Review: Fiona Apple

Photos by Jill Toyoshiba/The Star

“I’m either so sick in the head / I need to be bled dry to quit / Or I just really used to love him,” Fiona Apple sang to a nearly sold-out Midland theater Tuesday night. 

The song is called “Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song),” and it was part of a 90-minute show that was something of an emotional blood-letting itself: the sights and sounds of a woman issuing naked expressions of love, pain and regret, but typically with an air of defiance and strength.

Apple is touring on her latest album and her first in nearly seven years. Never one for cliche or platitude, she titled it, “The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.” She would perform four of its tracks, not even a quarter of her set list.

She was accompanied by a four-piece band that included guitar wiz Blake Mills, the show’s opening act. Throughout the night, they stirred up whatever mood was necessary, often shifting dynamics dramatically within a song, from loud and stormy to eerily still. Most of the night, however, the sound mix was off, and Apple’s lyrics were either tough to discern or nearly lost in the heavy sounds around her.

They opened with “Fast As You Can,” a blast of rock-blues turbulence in which the singer advises her lover “Run-free yourself of me” and then warns him: “I’ll soon grow hungry for a fight / and I will not let you win.” 

Love in her world is a battlefield, and if you’re not gathering wounds, you’re not playing right. Apple came into the music world in the mid-1990s, in the days of Lilith Fair and during the reign of angry, defiant women such as Tracy Bohnam, Meredith Brooks, Alanis Morrissette, Liz Phair. (Apple performed at Sandstone Amphitheater with Lilith Fair on July 14, 1997, almost 15 years ago to the day). 

But Apple was of another emotional plane, and it showed in her music and her performances, where she acted out her angst, much like Tori Amos, another peer. Time hasn’t changed that. Tuesday, she was just as animated, at times to the point of weirdness. Twice she ended up on the floor, looking as if she were drawing figures in the sand or looking for a contact lens or her last dime. At the piano and in front of the microphone, she also indulged in some emphatic thrashing, gesticulating and foot stomping, all exaggerated by her mane of hair (which shifted from loose to pony-tailed) and her wiry frame, which is long and a little too lean.

But instead of contrived, her mannerisms seemed like overwrought manifestations of all she was feeling as she issued the weight of her songs.

She didn’t have much to say to the crowd, but when she did it came out excited and addled, like a teenage girl telling friends about a first kiss. Her voice, however, was extraordinary. It covers a wide range, from a gut-bucket roar and growl to a sultry moan to spine-tingling falsetto, as she did during “Extraordinary Machine.”.

Most of the crowd seemed to adore her. They indulged in some of the better moments like “I Know” and “Werewolf.” Another portion seemed to be there only to hear “Shadowboxer,” “Sleep to Dream” and “Criminal,” her best-known songs from her first and best-known album, “Tidal.”. So they talked during half of the show.

She ended with a forlorn cover of “It’s Only Make Believe,” a song about heartache and unrequited love made famous by Conway Twitty. It was one of the quieter moments of the night and in Apple’s hands, another bloodletting that felt anything but make believe.

Setlist: Fast As You Can; On the Bound; Shadowboxer; Paper Bag; Anything We Want; Get Gone; Sleep to Dream; Extraordinary Machine; Werewolf; Tymps; Daredevil; I Know; Every Single Night; Not About Love; Carrion; Criminal; It’s Only Make Believe.

| Timothy Finn, The Kansas City Star

Comments

[wadkc]

She was probably on the floor looking for her crazy pills she dropped.

[Sin City Disciple]

Get that girl a sandwich and a milkshake.

[pellboy]

And a tanning lamp, while we're at it.

I used to actually dig her look back in her heyday, but she's damn near skeletal now. That Cruella Deville look just isn't working.

[rick van hatten]

Fiona was great last night in spite of suffering from stage fright. Even though she didn't do an encore she still made my concert year! I intend to see her again,again,again,again!

[jestcher]

Angelina Jolie's institutionized sister was set free for 90 minutes at the Midland. She looked unhealthy as she wrythed on the stage floor. Why was the crowd screaming for this? Lots of out of control females in the audience that wouldn't shut there traps. I went through a plethora of emotions: annoyed, disturbed, hungered, pleasured at times and pained at others. I went to watch Fiona's angst. She served up a platter. I hope she doesn't die of anorexia or rip her vocal chords. Fiona Apple (bucket list) check...The jury is still out on this one...

[her feet were distracting]

She did do an encore, kind of. Did you hear her come out and mumble before the last song? She said, "thisistheencore."

[bob]

"Get that girl a sandwich and a milkshake."

I'll bring those in the next time I bring her the methadone.

[Geordan]

To quote the great under-appreciated songwriter, Lloyd Cole, "she's got cheekbones like Geometry." In all seriousness, I saw Fiona on Jimmy Fallon's show a couple of weeks ago and man, what happened to her?? She was always a bit crazy, what with the "This world is bullshit" quote at some awards show about a decade ago. But these pictures are almost a cry for help. To look at her here, an obituary in the next year or so would not be a surprise. Hopefully someone in her camp will perform a miracle intervention. I always kind of liked Fiona, but THIS is scary.

[joe]

Anyone go to see Tedeschi Trucks??

[KC Jones]

she's a vegan, so that might have something to do with her anorexic pallor.

i really like the new album, but I'm not sure I could look at her skin-draped-on-a-skeleton frame for 90 minutes.

[heh]

you guys are mean.

[Steve J]

It was a great show. She is odd and weird, but with age I think she has accepted it.

[Lauren Krum]

She was fucking brilliant. Just as strange and beautiful and heartfelt as I'd hoped. I hope she knows KC loves her and comes back again sooner rather than later. "I Know" broke my heart.

[Natacha VonBraun]

My finances were tight this month, or else I would have been at this show.

Gladly, though, would I have taken a ticket off the hands of any of the concertgoers here criticizing Apple's weight or mental health.

Despite some sound problems in the house, she gave what the reviewer describes as an electrifying performance magnified by her phenomenal voice and haunting lyrics.

So, what the hell are you complaining about?

One mention of a woman being a little too lean opens a rather wide door for some to dismiss a woman for her appearance rather than for appreciating her musicianship.

I just wanted to let some of you know I watched you taking advantage of that.

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[Geordan]

"I just wanted to let some of you know I watched you taking advantage of that."

Duly noted, Natacha, self-appointed watchdog of Back To Rockville. Look, comments on Fiona's appearance are made mostly out of concern. Most here like her and don't want to see her shrivel into oblivion. Hey, it's her life and all, but if you aren't slightly disturbed by the bottom picture in this review, then you aren't looking closely enough and again, seeing her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show, after not seeing Fiona in any capacity in years, was frankly a little frightening. It doesn't mean that we don't like her or her music. She is a lot more complex than many of her peers and she's certainly not for everyone. I don't think anyone is "dismissing" her. I'm just concerned for this artist's well-being. What an awful guy I must be for THAT!

[eddieroot]

I really respect & admire Fifi. I wish I could have attended this show. If not for the Slayer/Motorhead/Anthrax thing at Sandstone, I would have gone.

[Too Much Rock]

Oh my she is thin isn't she. I do commend Jill Toyoshiba on some lovely (if terrifying) captures. So nice to see professional photography with a show review.

[wadkc]

I don't care what she looks like, she won't be "fucking brilliant" in my eyes until she can carry a tune.

[wadkc]

Tedeschi Trucks was fabulous. . Absolutely one of the best shows I've been to in awhile. I can't believe more people didn't show up for this. Anybody that goes to Knuckleheads should have been there front and center. It was the perfect show for them.

[pellboy]

Heck, that's how out of the loop I am. Knew that Tedeschi Trucks was playing KC sometime this summer, but didn't follow up on exactly when and where (the Uptown?). Hadn't even realized it happened yet. Missed them last year at The Crossroads as well. My bad.

[Phil]

Crossroads KC sucks,
esp as a place to see a show,
extra esp in 105 degree weather.

[Aaron]

Hey, Phil.. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Go buy some nikes or some shit from that spammer robot.

[Air Max Shoes]

Heck, that's how out of the loop I am. Knew that Tedeschi Trucks was playing KC sometime this summer, but didn't follow up on exactly when and where (the Uptown?). Hadn't even realized it happened yet. Missed them last year at The Crossroads as well. My bad.

Read more here: http://backtorockville.typepad.com/back_to_rockville/2012/07/review-fiona-apple.html#comments#storylink=cpy

[Air Max baratas]

"I just want you to know I saw you this advantage."

Appropriate to note that Natasha, self-proclaimed return to Watchdog To Rockville. You see, the comments on Fiona's appearance is mostly out of concern. Most like her, do not want to see her be forgotten atrophy. Hey, this is her life and all, but if you do not have the bottom of the image of this review is slightly disturbed, then you is not see close enough to see Jimmy Fallon's show again, after she appeared, did not see any capacity Fiona over the years, frankly, is a little frightening. This does not mean we do not like her or her music. She is more complicated than a lot of her peers, she certainly is not for everyone. I do not think people are "fired" her. I just care about the well-being of artists. What is terrible guy, I must!

[NEW]

Wow! So we now know our friend Geordan is also Air Max baratas! Interesting....

TTB was a Knuckleheads? Holy Cow! I have to get back to town more. Like PB, I am scratching my head wondering how the heck I missed that.

[wadkc]

No. That's my faulty writing style. TTB was at the Uptown Theater. I meant the individuals that enjoy the bands that play at Knuckleheads would have loved this show. The only bummer was it was a seated show so you couldn't really boogie like you wanted.

The musicianship was top notch. THE best trumpet solo I have ever heard.

[NEW]

OK, thanks WAD. Whew. I can handle missing them at the Uptown although I'm still sorry I missed it.

It's been a while since I've seen a totally seated show at the Uptown. Most I've seen have had seats on the back half of the floor and GA up front. Was it hotter than hell in there?

[wadkc]

Not really. I'd guess 1000 people? It's usually hot when everybody is crammed in there standing. Much better when seated but I can't get my groove on!

I remember when KY use to play Susan's Teduschi's "Rock You Right". The good 'ol days...

[Phil]

Crossroads KC is the worst place in KC to see a show... esp... Extra-especially in 106 degree KC summer weather.

The city needs to shut that dump down down until they bring it up to modern standards