Crucial Track for March 11, 2026

"With A Little Help From My Friends" by Tori Amos

A song from the first gig you went to.

Tori Amos. October 8, 1994. Taft Theatre. Cincinnati, Ohio. She walked onto the stage while "Son of a Preacher Man" played on the speakers. It stopped when she sat at the piano, just her and it and us, and then she plucked a single note (or maybe it was a single chord) for a little while until we stopped applauding. She asked some very smart questions:

>What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me...?

None of us stood up and walked out on her.

I bought a tour program, two t-shirts, a poster, and a necklace with a silver pendent on it that had her name on the front and "I believe in peace, bitch" on the back. I'd wear it to church and the old church ladies would notice and compliment it until they took a closer look.