of her albums? Perhaps that’s why none of those tunes were included. She may have actually listened to many of us while she was putting this together. Not everyone can be satisfied all of the time, and I’m sorry to learn that you (and Dalen) were not.
On another note, I always respected Tori and Mark’s “protectiveness” of Tash, so seeing glimpses of her here are as precious as Godiva chocolate pieces. For all the fans who’ve been dying to see her, savor those glimpses while you can.
I’m no expert on the ultimate in technological and sonic quality, but as a life-long music listener of many, many different formats– ranging from the cheesiest to the most classical of sounds–I thought it was first-rate. All that matters to me, is that it is played loud and clear on my DVD player.
Enough on perfection!
Fans–and even not-quite fans–relish this, if you will!
Comment by culturegal — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 10:42i am a huge Tori Amos fan, i love her music, her songs, and her energy. she gives me a kind of serenity that i don’t find too often in other places.
Comment by hedieh — Tue May 25, 2004 @ 20:16just hearing Crucify on this DVD was worth it for me (there are many more songs that i enjoyed, but this particular version of Crucify was haunting!). seeing the photo gallery with Past the Mission in the background, that wonderful “What are you doing next week” interlude were all delightful. and the six songs on the CD were amazing as well.
so, as a Tori Amos fan, this DVD/CD collection is worth it and just being able to watch her on screen while she performs live is something special.
lol! i must thank mikewhy for his statements on rufuswainwright.com! good job mike! your anti-gay sentiments i totally agree with!
Comment by linda jose — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 3:17I think the DVD is quite good in every way…except for the censorship.Why didnt they just cut the whole song? Blanking out words is just so “VH1″! I doubt Tori was consulted on that decision!
Seeing Tori’s daughter (finally) is an endearing treat.
If Tori’s energy level seems lowered to anyone,this being the last show of the tour,I’m sure the entire crew was tired and road-weary.
Overall I’m extremely happy with this disc and I’m sure I’ll watch it many times! I bought mine at FYI for like $16. A 2 hour DVD plus a 6 song CD?…Whats to complain about! Some of you people are probably angry on Christmas morning!
p.s. On ‘THE DENT’ the real mikewhy has said that someone is posting messages using his name…so linda jose…you have been fooled.
Comment by Joe J — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 10:00I love it. Period.
Comment by Dan — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 14:59Not that Tori could ever let me down, but I thought Sunny Florida was amazing. Tori has a way of captivating me, putting me in almost this trance-state with her beautiful vocals and insane piano playing talent. This DVD was nothing short of amazing. I’ll cherish it forver, and at about $15, it was a total steal. I think that Bug A Martini and Tombigbee have both stolen my heart as well. Ms. Amos never ceases to amaze.
Comment by Heather — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 21:28FYI Tori’s first DVD came out a few years ago, comprising all the videos from the Earthquakes, Under the Pink, Pele and Choirgirl years.
Comment by Sara — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 22:39The fact that Tori is calming and raging, and dancing seductively in the same concert still gets me the Tori feel of long ago. You just have to get the dvd to see if you like it, so far it is getting very different reviews. But God, she is an amazing person, I am exited that she is maybe changing to an extent, it just means more suprises, and who knows, in 2005 we might all be suprised. I think Tori is a force to be reconed with, and I am going to keep listening.
Comment by mike blomquist — Wed May 26, 2004 @ 23:38whatever the future, the few cds that came out in the 90’s will always be so intense and sincere, and without words to describe value, that I am very thankful for what Tori has already done.
What she does for the rest of her life is up to her, she is a mother and a human being, and if anyone knows, being an honest composer/songwriter/ performer etc takes a lot out of you. We have to let Tori be Tori, and like always some will like her and some will not.
I love this DVD, i was at the show as well, and it was beautiful and memorable. I’ll never forget this concert.
I love TOMBIGBEE! The DVD rocks!
Comment by Jorge — Thu May 27, 2004 @ 0:59Thank you all for commenting on my review. Unfortunately some people don’t have the decency to stay on topic and need to spread around their unfounded opinons. That is why I have asked the webmaster to close the comment thread on this review. I apologize for the inconvenience and I do not support censorship, but sometimes we have no other choice, especially when it deals with nice good people being hurt.
Arjan
(PS: I hope the people who replied to the fake messages here understand I had to let their comments on the troll posting here take away also. Not because I don’t respect their opinon but to keep things clear for other readers).
Comment by arjan — Thu May 27, 2004 @ 9:52