REVIEWS:

St Petersburg Times - 4.15.00

From Jamie:

WOW... what can I say? I had missed Fiona's last show at Ruth Eckerd Hall and was too excited to see her after hearing all the great show reviews and having not taken "When the Pawn..." out of my CD player in the car since the
day it came out. It was an amazing night. My friend and I opted to skip the Eels show, and settled in to our fourth row center seats (which we couldn't believe we got). She came out and I was immediately enthralled. She cranked through "On the Bound", varying between harsh and angry to soft and seductive when she sang "You're all I need... you're all I need." The sound seemed to have too much bass, which followed through "To Your Love", but toned down during "Criminal". Once that was taken care of, her voice took off. She didn't talk much through the show, I think because she told the audience her grandmother was in the audience. It didn't detract from the performance though. She blazed through the set without missing a beat, but the crowd was very civil... few stood and danced or sang, which in a way disappointed me because I think it would have rewarded her more. But at the same time, it added to the quality of listening to her and her remarkable voice. I know she sometimes wonders why people even go to concerts because crowds detract from the music. Well, this crowd didn't, and the beautiful acoustics of the Hall sounded every note resoundingly. My favorite moment was during "I Know"... I knew what to expect from what I had heard from other show reviews, but I was absolutely mesmerized, despite some ado from the back of the theatre. I cried, it was so beautiful. I believe it will be her hallmark show song, much like "Songbird" became to Fleetwood Mac (okay, I'm showing my age). I had brought my only teddy bear, to which I had attached a pair of headphones and a miniature "When the Pawn..." CD along with a demo tape of songs she has inspired me to write and record in my meager home studio. At the end of "Fast as You Can", I flung it onstage. The bass player picked it up and placed it on the piano. When she turned around and saw it and looked at it as if to say, "What's that?" She asked him something about it, and she picked it up and cradled it in her arms like a baby, noticing the miniature CD as she walked offstage. I was delirious (sp?). She came back on for her encore and just blew everyone away. I can honestly say that it was the best show I had ever seen. And with the memory of seeing her walk off stage nuzzling the only teddy bear I have ever owned... it will forever remain one of my most cherished and precious memories.

Jamie
34, male, Tampa, FL

picture courtesy of Mark

From Cheryl:

I just got in from Fiona's concert in Clearwater, Florida at Ruth Eckerd Hall.  It was so much fun!  I've been a Fiona fan for a long time and I'm almost 22 years-old (the same age as Fiona).  I didn't like the Eels, the opening band.  It turned out to just be one guy who took turns playing the guitar or playing the piano.  It just wasn't my style of music.

Finally Fiona came on!  She first apologized for coming on late because she thought the show began 30 minutes later.  Then she told the crowd that her grandmother was in the audience.  When I saw Fiona in Clearwater about two years ago, she also brought attention then to the fact that her grandmother was there.  Apparently her Grandma, Annaleigh must live in the area. 

Fiona did the usual line-up of songs.  It was fabulous seeing her live again.  She danced more wildly and spastically than I remember from her previous concert here.  She really didn't say much to the audience throughout the show.  Her band was great!  They had a fantastic stage presence that worked well with the light show. 

I had seats on the eleventh row.  Ruth Eckerd Hall is a fancy auditorium with nice velvety seats.  About 12 seats down the row from me some obnoxious girl stood up and danced and sang throughout the entire concert.  Everyone around her was annoyed but she refused to settle down, even after the manager and a security personnel approached her. She looked ridiculous.  Her behavior was totally distracting.  I felt really bad for the people who were seated behind her, since she must have totally blocked their view.  They kept getting up to tell the manager on her but she didn't care and continued dancing and making a fool of herself for the entire show.  Later, another guy ran right to the front row and started taking pictures (which was prohibited) and a security guy had to drag him away from the stage.  Some of the crowd obviously had problems but hopefully I don't think Fiona noticed. 

Fiona appeared to be really happy and cheerful just being there.  Every time someone yelled an "I love you" or threw a gift onto the stage, Fiona would offer a generous "thank you" in response.  Towards the end of her show she jumped around like a pogo-stick and introduced all the band members.  All of her songs were great and her encores were cool too.

After the show I waited with my boyfriend outside of her tour bus behind some barricades.  We waited for an hour with about 20 other kids hoping to get an autograph from Fiona or at least a glimpse of her.  We got neither.  To our disappointment, the tan-colored polished bus pulled away from the curb and drove off with Fiona and the band inside.

After leaving Ruth Eckerd Hall my boyfriend and I decided to stop off at the Westshore Hyatt, a fancy hotel in Tampa, to have a few drinks at the bar before heading home.  The Westshore Hyatt contains Tampa's only 4 star restaurant called Armani's on it's top floor, overlooking the water.  The Hyatt really is one of the nicest hotels to stay at in the bay area.  Anyway, as we were sipping our drinks we looked around the hotel lobby where the bar was situated and we suddenly noticed Fiona's band members lounging on the plush leather couches in the corner. Fiona, however, wasn't in sight.  We were surprised to see them!  We decided not to approach the guys though because we didn't know if they
were enjoying their privacy and would be annoyed by some fans running up to them.  So my boyfriend and I kept our distance and decided to take a ride on the elevator to the floor where Armani's was located.  On the way back down, the elevator stopped and the piano player (who plays the piano while Fiona dances) got in.  I guess I should've said something friendly to him but I was caught off guard so my boyfriend just told him that we were going down to the lobby.  He was going up to the top floor.  He had a cheerful smile despite his dark colored clothes and hair.  So finally, we made our way to the parking lot and sure enough there was Fiona's tour bus parked right in the back.

Overall, I had an exciting night.  It was fun seeing the band at the hotel.  Now I wished I would have said something to them because they did put on an awesome show and they deserve the complements.

--Cheryl Carter--

picture courtesy of Mark

Despite the fact that almost everything seemed to be going wrong that day, the Fiona concert was absolutely amazing. [like it wouldn't be...]   First off, about a month before the show, I bought tickets. I had row 17 which already made me mad because last time, I had row 10.   So, I went to school the next day and I told everyone that I got Fiona tickets and that I was really happy because of it.  My friend [who will remain nameless] said, "Oh, I got tickets too! I'm in row 12". So, I was like, "i hate you i hate you" and she said, "well I have extra tickets, do you want to buy one and then sell yours?"   Of course, I said yes. So now I was 5 rows better than I originally thought I would be which was great.  Flash forward to two days before the concert. I was talking to an old friend online, who is an old friend because she likes to screw me over a lot and I decided not to put up with it anymore. However, I wanted to brag that I got tickets to Fiona and I was really excited.  Of course, she replies, "Oh, I got tickets too. I'm in row 3."  So, my plan didn't exactly work, but I did tell her that I was really jealous. She started saying how she didn't even know Fiona's music that well and she doesn't even have When The Pawn... [a sin in itself]. So I told her I hated her.  She said that she'd check with the kid who she was going with and if he didn't mind, she'd switch tickets with me.  Of course, I was running around like a chicken without a head. The next day, I went to school [this is the day of the concert] and I was talking to the girl I was going with about the show and she said that if she leaves school that day, she can't go to the show.  She leaves school but leaves my ticket.  I look at my tickets. "Row S".  That's NOT row 12, it's 19.  I had better seats to begin with. I was really really pissed. When school got over, I went over to the old friend and asked if she could give me a ride home and she said yes so I figured I'd use this time to try and get her tickets :]   On the ride home, I told her how my ride isn't going to the show and asked if she could give me a ride and that I'd pay for gas. Her exact words were, "Of course! You don't have to pay me for gas!"  So, I was happy because I had a ride and it'd give me time to get her tickets.  [I know that sounds really bad, but I really deserved the tickets :) ]   So, when I got out of her car, I said, "Ok, see you later." She was like, "Yeah, I'll see you later".  Now, don't you think that would mean, "Yeah, I'll see you when I pick you up."?  She was supposed to be at my house around 6:15.  6:45 rolls around, she's not here. 7:00, still not here. I call her mom and her mom tells me she left a while ago and she got pissed at her because she didn't pick me up. So I have my mom drive me to Ruth Eckard Hall.  I get there around 7:15 and sit and watch the outside band. I must have looked like a loner because everyone was near the tables and I was just standing thinking about all the shit that had happened that day.  8:00 comes and they start letting people in so I got and the lady's like, "You're on the other side". So I have to walk all the way around, which really isn't that big of a deal, but I was so pissed off it wasn't even funny.  So, I'm walking around and there's a scalper.  I tell myself "no, no" but he had 2nd row.  I went up to him and asked how much he wanted and he said "Face Value : 40"  My tickets were 30, so I said, "No, face value is 30" and he's like, "These are in the pit" and he shows me. Sure enough, they were 40, but I told him that I didn't have 40, I had 30. [which was a lie but...]  So, he sold one to me for 30. That was the best thing that happened that day. I walk into REH and The Eels are on. He was pretty good and he told us about he quit smoking crack cocaine a year ago today and it was a special day cause he was gonna start again today. :)  It was funny. Of course, with my luck, the girl who never picked me up was sitting directly behind me in the third row. I ignored her the whole time. During intermission, I went outside with my two friends who I'd sold my tickets to. They told me that the girl said that there was a big misunderstanding and that I was supposed to call at 5 if I needed a ride. HA.  Anyway.

Fiona comes onstage. All of the sudden it was like there was nothing wrong in the world.  She was right there about 15 feet away from me. She went and sat down at the piano and started with :

picture courtesy of Mark

On The Bound - - The second she got to "You're all I need" I started crying. It was so powerful and so beautiful and I was just so happy to be there. Everything was so wrong that day, then she was up there. It made everything bad go away.

To Your Love - - This one was kind of a daze for me because I was trying to recover from On The Bound. When she got to the "My derring-do allows me to dance the rigadoon" part, she sand it really loud and intense. Very beautiful.

Then, she got up from her piano [which made me happy because when she was playing piano, I could only see her eyes. I was on the wrong side of the stage, but it was ok.] and walked over to the mic. I'm pretty sure it was now that she said that her Nanny B was in the audience. She was there last time too and she actually stopped the show to try and find her, unsuccessfully. Then she started with :

Criminal - - I liked it better this time than last because 1.) She seemed to dance a bit more. 2.) Her voice sounded a little better. Last time, when she did the "let me know the way before there's hell to pay" her voice really vibrated. This time it was very clear and pretty. I took several pictures during this song.

picture courtesy of Mark

Limp - - I can't even start to say how uncontrollable I was during this song. Limp and Get Gone are equally my favorite songs, so when she started this... Holy Orgasm! It was soooooo awesome and then during the drum solo, she started to dance, then stopped to watch Matt.

picture courtesy of Mark

Sullen Girl - - she got back on her piano and started Sullen Girl which got some applause. It was very beautiful as it always is. My only complaint was that I could only see her eyes!

Paper Bag - - I was really mad that she played piano on this one because... I COULD ONLY SEE HER EYES!      However, it was really really good and one of my favorites from the album. My favorite part was the, "But as it came down near so did a weary tear"  I love how her voice sounds when she says "down near".

Get Gone - - When she started this, I grabbed my head and just started shaking and rocking back and forth.  I love Get Gone so much and I was so happy to hear it live. I've listened to that song probably 1000 times in my room just imagining what it would be like to hear it live and now I know. "Fucking GO!"

Love Ridden - - Beautiful as always. I shed a few tears during this one. I'm a sissy what can I say?  It's such a beautiful song and so when she's just there and singing it... no words can describe how beautiful.

Sleep To Dream - - Back to the microphone, she started Sleep To Dream. I was happy to hear this song as it had always been one of my favorites [i've said that about a lot of the songs, haven't I? :) ]  I was happy to see her dancing during this one. I love the way she dances.

picture courtesy of Mark

Carrion - - Always a pleasure to hear. I named my webpage that I haven't updated in about a year after this song [The Strength To Walk Away].  My only complaint was that there was a red light directly behind Fiona and I couldn't see her too well because it was shining in my eyes.

The Way Things Are - - "How can I fight when we're on the same side?"  Hearing the intensity in her voice as she sang that song... wow.

I Know - - She was at the piano and when she sat down, Christmas lights lit up on her piano. It was really pretty and a lot of people took pictures. I tried to take one, but my camera won't let me take pictures if the light is bad... i think. I don't really know. However, I didn't mind. I just sat back in my chair with my legs to my chest and cried.

A Mistake - - Near the end of the song, she started screaming, "I wanna make a mistake! Why can't I make a mistake!?" It was soooo awesome. During, "I'm gonna fuck it up again" She looked right into the audience and shook her head like, "yeah, I'm going to."

picture courtesy of Mark

Fast As You Can - - I'm pretty sure it was right before this song that she introduced the band.  She started hopping around and the guys were playing a song and she started dancing again. Very cute. So, she introduced everyone and then started on the song. When I saw her do this on Letterman, I was kinda sad cause she mostly just stood there.  That is NOT how it is during the show. She's wild. It's great.

pictures courtesy of Mark

She leaves and everyone's standing and clapping. My arms started to get really tired but I kept clapping anyway. Lots of people threw stuff onstage including a cute teddy bear which Fiona seemed to like and she cuddled it in her arms. It was cute : ) I wish I would've brought something, but I didn't. Grrr.

It's Just One Of Those Things - - I had never heard this song before but I was so impressed to see how it was done. There was background music and Fiona was the only one onstage. It sounded like an old record.

Kissing My Love - - I saw on the webpage that she'd been doing the same setlist everynight, so I knew she wouldn't be playing Angel. Originally, I was sad about that, but then Kissing My Love started.  When you hear this, you won't even care that Angel didn't make it. I mean, you'll care, but this is such an awesome song! It's really great.  After the song she said, "Ok, I'm leaving for real now. Bye guys! Thank you!" or something to that effect.

picture courtesy of Mark

She left and the lights came back on. I left my seat but then decided to go back in. I asked the security guard if there were any setlists. He said no, so I decided to have a look around myself. I found one and I asked the guy for it. There was a girl next to me who asked if she could have it. I said, "it's mine!" which surprises me now because I'm usually really shy. Oh well. Sorry to that girl if you are reading this. I hope you ended up getting one.

So, I left that night with a setlist and 39 pictures which are being developed now. If they're good, I'll send 'em in.  Fiona, if you read this, thank you for an amazing show.

Mark
Click here for more great pictures from Mark 

What a surreal experience seeing Fiona live.  I still can't believe I was there.  I don't think there is another musician out there who's fans adore them as much as Fiona Apple's.  It was great to see people close to the stage, handing her notes (poems?) and flowers.  I can't think of any concert I've been to were the fans give gifts and try to share a little piece of themselves with the artist.  Her music is so honest and personal, that you just can't help feeling that your a part of it.  She seems to give so much of herself, that it makes you want to give back. This connection, for me, is the real power of her music.

The venue wasn't as intimate as I had hoped for.  People just couldn't keep their yaps shut...HOW RUDE!  But more on that later.   You really have to give that E guy props for having the stones to go out all by himself and try to capture the attention of 2000 anxious people.  He did an excellent job!  He sure talked to the audience a lot more than Fiona, and did his best to keep us entertained, but the crowed just wasn't having it, poor guy.  He kept telling us that we would be reprimanded by Fiona if we didn't shutup, but that didn't really work.  The only 2 songs I recognized (and sang along with) were, "Novicane for the Soul" and a cover of "I can't help, falling in love with you" (if that's the name of the song).  That guy is a GREAT entertainer, and funny too, I wish he would've had the rest of his band with him so his music could've drowned out the audience chatter more.  After his short set, we waited for like 30 mins for Fiona to come onstage.

Enter stage right, Fiona bounces out on stage wearing a long black
Mortisha Adams looking skirt and red t-top.  I'm surprised she didn't trip on the length during her bounding around.  She opened with a very energized version of "On the Bound", but I couldn't help feeling she was holding back a little, and the audience didn't seem to be into the song, no dancing or singing along Turns out she and the audience were holding back!  When she started into "Criminal"  The whole place came alive and people went nuts.  It was great!  Every woman in the place was singing along, and some of the guys too :)!   That really got her spirits up.  I was very disappointed with some of the audience, rude jerks!  During "Love Ridden" the audience kept talking, almost as loud as the music, I'm surprised Fiona didn't say something after the song.  And when she was playing "I Know" (one of my favs) the audience seemed to be louder
than her.  Most of the chatter was coming from the bar behind me, and I just couldn't take it anymore.  I turned around and yelled "SHUTUP!"  at the top of my lungs, this seemed to keep the loudmouths at bay for 30 seconds, inconsiderate pricks.  But the song didn't last much longer than that, and thankfully the rest of her set was her louder music.  I heard that she had a cold or something, but I couldn't tell.  She hit her notes in all the important parts and made good improvisations on the parts she couldn't quit hit.  Everytime she hit those high notes, the audience went crazy, it was great!  And her fans are so cool.  You can be free to act as stupid as you want at her shows, and nobody cares.

The only real bummer of the show was that I didn't get to give her the short poem I had brought.  I left it on the table in the "House of Blues" restaurant, before I went into the concert hall.  Whoops...oh
well.  People gave her tons of other letters and things, so I'm sure she had, like, a book to read already.  But It's short so I'll write it here in case she reads these reviews:
    Challenging the sun
    My only reward, her praise
    With everything undone
    I stand alone
I wrote that a couple years ago, and when I read the title of her new
album, it totally reminded me of that poem.  So I thought I'd give it to her, 'cuz I know she wishes she could 'backpedal' on the album title. Thank god she didn't.  It's one of the few things I've read in my life that made me cry.  Not because it's sad, but because it struck a chord deep in my heart, and it's so wonderful that she can see what lies in men's hearts, a yearning to be noble.

So all in all, I'd just like to say "Thank you Fiona for a wonderful show, and for being so honest and true to yourself.  You inspire and
that's probably the greatest gift anyone can give."

Robert
torc_boy@yahoo.com