Review: Tori Amos dazzles in Abravanel Hall

While marking her 46th birthday this year, the piano songstress Tori Amos demonstrated the vitality, energy and passion of someone half her age at a mesmerizing July 20 concert at Abravanel Hall.

With her signature Bosendorfer piano producing the rich, dark, and full-bodied sound she and the instrument are known for, Amos gave a 110-minute, 19-song performance to a near-capacity crowd that didn't shy away from the lyrical themes the pianist has been frankly expressing since her 1992 debut album: sexuality, religion, power and tragedy.

Amos' red hair was matched by shiny red leggings and a red belt that accompanied an asymmetrical grey knit dress, flowing long in the back but was short in the front. Consciously or

subconsciously, Amos spent much of her concert with her legs wide open to the audience, exuding the daring sensuality she brings to every performance. She stood for much of the show, with one hand on her piano's keys and another hand on a second keyboard that was placed behind her seat, not so much to show off but to add texture and melodic tension to her classical-inspired piano suites.

Much of her show was devoted to Amos' May album, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin," although the lead single, "Welcome to England," was curiously absent. As opposed to her 2007 "American Doll Posse Tour" which featured costume changes and her first full band backing in a decade, this time Amos took a comparatively minimalist approach with long-time

drummer Matt Chamberlain and bassist Jon Evans joining her.

The back-to-basics approach suited Amos well throughout her set list, which, as usual, was marked by interesting song choices that differed greatly from her last concert, July 18 in Phoenix. Highlights included three songs from her underrated second album, "Under the Pink," with Amos performing not only the concert staple "Cornflake Girl," but the more intimate, complex songs "Icicle" and "Bells for Her."

The best moment of the night was when Evans and Chamberlain left the stage and Amos performed the prettiest song she has even penned, "Cooling," which has only appeared on a live album Amos released in 1999. Her soprano soared in the warm acoustics of the venue where the Utah Symphony usually holds court. Triangle-shaped drapery and strobes accented by rich blue, red and purple lighting added striking visuals to her set.

The only missteps of the night were when Amos performed two of her past singles, "A Sorta Fairytale" and "Bliss." With Evans' guitar work muted throughout both of those songs, each of those songs turned into piano-drum dirges that stripped the songs, especially "Fairytale," of the rhythm and delicacy that the melody required.

But for the most part, the trio was tight and well-rehearsed, and Amos seemed comfortable with the two men who stood at stage right and left, with Evans' bass and Chamberlain's bass drum adding depth and drama to her often abstract lyrics.

The opening act, OneeskimO from England, was a pleasant surprise during a 25-minute set that combined mellow acoustic guitars with atmospheric ambience. Drummer Adam Falkner added tribal beats using mallets and brushes, and frontman Kristian Leontiou was reminiscent of George Michael voice with its blue-eyed soul sound. As openers, the band didn't showcase the animated visual elements that Leontiou has crafted to add to the music, so consider them a band to watch: when they come back to Utah as headliners with their visual tricks they'll definitely be worth seeing.