Tori and a few tidbits

In case you are not one of my local friends, several of whom were irritated by my incessant bragging the past few weeks, get ready! I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to see Tori Amos at the Detroit Opera House this past weekend from my favorite radio DJ, Martin Bandyke. Tori Amos, as in the musical embodiment of my emotional teenage years, stylish, amazing, talented beyond compare and eclectic crazy cool Tori Amos, who somehow, despite my obsession with her, I had never seen in concert! I was thrilled; Eric not so much. Luckily we had dinner with our friends the Robinson's a few nights before the show, inspiring my dear husband's truly selfless and charitable suggestion: "Katja, why don't you go?" Katja dutifully agreed and Girls' Night Out plans were set in motion.

Katja has never been to downtown Detroit and I have never been in the Opera House so it was a fun adventure even without what ended up being one of the greatest live shows I've seen. We had what I thought were great balcony seats, until I saw this lucky duck's photos! (A side note: I'm now in love with Pink is the New Blog! You can go check out more photos and the set list from the show there.) Tori looked fabulous in her hot pink leggings and stilettos, while straddling a piano bench and playing several keyboards at once. Her energy and the power of that voice gave me goosebumps more than once. I was so excited to hear Winter, Icicle, Precious Things, and Caught a Lite Sneeze, but the new songs were equally stellar. If you have not heard the new album yet, get on it! And if you live anywhere near where this tour is headed, go buy tickets now! You will not regret it.

Our evening ended with our meeting the boys at the Berg and heading to Brown Jug for the cheapest beer in Ann Arbor. Lots of young drunks, but if you want a seven dollar pitcher at midnight, you can't go wrong. Snacks next door at Pancheros and home to bed. I'm still humming Body and Soul.

On another note, I need to congratulate the winner of my second giveaway, Cora! Cora has won herself an 18x24" poster print from Large Format Posters. She was lucky, and she was the only person who entered properly! Looking back I see that the sponsors probably need to rethink charging a handling fee for a prize. It seems to be a real turn-off for readers, which I totally understand! Even if it is only five bucks, people don't want to pay for free prizes because then they don't really seem like free prizes at all, do they? Exactly.