Tori Amos brings her In Times of Dragons tour to Bristol Beacon ahead of the release of her eighteenth studio album, due on May 1, offering a set that draws from across her catalogue while introducing newer material into the fold.
Opening the evening, Isaac Levi delivers a stripped-back support set, voice, acoustic guitar and subtle looping, but it lands with ease. There’s a natural confidence to his performance, building steadily to a closing rendition of Not Friends, Not Enemies that brings the whole room in on the act. In the final chorus, he gently draws the audience with him, letting the moment build as the crowd joins in, lifting the atmosphere early on and drawing the room in.
When Amos takes the stage, she does so without fuss, walking out to a warm reception, bowing gently to the crowd before settling between a grand piano and a bank of keyboards. From there, she remains throughout, anchored between the two instruments, moving fluidly across them with precision and control.
Early in the set, Bliss and Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas establish a steady, unhurried tone, setting the template for what follows. Rather than leaning on obvious peaks Amos allows the performance to unfold with patience and control, the focus firmly on mood and detail rather than excess, elevated throughout by three remarkable backing vocalists, alongside bass and drums of exceptional calibre.
The middle stretch moves through more reflective territory, with Crazy and Honey softening the dynamic, while Bells for Her and Your Cloud pull things inward further still. The pacing remains deliberate throughout, each shift subtle rather than pronounced, giving the set a continuous, almost conversational flow.
A Sorta Fairytale and the newer Shush underline the balance between past and present, before Crucify arrives with real weight, delivered with precision rather than excess.
Big Wheel adds a lift heading into the final stretch, before Cornflake Girl closes the night to the strongest reaction of all. In a venue built for scale, this is a performance defined by nuance, control, and complete command of the room.
