This particular version of IIEEE has always been my favorite. She is in her prime here. And it’s one of two videos where you get to hear the improv jazz bridge. Nearly 25 years later and this still gives me goose bumps. Probably my favorite live recording of her ever.
Tori is a whole genre unto herself. She's been my favorite artist since 1996, and honestly, she's endlessly intriguing and surprising even after decades. To see her really make use of two keyboards at one time, look up a performance of the song Concertina. To see her seamlessly transition between a keyboard and the piano, look up live performances of Spark. And to see her alternate between harpsichord and piano, Caught a Lite Sneeze. She's been playing piano since age two and a half. She's a prodigy, still holding the record as the youngest person ever admitted to the Peabody Conservatory of Music at age five, and she has played professionally since age 12. So the piano isn't even "second nature" to her. She "spoke" piano before she spoke English. She was in fine voice during this era and this performance, but her words are hard to understand especially when performing live with a band. I also recommend the studio/album version of iieee. It's a great song. Tori's heritage on her mother's side is Eastern Cherokee and she has a lot of spiritual beliefs, interests, experiences and insights that are unconventional in our Christianity-dominated culture and she has been maligned for it her whole career. As I said, I have followed her music closely since 1996, and she has always said that she views all of her songs as independent living beings who come to her. More recently, she has further explained that she physically sees music as 'filaments of light' and she translates them into sound through the piano. This could be explained as a kind of synesthesia, and it suggests the reason she was able to play classical music naturally as a toddler. This song comes from her album From the Choirgirl Hotel, which is largely influenced by a miscarriage she had thag devastated her. She has said that the strange "iieee" was brought to her by an apparition of an American Indian boy who one night after her miscarriage sat at the foot of her bed and sang "eye-yiy, hee-iy-yiy, hee-iy-iy, hee-iy-yiy" over and over. Tori has discussed having experienced ayahuasca when she was younger, and in traditional ceremonies, ayahuasceros-shamans who administer ayahuasca ceremonies-sing songs called icaros that direct people's spiritual journeys and visions and keep them safe as they navigate a spiritual world. I don't know whether this is connected with this song, but I imagine that it is.
Thank you so much for sharing this with everyone. I know how difficult it is to sum her up easily. She's so dynamic. It took me almost a lifetime to really get to know her. And I know many others have been on the same journey a very important friendship. A mighty, mighty woman. She's got so much fucking street cred, the world needs to know ✌️
The most interesting part is that the bridge ("I know you understand, understand the way I feel") isn't on the studio version. (and also the story about the little boy is from an another concert and it is stellar)
That long, drawn-out "why iieee" at the end of the bridge just shows her absolutely mastery over her voice and what it can emote. Her pitch is so god-blessed spot on that it's almost otherworldly. All while playing a syncopated and out-of-sync (with her vocals) piano part! Nothing but pure awe and mad respect for this performance.
Indeed it's another mind-blowing live performance but I have to confess that I have a soft spot for Iieee. From the Choir Girl Hotel is my favourite Tori album and this song live is just a treat; I get goosebumps each time I watch this video. Furthermore, she rarely plays this song live and I'm so grateful it was recorded. Maybe I should request Precious Things as my next time! ;)
@@carotzbxl4103 You have great taste! Choirgirl is also my favourite album and this 1998 arrangement is sublime. I disagree that she rarely plays this, she has done it 248 times! Not yet on the current tour though, and I'm hoping to request it next year in Europe :)
@@IwoEWF I've seen her live several time and never got that chance!!! I should see her next year in Brussels. Last gig was cancelled due to Covid and was postponed.
@@carotzbxl4103 Nice!! I should be there too. First night of the tour is always exciting. I got to see her earlier this year in the UK a few times and it was amazing, even if not at her 1998 level of intensity.
Agreed! Great show this was. I gotta say though, my absolute favorite rendition of Precious Things was at The Electric Factory in Apr 26 1998, in Philadelphia. There are boots and the performance on YT. I first heard it when I bought a $50 boot in the fall of 1998- I was so excited to hear her first live stuff with the band! The Precious Things from that show AND from all of the small club shows in April/May 1998 were just out of this world. She switched it up a bit though that summer, extended it and performed as the opener. Was still great, BUT it was the small clubs shows when she would growl and scream and really freak out while performing Precious Things. I LOVE that Dereck loves her so much!
My favorite live performance is precious things at glastonbury. I just love that performance but really love precious things that she opened her set with.
This whole concert is incredible. I recommend the whole thing but, if you want to do it one song at a time, The Waitress, Cooling, Take To The Sky, Precious Things
Keep going on your journey and you'll understand better and better. Iieee is amazing, but it also needs some back story, so looking back on it after 20 more songs you'll appreciate it even more, guaranteed. The most difficult thing for long time fans is to put together a ' get to know Tori' playlist for your friends, particularly if it's live stuff, but we appreciate the love certainly. She's a hoot during live performances, so to get a better idea of the type of person she is, I would suggest a compilation of times she messed up during live performance or the more obscure stuff where she impressed even the biggest fans. I think it's ' go big or go home' as far as my personal Tori faves, but again, there's many ways to go and all lead to an amazing journey into the mind of what I consider one of the brightest stars of music of the last 30 years (or more if you count Y Kant Tori Read...google it)
Dereck I can't stand it- you get me so happy while watching you watch Tori! I love you and wish you lived by me so we could get coffee and maybe get married! Get a house somewhere on the gold coast in Connecticut. It would be so awesome! LOL- just kidding, I am not a stalker. But I DO think you are one of a kind and I'm sure you make someone very happy:) Tori Amos is the best. Just saw her in May 2022 and at 58 she was still rocking and voice was silky smooth! She doesn't do the crazy high notes or angry yelling type stuff, but boy she is STILL on! She'll be in Europe in April 2023!
She's talking to God about her miscarriage..."screaming in cathedrals, why can't it be beautiful, why does there have to be a sacrifice?" She had three miscarriages (?) before she finally was able to have her daughter in 2001. At the 3:45 and 9:30 marks you can see her holding her stomach when she says "why does there have to be a sacrifice?" and at 7:20 mark she says "you took, you took my little girl"
It differs so from the studio version. She is the goddess. I know no one like her. Listen to all her albums from Little Earthquakes 1992 to Scarlet's Walk 2002: they all are brilliant and a must for every music fan. The albums after Scarlet's Walk are also very beautiful
If you ever get a chance to see Tori live, go. I haven't missed a show since 1996. It's basically the equivalent of taking acid for the 1st time and seeing the world tipped upside down.
I saw her in concert 20 years ago, give or take. She came out and told us that she wished she could take us home in her pocket. I have been living there ever since.
It's **so fun** to watch people reacting to things they are just discovering that I have loved like this for literal decades. ❤️ This was a real joy to watch!! THANK YOU!! ❤️
This is my favorite performance of hers that I've found on youtube! i i e e e is such incredible storytelling. And that last section is just her and band jamming/improvising!
so so so soooooooo good!!!!! I like your Patreon who is suggesting even more Tori! Love that you've been on a Tori kick! Which some from her new album have you been enjoying?? :)
AI will destroy music yet, mark my words. 4 pieces - all distinct, but a sonic BLEND to perfection, 4 unique humans with different takes, but the structural narrative forms a freaking bond like glue. SUCK ON THAT AI! Superb, fat, warm and incredibly crafted sound, thank you guys and gal :-)
There’s another live performance of this song on YT that was on “VH1 Storytellers” where she explains part of how she came to write this song. She also tells how she wrote “Silent All These Years” thinking that she would give it to Al Stewart- who apparently she was having kind of a fling with. (If you search you can find a so-so recording of Tori doing the piano part for “Year of the Cat” onstage with Al Stewart, and he gives this ridiculous Russian pseudonym for her, because she didn’t have a permit to perform.)
I wonder if you know Björk and how you would react to her, she belongs to the same kind of music family than Tori Amos (but in a way more special style ^^). Definitely one of the greatest artist of the century, her voice is amazing and unique. Try this one (live version of Immature) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7j7By7d8A10.html&ab_channel=MechanicalCrowds
