Kevin Bronson on August 1st, 2012

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[Longtime Buzz Bands LA supporter Ashton Lunceford shares her Fiona Apple experience:]

By Ashton Lunceford

Fiona Apple made me cry. Three times. And don’t for a moment think that I was alone on Sunday night at the Hollywood Palladium.

It has been seven years since Fiona Apple released an album. Her latest work “The Idler Wheel …” has the singer, now 34, back on the road and in the public eye. Arriving more than 30 minutes late to the stage at the sold-out show, she muttered to the crowd with an honest chuckle,  “I’m sorry I was late … I don’t really have an excuse … I was just nervous.”

The night was heavy with older hits sprinkled with a few gems from “Idler Wheel.” The opening songs “Fast As You Can” and “On The Bound,” both from 1999’s “When the Pawn …,” had Apple center stage grasping the microphone with two strong fists as if that grip would stave off an inevitable descent into an emotional collapse. Gathering herself, Apple moved to the grand piano for her angst-driven debut single “Shadowboxer,” wailing her oh-so-relatable lyrics with an unfaltering maturity: “Once my lover, now my friend / What a cruel thing to pretend.”

Apple seemed to delve deeper and deeper into her own catharsis as the set moved on. After the playful yet sensual “Anything We Want,” her four-piece backing band turned  “Sleep To Dream” into a complete rock ’n’ roll number with the songstress spasmodically dancing during the final instrumental minutes – ending on the floor with her head on the ground (one of many dance breaks that she would take over the course of the night).

“Extraordinary Machine,” the title track off of the 2005 album of the same name, was the first moment of the night that the band took the backseat completely and allowed Apple’s voice to shine through as the instrument of surgical precision that it is. After taking a huge exhale as if to say that she was finally over her nerves and ready to tell the audience what was really going on in her head, she grabbed her hair and jolted around a bit before reaching stillness for the songs first few lyrics. From there she frolicked around the upper scales of the song, leaving the room cheering in awe at her impressive range.

The energy of the night came to a climax during “Daredevil,” with Apple furiously grasping onto her dress as if to rip it completely off while howling “Wake me up / Gimme, gimme, gimme what you got in your mind / in the middle of the night.” She regained her calm for the mesmerizing “I Know” and showcased her raw vocal talent with the encore – a cover of Conway Twitty’s 1958 single “It’s Only Make Believe.” Apple’s roaring voice coupled with the roar from the audience gave new meaning to the tragic hopefulness of unrequited love.

And an afterthought: A good Fiona-induced cry makes for an amazing night’s sleep.

||| Live: Fiona Apple returns to L.A. on Sept. 14 to play the Greek Theatre.

Photo by Timothy Norris via LA Weekly (see his whole gallery from the night here)