Alternative music used to be composed of bizarre bands that only the very bravest music lover dared listen to, but those days have passed. It is a dumping ground for all of the latest, trendiest bands around. Imagine my disgust when I discovered my idol, Tori Amos, being referred to as the Queen of Alternative Music, in rock magazines and newspapers a- like.

At the University of New Hampshire recently, Tori was anything but trendy or dull. The mellow crowd chatted noisily, waiting for the red-headed goddess to appear. She walked onto the stage wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. The crowd clapped, whistled, and cat-called, but Tori silenced them when she began to pound out "Beauty Queen/Horses" on her piano. Tori cracked jokes with the UNH students, telling them she'd drink a margarita for them, because they were facing finals the next day.

I expected Tori to center her show around songs from her new album, "Boys for Pele," and she did sing, "Father Lucifer" and "Not the Red Baron." She also sang a few from her two previous albums C the ever-popular "Cornflake Girl" from "Under the Pink" and "Happy Phantom" from "Little Earthquakes." "Little Earthquakes" is by far my favorite CD of hers because it is teeming with a rawness that only she can produce. I was ecstatic when I heard the first notes of one of my favorite songs, "Precious Things."

Tori Amos is an intensely emotional singer, but the most provoking part of the show was when she pulled a stool to the edge of the stage and sang her firsthand account of being raped, in "Me and A Gun." The crowd came to a stand still, leaned forward in their seats and listened intently. Tori's hurt and rage filled the arena. After the song, Tori left the stage, but the crowd cheered her back, and she sang the last song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with style and class. Later Tori came back and played a few requests for her adoring fans.

It was a phenomenal show. I was so happy to finally see this woman. Tori Amos is a woman who has felt all the emotions humanly possible and is somehow able to put them into music. She is an amazingly strong person, which came through during her show. Throughout the night someone sporadically shouted, "We love you, Tori" which summed up my feelings