Fiona Apple will be playing Durham Performing Arts Center on September 27th, and I snuck a peek of what to expect when I saw her play The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas this past Saturday night.
Here's a glimpse:
First, a Fiona Apple show is not loud. It's not an in your face, wipe the sweat from your brow because oh man, what just happened kinda show. A Fiona show is an experience that will have you appreciating the musicianship but won't leave your ears ringing.
Second, the music is well worth appreciating. Blake Mills, who is Apple's guitarist, also happens to be the opening act and is worth arriving early for - if not only for his cover of Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk", the sad instrumental played after the plane crash in the movie "La Bamba".
Third, Fiona dives deeply into her music. She plays with a great deal of intensity, often with her eyes closed and arms flailing around. She rarely engages the audience through dialogue - the only times she spoke to the crowd was to say "I love you too" to a yell of affection, complain about the large video screens, and to tell us that the last song of the set was, indeed, the last song so don't expect an encore.
I didn't really mind that, though. I kind of appreciate the fact that she recognizes that encores are staged, fake displays of egotism for the artist, so why not just play the set and leave it be.
It's hard to believe that Fiona Apple was only 18 when her debut album, "Tidal" went multi-platinum in 1996. Today at 35, she's winning over new fans by focusing on the only thing that matters - the music.
Foster
Radio 96.1
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