MULTIMEDIA

Tori Amos at the Murat Theatre

For starters, it wasn't Red State sabotage that made the microphone silent when Tori Amos opened her concert with anti-President Bush tune "Yo George" on Friday at the Murat Theatre.

A packed house of friends and no enemies surrounded the intense singer-songwriter as she showcased songs from current album "American Doll Posse."

Built upon the premise of Amos divided into five splinter characters of herself, "American Doll Posse" offers a wealth of theatrical possibilities.

The tour spotlights a single alter ego at the beginning of each show, and Indianapolis was paired with political-minded "Isabel."

A benign technical glitch marred the beginning of "Yo George," although the song isn't as clever as the similarly themed "My Dear Country" by Norah Jones or as fierce as Pink's "Dear Mr. President."

Amos made stronger points during "Almost Rosey," a "Doll Posse" selection that challenges listeners to question whether everything is all right.

"Blondes here don't jump out of cakes," Amos sang while wearing a long platinum wig, brown blouse, white pants and striking knee-high boots that matched the color of her artificial hair.

She sent a similar message during "Sweet Dreams," a 1992 rarity that took original aim at the earlier President Bush.

Dialing in vocals reminiscent of Robert Plant at his most playful with Led Zeppelin, Amos sang, "(Your friends) have the Earth in a sling, the world on her knees."

At least one audience member shouted, "I love you, Isabel," but affection for this character isn't the point.

Isabel lacks the charisma of the posse's "Pip," the idealism of "Clyde" and the sensuality of "Santa." But there's unmistakable value in her call to wake up.

Following seven songs from Isabel, Amos returned to the stage as herself -- the passionate musician who made signature tune "Cornflake Girl" a tour de force on piano.

From hamming it up on high notes to squeezing in low-note credibility, Amos made her solo an end-to-end delight.

Vocally, Amos may have been most impressive during "Black Dove (January)," which featured the distinctive phrasing of "blay-ack doove." This wasn't necessarily a Southern pronunciation from the North Carolina native, but just a wealth of feeling.

Amos has used a band to augment her sound for about a decade, and results continue to be mixed.

Drummer Matt Chamberlain supplied entertaining snap, crackle and pop percussion on "In the Springtime of His Voodoo," but bass player Jon Evans muddled the electric keyboard attack of "Tombigbee."

In an approach perfected in the early 1990s, Amos is most captivating when she simply plays the piano and sings.