By CHRIS PETERSON
When you hear the haunting, dusky voice you expect a large, powerful woman, not the wide, blue-eyed, frail, little girl behind the brooding and soulful songs that are climbing up Billboard charts.
Fiona Apple, the now 19-year-old artist who first took MTV and VH1 airwaves by storm at age 18 with 'Shadowboxer,' will be putting on a show you won't want to miss. Apple performs at University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Since the 1996 release of her remarkable debut album, 'Tidal,' Apple is vigorously touring to perform the songs that show maturity and talent beyond her years. 'Sleep to Dream,' the second single off the album, is an introspective look at love and pain.
'I have never been so insulted in all my life. I could swallow the seas to wash down all this pride. First you run like a fool just to be at my side. And now you run like a fool, but you just run to hide, and I can't abide.' Apple's deep and complex emotions roam in and out of the groove of 'Sleep to Dream.'
Apple holds nothing back in her live performance. 'I think that's what all this blood, sweat and tears has been for,' Apple said in a news release regarding her live show.
Hers is one of the most entertaining and intimate live show you'll see this summer. Clenching her fists in anger in one moment, appearing on the verge of tears the next Apple sings her songs of rage and sorrow. As well as being an emotional release for Apple, the songs are an emotional inspiration for the audience.
Apple has traveled far since recording a demo tape in her bedroom at age 17. She had plans to send out mass amounts of that demo to record companies, but ended up saving the postage. While visiting her hometown in New York, Apple gave her demo to an old schoolmate who worked for a music publicist and, well, the rest is history.
Some said Apple hasn't paid her dues. Those that listen to the intensity of Apple's music, which deals with the pain and torment she suffered as a child, said she's paid more than enough.
Apple was molested by an intruder at the age of 11 in the apartment she and her single mother lived in. Having played the piano since age 8 Apple turned to her love of music for solace after attempts to be counseled.
Tickets for Apple's show at Kingsbury Hall can still be purchased for $20 at all Smith Tix outlets. Tickets are also available the night of the show in the Kingsbury Hall box office.