When I first heard Tori, about 4 years ago, when I listened to a stolen-from-my-sister copy of Boys for Pele, I had some trouble. Trouble not only understanding the words, and the complicated song structures, but also trouble just wrapping my head around why the music was having such an effect on me. Songs like Father Lucifer, and In the Springtime of his Voodoo, Putting the Damage on, Hey Jupiter. I was totally blown away.
My next step, was to find more CDs. I discovered Little Earthquakes, and Under the Pink.
I spent the next two years building up a back catalogue, and trying to convince everyone I met that Tori Amos, this crazy redhead from America, who sings about phantoms, missions and leather, not to mention stripy african horses, was the best thing ever. I managed to convert a few.
I got To Venus and Back, my first ever taste of how Tori could sound live. It took me straight to yessaid.com to obtain me a few bootlegs, and by a few, I mean I now have around 300 Tori bootlegs, as well as the 350 official songs. It took me a while to understand Venus, but I eventually got there, through the twin means of Datura and Juarez, she eventually clicked with me
I got Strange Little Girls and From the Choirgirl Hotel. I have to say, that Choirgirl got me through some of the worst stuff that's ever happened to me, and I'm grateful to Tori for that.
Scarlet's Walk, of course. An epic journey, that's inspired me to travel, as well as to write, and let my own written characters take more shape in my head, including writing a series of letters from Tori's different characters, to others, detailing their conversations. One song here, that saved my soul on many an occasions - Taxi Ride.
So there we are. Caught up to the "Present Day", or the release of Beekeeper. First day of release, I trotted out of school at lunchtime, bought the CD, holed up in the corner of the common room the rest of the day, it blaring on my stereo.
Concert tickets.
Or should I say ticket.
I saw her for the first time on June 4th 2005. For some reason, I didn't know about the Meet and Greets, I didn't buy and merchandise apart from a poster, and I only went to one concert.
I did it better for the ADP tour, but wait a minute.
London on the Original Sinsuality tour was the best night of my life up until that point. Undoubtedly. To see, and hear, a woman for who I have so much respect, love, admiration, it just blew me away. She opened with Father Lucifer, and closed with Hey Jupiter, and I couldn't have been happier.
I'm gonna skip through the next two years, suffice to say I met a few more fans, made a few more fans, moved through a series of women (one of whom I was only ever with because she was a fan!!), and then, there we have it, American Doll Posse. In my opinion, one of her best works to date.
An epic, shape-shifting, sonic masterpiece, moving from rock, to soul, to crackling static, back to rock, to beautiful, twinkling love songs, all with a twist of politik and flirtation.
I really do love it.
So what does Little Miss British Doll do when the concert tickets come out?
Buys one row M for London(4th July), two row KK for Manchester, to take the aforementioned ex. Gave in fairly quickly, and bought a row D for London (4th), selling the other to a friend. ROW D!! I was so excited! It took me longer to cave and buy a ticket for London (3rd), but i found one cheap, up in the circle. YAY! In the end, our Manchester seats were F and E, thanks to some WONDERFUL people, (Chris, Adrian, Heather, Kelli), and I moved into C in London (4th).

So first, the meet and greets. I missed the first one.
I made the second one. Dressed up in full Pip regalia, a long black wig, black silk top, and black jeans, with a pair of crucifying heels on, I bent next to Tori, who was in her Tori wig and a leather jacket, got a photo with her (cue cheesy smile), and she signed a few things for me, all, I might add, in the POURING rain.
Manchester meet and greet. Cancelled. After the concert, in the pouring rain again, 60 hard-core fans waited. And she came. And she spoke to everyone. One by one, a couple of minutes each.
Now let me get this straight, exactly what she said. I gave her a copy of the photo of me and hr, and asked her to sign it. And she looked up at me, and said "Oh, Pam, hi, how are you?" I. Nearly. Died. needless to say, I went home happy that night.

The concerts - amazing. Tear-jerking, memory-jerking too, perfectly selected set-lists of oldies, b-sides, new music, surprises, and classics. Who else could make you the happiest you've been in your life for three straight days? Make you cry throughout a concert, purely because those three days were ending? Let her audience lean on the stange during the encore? Give you a concert as long as an album - 23 songs worht of concert. Completely rock the house with her band, and then have everyone quiet as mice during her piano section? Cover amazing songs and take them to be her own?

Tori Amos has my heart.