REVIEWS:

Tonight was hell and heaven all beautifully mixed together...

    Let me just say first that I went to the San Francisco show at the Warfield on March 22 and I thought that was great!  I decided to take my Mom (my best friend) to see Fiona this time around, my second time seeing her. I rented a red 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage and basically forced my Mom to go (she was sick and feeling horrible), but since I know how amazing Fi is in concert, I dragged my Mom along because I know she would be cheered up and wouldn't regret going, even if she was sick.

    We left Fontana around 7:00pm because my Mom was being slow and lazy. Of course I was pissed when we got LOST in L.A. It was already approaching 9:00pm when we finally found the Wiltern. I was sure I missed a few songs of Fi's set. I was kind of upset that I missed the Eels or the Eel as everyone has mentioned. I wanted to see if he was good or bad for myself. But no such thing. I missed him...

    So, I was mad, sulking and really getting on my mom's nerves with my sonic whining. But lucky us! We made it just in time as Fiona was singing, "You're all I need, you're all I need..." I was so happy, I grabbed my mom's arm, pulled her and dragged her all the way to our seats.     I was so surprised to see that the place was so small. My seats were better than they were at the Warfield! And I thought those seats were unbeatable. I was in Orchestra section, row M, Aisle 5. I could see her pretty face so well. YAAA!

    She sang so creatively and beautifully tonight. It was a musical masterpiece. Being a musician myself (my Mom is too), we appreciated what Fiona gave us that night. She really gave everything to us. Better than anything we could give her. Her voice was so dynamic and she changed pitch and tone so perfectly. I could go on and on about this.

    The audience for this show was a lot more considerate than the San Francisco show. They were still a little loud and crazy, but at more appropriate moments. There were a lot of silent parts during Love Ridden and I Know, which made me a very happy camper. No sing-a-longs that I could hear either. THANK YOU SO MUCH FRIDAY L.A. CROWD!

    Love Ridden hit me even harder this time because of the quietness. I cried harder than last time and this time I really enjoyed and remembered I Know - It was done PERFECTLY! I also loved what she did with Carrion and I really dug the angst in Sleep to Dream.

    It was so cute after To Your Love, when she said she "Fucked up" the verse that goes, "Another cue for you to fold your ears" she accidentally said, "Another cue for you to face your fears" she added, "Whatever that means!"

    I noticed that something was pissing her off and that it was upsetting her so bad that it seemed like she really didn't want to do the encores. I think she was having sound problems. If she was, she pulled it off wonderfully! She kept plugging her ear, and that's what we singers do to hear ourselves better. It also looked like she was crouching down next to the monitor, in hopes to hear herself better. I felt bad for her. My Mom could tell what was happening, even though she couldn't see anything.

    She sang very well despite the sound problems. This is so far the most excellent performance I've seen and she's not even my very favorite singer! She just put so much real into the performance. It's pure and honest - nothing beats that!

    I thought it was pretty funny that I bought an imitation Fiona Apple shirt outside the venue. This guy was like, $10 for a Fiona Apple shirt. UH, OK! $10 that's nothing! If I didn't like it I could sell it anyway. It looks pretty cool though. It's got the Fast As You Can video still (the actual picture) of her putting out the match with her mouth. It has FIONA APPLE written in front and FIONA APPLE again on the back. It's black and an XXL! I hope it shrinks! I dig it though. (my cheap-imposter merchandise...)

    This show was 80,000 times better than SanFran and I wish I could marry Fiona Apple! I love her SOOOO MUCH! (EVEN MORE THAN I DID BEFORE!) (MY MOM TOO!) OH YEAH AND SHE KEPT SAYING "THANK YOU, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH" BUT I SAY, FIONA IF YOU READ THIS, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR HEART - KEEP DOING THE MAGIC YOU DO!"

Love Always,
Melissa

First of all i would just like to thank Nanikita for getting my diary signed by Fiona after the show and a good friend i met whose name is joy...well now to the show. Fiona's opening act was good he was both , funny and entertaining. His music complemented that of Fiona's. Fiona made her way on stage with calmness and energy. She made her way to her piano with a smile and a wave that was treasured by all who was there.

The lighting and the music was great. The lighting was perfect i think to the each individual song. For example when she sang "fast as you can" the lighting was flashy and with the beat of Fiona's dancing or as i call her graceful movements.  Also when she sung "i know" it was great the lights dimmed and all of a sudden these lights off her piano were on which really set the mood for the song.

The audience was great. I found the audience to be joyful. I loved the fact that i was surrounded by such and atmosphere of adoring fans. They all sung to the songs all though as joy mentioned i did see the way Fiona seemed to get angry with the fact that people would scream to a slow song like "love ridden" i think that for that song we needed to be silent. if you were able to do if for "i know" well then you should have done it for that. If not for those fans like me who actually cried throughout the whole show mainly songs like those than for the person we all love fiona apple.

Now for the rap up. Fiona i find to be a great performer. She gets into her music. she feels it running through her body and she releases it. if its a song like "get gone" she shows her anger. Or for example i saw her a while ago perform "never is a promise" and seeing her get really emotional make me get more into the music. And i bet that friday alot of people were feeling fionas passion for her music. her facial expressions showed everything. her hand movements conducted my ears. And her voice kept my attention.

im sorry for making mines long i just had to get it all down. Fiona is the greatest person i know of. She is my idol and will forever be that. I always have her performances in my head and this will be sure to stay there forever. The audience i will never forget because i felt we all shared a bond throughout the concert.  AT THIS MOMENT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO BECOME A THE FANATIC I AM. FIONA I LOVE YOU AND HOPEFULLY YOU READ THIS. AND I WANT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR STRENGTH BECAUSE YOU HELP ME DEPEND ON MYSELF FOR STRENGTH NOT OTHERS LIKE I USED TO. AND I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR "PAPER BAG" THAT SONG I LOVE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE PAIN AND SADNESS BECAUSE I ALSO WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING. i know you've probably heard it before and if i say im different well then actually im not im still like them but i know what i went through and i guess thats enough but i just hope you believe me and well hopefully you will remember the diary with all those pics of you on it. Also i wish i could have attended saturdays show, i had my ticket and everything but something occurred. I think the show was still the same saturday and maybe who knows better. well thats not all but that is enough for now.

thank you for you love and your music and your wisdom fiona...keep it coming and my love for you will grow...

jose perez

    First of all, once again I am thanking David and Nan (I don't want to spell your name wrong) for creating the best Fiona website!  This is the 1st site I go to everyday and without you guys there is no way I would have known Fiona was going to L.A. since I'm from San Diego.

    I'm going to try to make this review good and short.  Fiona's opening act is very creative, I think he's talented.  Fiona came out, waved, and sat down at her piano.  I was hysterical and I sat down in an open seat in the front row.  I disagree with Melissa about the fans being quiet in slow songs like Love Ridden.  That was not true.  People were rudely screaming throughout the slow songs (especially Love Ridden).  Fiona was definitely getting upset she kept on shaking her head for people to understand that they should shut up and I could really tell she was pissed.  As someone who plays the piano also, I can really see how screaming could get you off track while you're playing and singing at the same time.  I urge you other fans to please have a little respect even though you adore Fiona.

    Fiona was having horrible sound problems but she handled them maturely and kept performing.  She kept on plugging her ear and making faces at the band members.  It just proved how badly Fiona's concerned about doing her best for her fans.

    Fiona performs a really good show, OBVIOUSLY, I mean I am talking about Fiona!  Her voice is great and she does not stand still and just sing, she performs!

    The show flew by but it was very worth it.  I got to meet Fiona backstage and I will always remember this night forever and ever.  Fiona is a very sweet person.  I just want to thank you again David and Nan for making this site.  And thank you all the Fiona fans for reading this.

    I will try to send pictures within a few days.  Bye!

Untoldwisdom@cs.com

Hello,

You had asked me to give you my feedback after the L.A. show, and I am more than happy to.

First of all, I was SO glad that I was able to see Fiona at The Wiltern Theater, I absolutely love that place!

I must say that this was my first time seeing her live in person and it won't be my last! Despite the obvious sound problems that she encountered, Fiona did an absolute perfect job performing under such frustration. Her professionalism as a performer was truly displayed. She "kicked up" every single song that she sang and it was clear that she was singing from her heart. She gave me goose bumps several times during certain songs and I even shed a few tears (and I'm a 32 year old guy!).

To narrow down what my favorite song(s) was last night is too difficult because they were all fantastic! I think that To Your Love, Sullen Girl, Limp, Get Gone, and Carrion are probably my top choices. It was really amazing how quite the crowd was during Carrion and Sullen Girl. Here you have 2500 people (most of them younger than me) and not one of them is making a sound. That's got to make her feel great!  Thank you David & Nanikita for everything that you've done and thank you Fiona for giving the people at The Wiltern a top notch and very impressive performance.

Rob

From David:

This being Los Angeles, the buzz before the show was reserved.  Prior gigs in LA have gotten lethargic reactions from the audience so it was interesting to see how it would turn out.  The theater was beautiful and spacious.  We had front row seats (Thanks Steve!) and we were ready for the show!

E from the eels was awesome.  He had a dry wit and had us all laughing.  He went alternated between a clunky upright piano with no front cover having the hammers and strings exposed with a Peter Pan sticker on it and his guitars.  I sat directly in front of an E fan and he staunchly believes that E is much better without the rest of the eels.  There is just something about an acoustic set by any artist and he really blew us away.  His songs were touching, heartfelt and sung and performed with rousing passion.  Much of his banter was recycled from the other shows, i.e. the drug rumors, his audience report to Fiona and so on.  The crowd received him well.

Fiona walked onstage and gave a wave to the crowd.  The crowd was peppered with Hollywood actors, many of whom were very nice to everyone.  Adam Sandler sat in the third row, Brandon and Garrett Maggart sat in the fifth row, Alyssa Milano was somewhere towards the middle.  She came out swinging with her normal fervor.  There were definitely sound problems, I think this time the music in her ear monitor was too loud.  She fought through the problems and performed like a seasoned veteran.

Some of the highlights, she sang "Limp" with such gusto on the part where she sings "So call me crazy, hold me down Make me cry; get off now, baby-" as if to challenge her critics to put her down.  That part rocked and the look in her eyes was with such conviction.

On "A Mistake" she fucking tore that song a new asshole.  She was belting it out with all her physical and emotional might.  She sang and improvised so wholly from the heart and exerting excruciatingly from her soul that it moved everyone.  

This was one of the most dynamic & amazing performances that I've ever seen from anyone.  She worked through the sound problems and gave and left everything on that stage.  She was drained and exhausted after the show.  The crowd was great too.  It was an incredible night.  We're posting some of the pictures here and we promise to post more later.

David