Fiona Apple’s extended absence from the public eye between 2005’s Extraordinary Machine and last year’s The Idler Wheel… was nothing out of the ordinary for the beloved singer-songwriter. Her career, ailment which now spans nearly two decades, has produced just four studio albums; a leisurely working pace to say the least. It wouldn’t have surprised anyone if Apple had receded from the world of music once more following her tours in support of Idler Wheel, not to be heard from for a few years at least. Instead, she recently announced a small theatre tour as a duo with guitarist Blake Mills. Boston was lucky enough to pay host to one of these 15 performances on Wednesday night.
The tour, dubbed “Anything We Want” after the Idler Wheel song, sees the duo trading off songs from their respective catalogs in a relaxed, intimate set. The stage setup resembled a musicians’ living room, with Apple’s piano and Mills’ arsenal of guitars resting atop gently worn rugs, and a stool bearing Apple’s mug of tea and a small sculpture in the center. Apple was talkative, funny and charming from the start of the set, quickly building a rapport with an adoring crowd. The first date of this tour was marred by a much-publicized heckling incident, but the shouts from this audience were entirely of the “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL” and “I LOVE YOU FIONA” variety.
The enthusiastic level of support from those in attendance was almost surprising, given how literally Apple and Mills have taken the title of their tour in regards to the setlist. Most of Apple’s most well-known songs were nowhere to be found, and in their place was new material, a selection of Mills’ solo songs and a Conway Twitty cover. That they were able to pull off a set as enthralling and well-received as this one with such an unconventional and largely unfamiliar setlist served to demonstrate what an excellent team they make.
Apple spent only a few songs behind the piano, favoring her unencumbered center-stage microphone instead. Even in this relatively relaxed setting, Apple is as intense a performer as she’s ever been. She twists, bends and contorts as she sings, channeling the emotional turmoil of her lyrics. Her voice still has the power to stun; delicate and fragile one minute, raw and piercing the next. “It’s Only Make Believe” (the aforementioned Twitty cover) was a particularly jaw-dropping performance. Mills’ songs tended to lack the arresting qualities of Apple’s, though the sprawling family narrative “It’ll All Work Out” did impress.
Mills’ virtuosic guitar work was what truly distinguished him. He carried himself as a perfectionist of tone, dialing in the perfect sound for each song between amplifier adjustments and a frequent switching of both acoustic and electric instruments. His performance was no less meticulous, with not a note or a strum out of place. Mills is not just a technically gifted guitarist, but a remarkably expressive one as well. He added depth to Apple’s songs without intruding upon them.
With the intermittent assistance of a drummer and an acoustic bassist, the musical tone of the night largely picked up where the jazzy Idler Wheel left off. It was a perfect fit for the gorgeous, ornate Colonial Theatre, a 1,700-seat venue that feels a good deal cozier than that. The Colonial rarely hosts live music, but in this case, the choice suited the unconventionally intimate nature of the show. And while “unconventional” could describe the bulk of the evening, the performance was particularly impressive for how well Apple and Mills pulled it all off.
