Billboard.com
August 14, 2001

Amos Taking 'Strange Little Girls' On The Road
by Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.

Armed with only a piano, Tori Amos will support her upcoming Atlantic album, "Strange Little Girls," with a North American tour due to kick off Sept. 28 in West Palm Beach, Fla. As previously reported, the trek will be Amos' first since 1994 without the support of a backing band.

The highly-anticipated tour dates, now confirmed by Atlantic, have been circulating the Internet since the weekend, when the label says hackers obtained the information from the artist's official fan site, toriamos.com, prior to a planned official announcement.

The 12-track "Strange Little Girls," due out Sept. 18, is comprised completely of cover songs written by men. "I've always found it fascinating how men say things and women hear them," Amos says of the concept. On the album, she reinterprets material by such diverse artists as Neil Young ("Heart of Gold"), Depeche Mode ("Enjoy the Silence"), the Velvet Underground ("New Age"), the Beatles ("Happiness Is a Warm Gun"), Slayer ("Raining Blood"), and Joe Jackson (album closer "Real Men").

"Words can wound and words can heal," she adds, "and both are included on the album ... All of these songs were created by powerful wordsmiths, whether you agree with them or not."

Perhaps most surprising is Amos' wicked whisper reading of Eminem's "97' Bonnie & Clyde." Her rendition removes all of the bounce and bravado of the rapper's first-person tale of a murderer talking to his child as he disposes of his wife's body, instead turning the grisly depiction into a sly and disturbing narrative.

The album's first single, Amos' take on the Stranglers' 1982 song "Strange Little Girl," was recently sent to U.S. radio stations for airplay consideration. A video clip directed by David Slade (Stone Temple Pilots, OPM) has already been shot.

Prior to the tour, Amos will play a lone London show Aug. 30 at Union Chapel. The North American tour will boast support on some dates by singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Fans signed up for the artist's E-mail newsletters will have access to an online presale opportunity for most dates. For more information, visit toriamos.com.

Here are Tori Amos' confirmed tour dates:

Aug. 30: London (Union Chapel)
Sept. 28: West Palm Beach, Fla. (Kravis Center)
Sept. 29: Clearwater, Fla. (Ruth Eckerd Hall)
Sept. 30: Kissimee, Fla. (Tupperware Convention Center)
Oct. 2: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
Oct. 3 Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
Oct. 4: Charlotte, N.C. (Ovens Auditorium)
Oct. 6: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall)
Oct. 9: New York (Beacon Theatre)
Oct. 15: Boston (Wang Center)
Oct. 18: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
Oct. 19: Toronto (Massey Hall)
Oct. 21: Minneapolis (Orpheum Theatre)
Oct. 23: Chicago (Arie Crown Theatre)
Oct. 24: Cleveland (Cleveland Palace)
Oct. 25: Indianapolis (Murat Theatre)
Oct. 27: St. Louis, Mo. (St. Louis Fox Theatre)
Oct. 30: New Orleans (Orpheum Theatre)
Oct. 31: Houston (Ariel Theatre)
Nov. 2: Austin, Texas (Performing Arts Center)
Nov. 3: Dallas (Bronco Bowl)
Nov. 5: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
Nov. 6: Salt Lake City (Abravanal Hall)
Nov. 8: Vancouver (the Orpheum)
Nov. 9: Seattle (Paramount Theatre)
Nov. 11: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
Nov. 15 Los Angeles (Wiltern Theatre)
Nov. 19 Phoenix (Web Theatre)
Nov. 20: San Diego (Copley Symphony Hall)

 

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