Plundering the Vaults
This evening, I was talking on the phone with my good friend Ray Ashley. Ray joined the high speed internet club a few days ago, and he recently discovered a form of crack known as YouTube. I was helping him cope with his newfound dependency.
As I reviewed his freshly-minted home page (which evokes the choicest markup of 1994, I kid you not) Ray asked if I had ever seen Sessions at West 54th.
“Many times. Joe Jackson’s concert was a keeper … and then there was Ben Folds Five. Now THAT was -“
“Hey man, I just finished watching the entire Ben Folds Five set on YouTube!”
<Pause. Blink.>
“It’s on YouTube?! Um, I have that on DVD. I could lend it to you if you want.”
“Actually, I should get it. Did you ever see Tori Amos?”
“I never did see her on Sessions, but there’s that one time I caught her in New York before she hit the big-time.”
“Say - you don’t suppose it’s … ?”
I tried to resist, I did, but remember - YouTube is crack. We said goodbye and I began searching for some Live Tori. In seconds I unearthed a blast from my past.
There I am at 3:04, in glasses and a sweater, applauding with what I recall as “delight and enthusiasm.”
It was a rather cold 11 February 1992 as I recall. The glasses were pre-LASIK. The sweater … hmm, I have no excuse for the sweater.
This was videotaped at The Bottom Line (RIP?) in New York City and aired several months later on “ABC In Concert.” Her Y Kant Tori Read past was fleeting (a shout out to Matt Sorum!) and her first TA solo effort “Little Earthquakes” was just beginning to raise eyebrows. That’s when I decided to go check this piano bench-straddling musician out.
Tori opened the concert with a then-new piece: “here. in my head.” … in which I also appear around 2:55 (far right - I know, why ruin the suspense - ooh, ahh).
Watch Tori Amos perform “here. in my head.” (YouTube).
Keep in mind, this was before the “tons of screaming Tori fans” era. It was a listening audience! I remember Ahmet Eretgun (Atlantic Records) was present, as were some of the crew for The Sugarcubes - before Bjork went solo.
Surely the last thing anyone expected was a cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” but, once Tori pulled that rabbit out of a hat toward the end, after the initial surprise and applause, you could - to use a tired cliche - hear a pin drop (hence the enthusiastic clapping at the end). Tori also managed to cover “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin but I can’t seem to find it online.
Anyway, if she meant to turn heads, mission accomplished.
While on line I met one Mike Yionoulis. Being fellow musicians we set about talking shop straight away, and before long we traded addresses. He sent me a demo tape, and I was rather intrigued by one song in particular. Alas, I never got around to following up with him, and I wish I had.
Perhaps I still can. Mike - If you (or someone you know) should manage to find this post, I still have that demo tape … and I hope you got “Flights Of Angels” produced, because I couldn’t stop playing “Hecuba Report.” Great stuff!
Of course, it’s 2006 and not 1992. (<tap-tap-tap> Ah-ha! It looks like he did.)
Joe, you should put in links to the YouTube videos you mention for those of us too darn lazy to search for them. :)
Posted by: Vincent J. Murphy | 4 September 2006 at 21:45