Oh, don't worry. This isn't going to be some precious piece where I channel my 15-year-old self and write a teary, gushing letter to Tori Amos. I already did that in the 'zine I made in college. However, when I saw the Verizon Theatre date, I felt a mixture of nostalgia and curiosity. I'd memorized 1992 debut Little Earthquakes, but fell off the wagon around 1999's From the Choirgirl Hotel. Still, she's somehow managed to sustain an admirable career by changing costumes every few years, never settling into one sound or genre — amplified on 2007's American Doll Posse.
Her 12th and latest album, Night of Hunters, finds her in goddess mode, indulging variations on Schubert and Bach, among others, to create a song cycle for classical label Deutsche Grammophon. She gets back to her roots while still engaging a sort of erotic spirituality, and it's what makes her such an enduring and complex icon.
