Tori Amos is obsessed with a three-letter word: sin. In 2005 she came to Australia with The Original Sinsuality Tour, her new tour is called Sinful Attraction and her 2009 album, which comes with erotic photos of Amos (including one of her posing provocatively in bondage gear), is titled Abnormally Attracted to Sin – a line that was inspired by the 1955 Guys and Dolls musical. “As soon as I heard [the actress] Jean Simmons say that I put the movie on pause and never went back to it, just because my mind as a minister’s daughter went into a completely different place,” Amos says. When asked what kind of place that is, however, Amos becomes shirty. “Well, you have the record,” she says shortly. “That kind of place.” The record creates a dark and troubled terrain filled with power struggles, sadomasochistic imagery and – of course – plenty of sin. “I’m attracted to the idea of what sin is and how it’s been defined for hundreds of years because, frankly, the patriarchal fathers have the power to define us and how women view their bodies, and the fact they have this power is the greatest sin, an abuse of their power,” Amos says. “So, as a minister’s daughter, I’ve been fascinated with how church authorities have been able to influence and control and divide the masses within themselves.” Even though many people know of Amos thanks to her earlier, more radio-friendly songs such as Cornflake Girl and Crucify, the topics behind her songs have always been dark and complex, such as Me and a Gun, which was inspired by Amos’s experience of sexual abuse (she later co-founded the RAINN [Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network] helpline). “Journalists used to ask me years ago, ‘Why don’t you want to write happy pop songs?’ and I felt like saying to them, ‘Why don’t you want to be funny?’” Amos says. “Meaning you have to accept what your strengths are and what kind of writer you are. I do think some people excel at making happy little catchy tunes and then there are writers that are strong when they’re going after multi-levelled subjects and subjects that are hard to talk about – and that’s kind of where I’m most comfortable, in talking about the uncomfortable” … Whereas American Doll Posse was influenced by her unhappiness with George Bush, Amos says her new songs are “very much about what women are going through right now”. For example, the song Ophelia tells the tale of a woman repeatedly choosing to be in abusive relationships, Maybe California is about a mother contemplating jumping off a cliff and Strong Black Vine talks about religious intolerance. “A good musician is a reflector of the times, monitoring the emotions of the masses,” Amos says. “Events determine what songs show up and that I’m able to be a scribe for. “These songs are very much from the perspective of a woman who’s observing people losing their homes and their lives and kids being told they can’t go to college – if you travel now across the States, there are people saying ‘I don’t know what my life is going to be because I was planning on going to university and that’s gone, because my parents have lost everything,’ and they’re working a job to try and save the money to go to a community college and you begin to realise the magnitude of what this crisis has caused,” she says. “So friends and families are being torn apart, there’s great upheaval and there’s always opportunity in upheaval. ‘People are trying to find what their strengths are, what their gold is – not monetarily but what their spiritual gold is – and the record talks about different emotions.”

Gah, reading this interview makes me want to see Tori Amos live again. Even tho I got to see her in concert a few times this past Summer, I can never have enough. I won’t even go into how much IN LOVE I am with Midwinter Graces since I’ve already mentioned it a few times. Tori will play another performance at the Sydney Opera House tonight (which is actually tomorrow for the folks in Oz). Any Aussies out there attend either of these two shows?

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Now, I’ve been a HUGE Imogen fan from way back in the day … pre-electronics, pre-Frou Frou, back when it was just her and her piano opening up for Rufus Wainwright. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Immi live in concert many times so I was very excited to be able to see her kick off her latest tour in support of her new album Ellipse. After the jump, check out some of the photos that I was able to snap last night and hear all about the show …

Imogen confessed on Twitter over the weekend that she was feeling a bit under the weather and, very unfortunately, had to cancel her Santa Barbara, CA show on Sunday night. It was touch and go for a while as to whether or not she’d be able to perform in LA last night but she managed to pull off an amazing show. Sure, you could tell that she was having some difficulty hitting those super high notes but she really did sound fantastic thruout the entire show. Any of y’all who have seen Imogen Heap live in concert know that she can be a bit … quirky. She meanders around the stage talking to the audience (and to herself, sometimes in audibly to the crowd) but gets focuses and sure when she sings. She mentioned that the early shows of her tours aren’t always her best because she is still figuring things out … but it’s the quirky “figuring things out” part of the show that makes the live Imogen Heap experience so special. We had a blast … even tho the show ran late into the night and the bunch of us were super tired by the time the show was over …

… especially Josh :) I’m so glad David and I were able to hang out with Emma and Josh again … I think the next time we see them, we’ll make the trek out to the beach to hang on their turf. I understand they like to play Rock Band … HMMMM.

Tonight, David and I are meeting up with Darion to see Precious. I plan on bringing a whole box of Kleenex for the occasion.

A shocked Morrissey brought the UK leg of his current tour to an abrupt halt in Liverpool tonight (November 7) when he walked offstage after a fan threw a drink at his head. The star said simply “good bye” at the Liverpool Echo Arena following the incident, exiting in the middle of his second song. He had started with The Smiths standard ‘This Charming Man’ and was in the middle of ‘Black Cloud’ when the incident happened. There are conflicting eye witness reports over whether it was a plastic cup or a bottle that struck. The show was stopped for around 15 minutes as the crowd chanted his name. A little time later a member of the crew announced that the singer had been hit on the head by a bottle and the concert would not continue. Fans jeered and booed at the news. The audience were told they would receive a full refund. The Manc legend is due to travel to Holland to continue European dates on Monday (November 9) in Nijmegen. There is no indication that the Dutch show will be effected by the Liverpool incident.

Insane! I can’t say that I blame Morrissey at all for walking off the stage. He is used to having flowers thrown at him … hell, on occasion he is used to having fans throw themselves at him … but for some asshole to hurtle an object at his face, that is just unreal to me. After the jump, watch video of this incident to see how it all went down …

Dead Man’s Bones was joined on stage by the Silverlake Conservatory Children’s Choir and because of the spooky nature of their music, the kiddies were all dressed up in costumes … as was much of the audience. After the jump, check out some of the photos that I snapped at the show last night …

I must admit, I initially became interested in this band because of Ryan Gosling’s involvement but I really did fall in love with the music after I purchased the album a couple of weeks ago. As cool as the tunes sound on the album, they sound much better live. Gosling not only sings but he also plays guitar, piano and percussion on many of the songs which his partner Shields switched between guitar and percussion and provided backing vocals. The performance was more than a concert … it was a whole show. There was a theme of life and death thruout the performance that worked very well as a whole. I was very impressed. The band will play another show tonight at the echo here in LA and then their tour ends. I urge all y’all to check out their music HERE and, if you ever get the chance in the future, to see Dead Man’s Bones live in concert.

Today is Hallowe’en and David and I have a great day ahead of us. Because David’s original Hallowe’en costume was stolen (long story, don’t ask) he will no longer be Dr. Horrible :( Instead, we managed to find him a new costume which is just as fun and very … involved. Watch my Twitter account for the big reveal of our costumes. First we are heading to a party thrown by our friends Alyson and Alexis and then we are heading out to Pasadena, CA to a party thrown by our friends Gillian and Tim before coming back to LA for a party thrown by our friends Tam and Rob. Long fun, bizzy day! Happy Hallowe’en!!!

He was dragged off stage after collapsing during a gig earlier in the week, but that didn’t stop Morrissey putting in a sterling performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall [last night]. The 50-year-old singer had to cut short a gig in Swindon over the weekend after he suffered from breathing difficulties. But, he looked to be back on form for the concert at one of the country’s premier entertainment venues. Manchester-born Morrissey collapsed while playing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon on Saturday when the gig ended abruptly after his opening rendition of This Charming Man. It was only the second night of his Swords tour of the UK. The former member of the Smiths was taken to hospital suffering from breathing difficulties and was later discharged. But, despite his problems, a spokesman for the Royal Albert Hall reassured fans that the singer would perform at the gig, saying: ‘He definitely wants to continue tonight.’ Shocked onlookers at the Swindon concert described seeing Morrissey “straining” to perform on Saturday night and slumping to his knees. Two band members then rushed to his side and dragged him offstage. The incident forced him to postpone a show in Bournemouth on Monday night, but prior to the London show a spokeswoman for the Royal Albert Hall said the star was “rested and absolutely fine”.

I can’t even tell you how happy this news makes me. Morrissey is one of my fave performers and I’m very pleased to know that he is well enough after his scary collapse to get right back to work. While I fear that the 50 year old may be straining himself a bit much, I have to hope that he knows his limits and wouldn’t be back on the performance stage if he wasn’t feeling up to it. Moz will be touring here in the US at the end of November and early December … I have tickets to see him in concert … I hope he continues to be in good health so we can enjoy his genius here in the US next month. Stay well, Moz! We love you!!

[Source]

Nearly 6 months ago, Nettwerk CEO and Lilith Fair co-founder Terry McBride announced via Twitter that the all-female festival would make its return in 2010. Today, the official Lilith 2010 website launches, not only revealing the new look and feel of Lilith a decade later, but also the first set of cities that the traveling festival will be hitting–New York, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and more. Check out www.lilithfair.com for the complete list.

Follow @lilithfair on Twitter for the most up to date information.

This is very exciting news! Lilith Fair is one of my fave touring music festivals and I am anxious for its return. I’ve already started following @lilithfair on Twitter for the latest updates … I can’t wait to find out who will be hittin’ the road next year! After the jump, check out the list of the first announced tour stops on Lilith Fair 2010 …

First Round of Cities (in alphabetical order):

Atlanta, GA
Boston, MA
Calgary, AB
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
London, UK
Los Angeles, CA
Minneapolis, MN
Montreal, QC
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Portland/OR
Seattle, WA
San Francisco, CA
Toronto, ON
Vancouver, BC
Washington, DC

I have some very fond memories from attending past Lilith Fair tours … I cannot wait to make some new ones. Any Lilith fans out there? Which performances were your faves from tours past?

[Source]

This is the moment singer Morrissey collapsed on stage with breathing difficulties. The former Smiths frontman, 50, was performing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon before falling to the floor. He had just sung 1983 hit This Charming Man to the 1000-strong audience before he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Witnesses said the singer – whose full name is Steven Patrick Morrissey – seemed to be ’straining’ and ‘wincing’ as he sang before sinking to the floor. Audience members said that he came on stage looking drawn and told the audience: ‘Good evening… probably.’ Eyewitness Mark Taylor, 40, told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘The stage went dark and he was taken off the stage and then his band then all left the stage. ‘There was a wait of about 25 minutes before one of the stage crew came on and said Morrissey had left the building, and that he was seriously ill. ‘Everybody started booing, thinking ‘here we go again’. He has a bit of a poor track record for cancelling his concerts.’ A Great Western Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: ‘Just after 9pm we got a call to a 50-year-old man who was reported to be reported to be suffering from respiratory problems and was unconscious. ‘We sent a paramedic in a doubled-crewed ambulance. When they arrived they found a conscious patient who was not feeling well at all. They made an initial assessment and took him to the Great Western Hospital for further assessment.’ She said his condition was not thought to be life threatening. A hospital spokesman said: ‘Morrissey has been admitted to the Great Western Hospital. He is being reviewed by the medical staff and his condition is stable.’ Morrissey has already cancelled a number of dates this year citing an ‘unspecified illness’.

This is very scary news but I’m happy to know that Moz is in stable condition. As I mentioned earlier this week, Morrissey is scheduled to play shows in Europe thruout November before returning to the US for a string of dates here. It’s unclear if any of those performances will actually happen now. I would much rather Morrissey take his time and recuperate from whatever it is that is ailing him so that he can stay healthy. Let’s send all our love and get well wishes to the Mozzer in the hopes for a speedy and full recovery.

*Much love goes out to my tweeps on Twitter who alerted me to Morrissey’s collapse just moments after it took place … @gretchenraine was the first to give me the head’s up:

@trentvanegas Morrissey collapsed onstage tonight – if you have any contacts who have an update will you post it? PLEASE?!! *worried*

Again, here’s hoping Moz gets well soon!

UPDATE: Morrissey’s official website has been updated with new of his collapse:

MORRISSEY STABLE

Morrissey is in stable condition after his collapse in Swindon Saturday night. Thanks go out to all his well wishers, more information will be posted as soon as it is available.

[Source]

After dinner I met up with my friend Josh so that we could make our way downtown to the Mayan Theater to see Hope Sandoval (formerly of Mazzy Star) live in concert:

It turns out that Hope is NOTORIOUSLY camera shy so there was a strict No Pictures policy in effect last night. I did manage to get some atmosphere shots of the venue tho … The Mayan Theater is beautiful … altho, it does make you feel like you’re inside The Temple of Doom:

As for Hope Sandoval’s performance … ye gods, it was beautiful. Her vocals are just spellbinding … and she makes it all sound so effortless. She just opens her mouth and you can’t help but get caught up in the emotion and splendor that comes tumbling out. She truly has the voice of an angel … and it sounds as beautiful today as it did all those years ago when she was in Mazzy Star. Some drunk fool yelled out for a Mazzy song and she just shook her head and carried on … she made sure that there was no spotlight on her at all so that even if you did manage to sneak a camera inside you couldn’t get a picture. Shyness aside, it was a fantastic concert … she performed selections from her solo albums Bavarian Fruit Bread and her latest release Through The Devil Softly. Her band The Warm Inventions were really great but it was all about Hope’s voice … just stunning. If you have the chance to see her live I urge you to do so … it’s an experience you won’t soon forget.

Fun stuff planned for today … David and I are taking his sisters to Disneyland to enjoy the Hallowe’en Time fun there today! We’re meeting up with some friends so it’s gonna be a blast. I plan on taking a bunch of fun photos to share. It’s gonna be 90+ degrees today … the perfect way to celebrate Hallowe’en at Disneyland :)

I have been a huge fan of KMFDM for many, many years. They were effing incredible last night. For various reasons, I haven’t been able to see the band perform live for a few years so I was anxious to see them on stage again … I was not disappointed in the least. The new material was awesome but the classic tracks they performed were just KILLER! If you are a fan of KMFDM, this tour is not to be missed. Among my fave songs I got to hear last night was Megalomaniac, Light and Godlike and former KMFDM member Tim Skold came out to perform with the band for the encore! It was just AMAZING!! The band cares so dearly for their fans (Keiner Macht Fur Dich Mehr) … they are worth the devotion.

Quick story: I first saw the band live back in 1995 at Deep Ellum Live in Dallas, TX. There was a problem with the venue because the band had a strict policy about not marking up their t-shirts because they didn’t want to exploit their fans. They sold their shirts for $15 and Deep Ellum wanted to jack up the price to $25 … KMFDM vehemently refused and almost canceled the show. They decided not to sell any merch at the show at all and the concert went off as planned. At the end of the show, they announced that they would be selling merch at a record store down the street for the regular low prices and hung around to sign autographs and take photos with everyone who showed up. From that moment on, I was a devoted fan. I am so happy I was able to see the guys and Lucia live last night … the show was fantastic!! Click HERE to see all the pics I snapped last night.

Today … David and I are running a special errand (which I have to keep secret for another hour or so … watch my Twitter for the reveal) and then tonight we are going to the wedding of a couple of dear friends of ours. It’s going to be an amazingly fabulous day … I can’t wait to enjoy it :)

After the jump, you can check out a few of the AMAZING photos I snapped last night … I was all up in her grill so I got a lot of really fantastic photos. Tony managed to get video of Kylie busting out the Cabbage Patch dance move on stage and you can also watch that video behind the cut …

Since I was so close, I managed to take hundreds of awesome photos … watch my Twitter, I’ll post a link to the album when I upload them all in a few days. Hands down, last night was my fave of all the Kylie shows I’ve seen. It is such an exhilarating experience being that close to such an iconic pop icon. I’ve been front row for Madonna shows and for Britney Spears shows but Kylie’s effervescent nature is just infectious …