Tori Amos played, just the artist and her instrument, to a sold-out crowd of ecstatic fans at the beautiful Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans on the magical evening before Halloween. The crowd was diverse: girls in costumes, pink wigs and fairy wings, long haired guys both young and old, kids with their parents, connoisseurs of beautiful music. People excitedly chatted away in the anticipation time before Tori took the stage, wondering what she would play, imagining their idol as she would appear to them soon.

When the lights finally went down, the curtain fell, revealing a banner with Tori’s image from one of the covers of her latest album, "Strange Little Girls," a cover album that explores songs about violence from many different genres from a female perspective. A recording of "Bonnie and Clyde ‘97" played through the theatre’s sound system, only further building the crowd’s mad anticipation.

She plays the piano unlike any other performer. She uses her entire body, transforming it into an instrument. Her patented movements and poses send chills up the spine of fans who, after hearing about them for years, see them for the first time in real life. Her scissor-like legs exposed and magnificent, she straddles the revolving stool between instruments. She flings her hair back with abandon. She hovers over the piano, sensuously strokes the wood below the keys, zealously pounds on the wood above the keys. She lifts her hands from the keyboard, sustains a note with her voice, and with her arms outstretched to the sky as if calling upon some ancient muse, she elicits tremendous applause from the crowd, which can’t seem to keep its excitement under wraps. They break into spontaneous cheering at least half a dozen times during each song.

Tori caresses the keys with her fingers and our hearts with her voice. She dips deep into a chesty, groveling voice that is never less than beautiful, finding new and exciting ways to hang on to vowels and consonants alike, flipping octaves at will and blooming into a flowery head voice.

On our truly magical evening together, she performed a plethora of songs spanning her career as the greatest singer/songwriter of our generation, ranging from "Cool on Your Island" from her previous group, Y Kant Tori Read to "Enjoy the Silence," from her newest album. The set list was full of covers, including an incredible rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and some of her many B-sides. And although she chose to leave out some of her "hits" in favor of lesser-known songs, it was difficult, if not impossible, to complain. All of her songs are well written and astounding. The universal appeal of the songs is part of what makes Tori Amos unique. They make you feel understood, as if she is talking directly to you. We sat, jaws flapping open, tears streaming down. "Which song touched you most?" For me, the emotional dam broke on "Marianne" from her "Boys For Pele" album. Near the end of the show, she sang "Me and a Gun," which tells the story of her rape, acapella. Complete silence filled the hall. No one breathed.