“Is she dating a new piano bench?”

That’s the text I got from my bf, upon reminding him that I was off to see Tori Amos at the Chicago Theatre last night. His first and only live experience with the bench-straddling chanteuse in 2001 was such a downer that he’d vowed never to attend again. But as luck had it, a friend of ours found herself in quite similar circumstances (she and her husband attended that very same performance), and so the two of us have since partnered up whenever Ms. Amos makes it to town.

Things started off strong last night, beginning with “Give,” the opening track to Amos’ latest album, Abnormally Attracted To Sin, followed by “Bouncing Off Clouds.” Bringing longtime bassist Jon Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlin along with her Bösendorfer, Tori announced that it was going to be a “boys’ night,” and launched into “Cornflake Girl.” So far, so good, I thought, as next I swear I heard the beginnings to “Siren” (from the Great Expectations soundtrack). Nope, my ears had deceived me; this was “Curtain Call,” the second of seven (!) tracks from the new LP.

And that pretty much brought the curtain crashing down on my hopes of Tori playing all of my favorites last night. I’m sure many of these—”Hotel,” “Josephine,” “Marys Of The Sea”—are somebody’s favorite (and I was reminded last night that Amos’ adoring acolytes are certainly a vocal bunch), but as part of a seemingly endless string of moody numbers, such tunes made the middle of the concert, well, middling. It was all I could do to stop my mind from wandering, or dozing off. (Exceptions were “Cars And Guitars” and the always tantalizingly-teasing “Leather.”)

For me, Amos was not taking full advantage of the fellas flanking her. (Chamberlin’s masterful drumming is particularly mesmerizing.) I wanted her to break out with songs that would be well served by the additional rhythmic muscle. Maybe a little “Raspberry Swirl,” or yeah, “Siren.” Things were ultimately righted during the encore, as she trotted out my favorite Tori track of the ever, “Take To The Sky,” inserting a bit of Carole King’s “I Feel The Earth Move.” Thank you, kind Interweb:

Amos finished the evening with the brilliant honky-tonk of her more recent “Big Wheel.” The audience certainly responded enthusiastically to these final two numbers, which makes me think I wasn’t the only one in the crowd wishing she’d showcased the more upbeat side of her discography.

Though a fan since her 1992 debut, Little Earthquakes, I admit that I haven’t memorized the Book of Tori, so I can’t name every track within a note or two. But unlike ’90s contemporaries Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails, Amos is among those rare artists I consistently follow to this day (a crazy 17 years, in this case). Sure, I’ve been occasionally burned along the way (Strange Little Girls, much of The Beekeeper), but I thought 2007’s American Doll Posse was a worthy addition to her catalogue of songs, and there’s much on Abnormally Attracted To Sin to enjoy as well. Really, it’s not so much a case of me being unable to embrace the new, but that I feel she could have selected a more magnificent seven.

Still, the next time Tori comes to town, I’m sure I’ll have a ticket in hand, ready to see her straddle the line between captivating and confounding all over again.