This is not a conclusion
No revolution, no
Just a little confusion
On where your head has been
I made my way down to Red Bank by train, having no idea what to expect from tonight, but I was aware of the fact that past NJ shows had seen some wild debuts, rarities, or one-offs, so my hope was that we’d be in for something unexpected and special. It had been well over a decade since she last played a show in New Jersey, and the crowd sure let her know that she’d been missed…! In response, she was giving smiles and appreciative little head nods from the start of a beautiful A Sorta Fairytale, and based on what she said right after, it was clear that she considered the four North-Eastern shows to be a bit of a bundle-deal, and so I was very hopeful that we were, at the very least, in for another varied setlist with little song overlap. This was a smallish venue that sold out very quickly, and I got the distinct impression that she felt more at ease here than at the two NYC shows—a little looser, more playfully cheeky.
The blue and green spots that lit up right after Ocean to Ocean gave the next song away before she played a single note: Crazy. This tour’s version has made me hear this Scarlet’s Walk deep-cut with fresh ears—it’s one of a few songs that really benefit from such an airy, spacious arrangement; she somehow manages to convey with sound what it feels like to drive through the desert under a starry night sky, it’s so evocative. She got completely lost in it, and I don’t mean just during the instrumental intro—she played most of the song with her eyes closed. I had kept up with the US setlists so far, so I knew that she’d brought back Beauty Queen, and I immediately recognized the deep rumbling piano notes… but then the band joined in, which knocked me back into my seat with unexpected delight. I had no idea that they’d worked up a band arrangement for it; it’s a song that’s usually completely absent when she tours with a band, and the less than a handful of times it popped up in 2009, it was always solo. This wasn’t a showy reinvention, the guys simply added a subtle extra layer of ominous sonic texture, retaining the song’s haunting intimacy—Horses packs so much more of a punch when they are played as a pair, I love the way they morph into each other, like a drop of ink in water.
Lust was an inspired follow-up, I was loving how moody the first half of the set was shaping up to be. Her voice was particularly dreamy on it, it sounds so… liquid in contrast to the solid trip-hop drum loop, it conjures images of dancing underwater, or of an astronaut floating in the vastness of empty space. It’s a quietly sensual song that paired really well with the gentle Ruby Through the Looking-Glass that followed, the final band song before secret time, which she introduced by saying that it was a special request by several people. It was a haunting Sister Janet, preceded by a lovely but impenetrable stream of consciousness improv prompted by her passing a church “to right here, right now“, about how the churches in her life fade to black and white every time, and something about letting the nuns with their rosary prayers fade against the sky… I never get tired of this song, it’s my favorite b-side of them all—a witchy invocation, a sonic séance.
This wasn’t all though—after blowing a kiss, we were treated to a second solo song! She introduced it by saying that it wasn’t her idea, and that she would tell us who to thank if it goes well—and if it doesn’t, she’d “save his ass“. It went amazingly, yet she never did give credit on stage, but Noah Michelson is the one who made it happen: For the first time in her career, she played Ode to the Banana King (Part One) before Pretty Good Year, which she once revealed is part two; connected through the recurring character of Lucy. It was only the seventh time this quirky Little Earthquakes b-side has ever been played live, and I couldn’t believe my luck that I got to witness it—she nailed the high notes, and was so smug during it! She never stopped playing between the two songs, but did call out “come on foxes!” to signal the transition to the band who’d come back back to join her for Pretty Good Year, which had its second outing of the year tonight after being debuted in St. Pölten—the crowd well and truly lost its mind. A strong Sweet Sangria was next up, which made me happy—the last time I’d seen it had been at the mostly regrettable Halle show, when her voice deserted her and she kept dropping words, but tonight she more than redeemed it—it’s such an underappreciated gem (jam!) of a song.
After the moody first half, she now seemed to be transitioning into funky blues, and Sugar, with its new arrangement that pushes Jon’s bass groove to the forefront, was a fitting follow-up. I hadn’t seen it live since Brussels, which felt like a lifetime ago, and I have no idea if they actually tweaked it or if it helped that I was now braced for it, but I didn’t find the change of key for the outro anywhere near as jarring as I previously had, the transition actually sounded pretty organic to my ears. The band immediately launched into a funky beat I couldn’t place until Tori started singing—it was Fire to Your Plain, another song she’s played less than ten times ever, and another first for me! I am fonder of Abnormally Attracted to Sin than the average fan, so I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though it was still a bit tentative (although nowhere near as rough as for its debut in Alabama). I do however admit that I find it exceptionally bizarre that they decided to work up a band arrangement for this when there are so many quintessential band songs that never ended up seeing the light of day… but I do love a curve-ball, and she sure was feeling bold enough tonight! We stage rushed after it, and she closed the main set with Cornflake Girl.
An upbeat, high-energy encore of mash-ups followed: Body and Soul with Personal Jesus first, and surprisingly, after having it seen it an even ten times throughout the European tour, this would turn out to be the one and only time I got to see it in the States, as she took it out of rotation in favor of Big Wheel. The last song of the night was Take to the Sky, with an extra gay twist before the I Feel the Earth Move bridge:
“We’re not leaving Florida behind / we’re not giving Florida away / to hatred and evil and fear / to powerful men who fear Jesus’ teachings / ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ / Florida—that’s Jesus / Florida loves Jesus… Jesus loves gays“
This was a show for the super fans—a third of the songs on the setlist were b-sides, including the entire solo section, and another third was some pretty damn deep cuts! I have no idea what a casual fan might’ve made of this show, but I was thrilled with her choices; over ninety shows in, it’s a rare treat to get to hear even one song from the back-catalogue that I’ve never seen live before, let alone two…! Jersey sure got the goods, and if there ever was a show that made it worth getting home at 2AM, drenched to the bone from a sudden deluge, this was it!
Setlist
A Sorta Fairytale
Ocean to Ocean
Crazy
Beauty Queen
Horses
Lust
Ruby Through the Looking-Glass
Sister Janet (solo)
Ode to the Banana King (solo)
Pretty Good Year
Sweet Sangria
Sugar
Fire to Your Plain
Cornflake Girl» E n c o r e «
Body and Soul / Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode)
Take to the Sky / I Feel the Earth Move (Carole King)
watercolorstain 