Though she’s been mocked and turned into a caricature of herself for years — Megan Mullally’s writhing, warbling character on Bob’s Burgers was especially enjoyable — Tori Amos has never backed down. As an artist and an activist she has been relentless, using her voice and her music to speak up for and to women. Her 1992 song “Me and a Gun,” on the album Little Earthquakes, is about when she was raped at knife-point; her 1998 song “Spark” is about suffering a miscarriage. She was the first national spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, and in 2001 she released a cover album, of sorts, wherein she turned songs by Neil Young, Tom Waits, Slayer, Eminem and other men into songs sung from the woman’s perspective. In a climate where women are finally (kind of) being heard and believed as they bravely share their stories of trauma and abuse, Amos has been saying it all along. She released a new album, Native Invader, in September, but recent set lists show her performances have been pulling from all over her catalog, including tracks from Boys for Pele, From the Choirgirl Hotel, Little Earthquakes and more. She’s also been throwing in some surprising covers, like Madonna’s “Live to Tell” and Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” The audience at a recent Cleveland show was even treated to a little ode to Kesha’s “Praying.” I’d bet Amos has some great surprises in store for the Ryman on Sunday. MEGAN SELING
Tori Amos
