While she appeared to still be suffering from cold feet last month at South by Southwest, Fiona Apple hopes to be firing on all cylinders by summer, when she plans an extensive tour that will include a July 16 stop at the Orpheum Theatre. Tickets will go on sale Saturday at noon for $74, $59 and $44 through Ticketmaster or the State Theatre box office.
The Minneapolis date -- her first here since a 2006 gig at Northrop Auditorium -- comes about three-quarters of the way through her tour. The kick-off date is June 20 in Baltimore. Her long-awaiting follow-up to 2005's "Extraordinary Machine" will finally arrive June 19, by which time we'll have come up with the proper abbreviation of its title, a poem. Here it is:
"THE IDLER WHEEL IS WISER
THAN THE DRIVER OF THE SCREW
AND WHIPPING CORDS WILL SERVE YOU MORE
THAN ROPES WILL EVER DO.
Can't wait to see David Letterman's reaction to saying that one when she plays his show. Apple debuted three of the new songs in her main set for last month's SXSW Music Conference at Stubb's in Austin, Texas, her first full concert in about five years. All three of the previewed tunes sounded intense and electrifying, as did her band throughout the set. However, the 34-year-old semi-reclusive singer came off like a bundle of nerves. At one point, she said to the crowd, "You're imaginary! You're not real!" Her voice clearly sounded out-of-shape in a lot of the older tunes, too (which could be easily remedied with a few more gigs).
The first single from the new record, "Every Single Night," will debut April 24. You can see a performance clip of it and another new one from the Stubb's show at www.fiona-apple.com.
