Tori On Late Night With David Letterman July 27, 1998

On July 27, 1998, Tori appeared on Late Night With David Letterman. She performed a shortened version of Jackie's Strength with her band and even got to talk briefly with Dave at the end of the show. Many people who watched the show have commented that the performance was rather low-energy and that her voice did not sound totally healthy. Tori has been ill lately and that likely contributed to any difficulties she had on this appearance. But I still think she did a great job! As for her shortening the song, that is a common when an artist performs on these late night talk shows. I am sure she shortened the song because of time contraints, and not because of the lyrics.

You can see photos from the performance below.

You can hear RealAudio and MP3 sound clips of Tori's Letterman appearance at the Tori World web site.

Here is a transcript of what Tori and Dave said at the end of the show:

Dave: Yes, sir, you just get better and better and better. What time are you gonna be onstage at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night?

Tori: You know, I don't know what time.

D: Well, pick a time. Like 9?

T: They never tell me. [looks to the audience] What time am I going to be on?

D: 9? 8 o'clock?

T: Oh, they tell me 8.

D: I start at 7...I'll be on at 7. I'll do an hour...I'll do an hour.

T: You promise?

D: Just do music that meant something to me when I was growing up.

T: That's great.

D: Then you come out

T: Okay...deal

D: and blow the roof off the dump.

T: Okay, we'll do it.

D: Sounds like quite a show, don't it?

[Tori laughs]

D: Tori Amos thanks for being here. We got to go. We'll see you tomorrow night. Thanks everybody.

Click on thumbnail to see a larger image.

Andy Miladin had this to say about the appearance:

Mike, I know youve probly gotten a lot of emails about Tori's appearance on David Letterman. well, what can i say? she was great, as usual. her hair was in a bit of disarray, i liked it. she seems to have developed a penchant for sparkly gray eyeliner. :-) lets see. the cello in the background added to the whole feel of the evening. as always, i was mad that tori was up on last, but it made the anticipation mount more. She was wearing a pair of jeans which looked like to have manny pockets, a dark colored shirt, and something that resembled, well, a chef's apron of dark blues and black sequence. she was quite a site to see. She and David Letterman had a short interview, which i think the planned on doing something that would "blow the roof off this joint". maybe go for some margaritas? have a nice night

Rspswlgrls@aol.com had this to say about the taping:

Hi!!! We just got back from Letterman...we didnt bother trying for stand-by tickets because we decided that we just wanted to see Tori. :O)

Before the taping when Tori arrived, there were about 30 or 50 people out back waiting. By the end of the taping, all the tourists and EWF who were in line waiting for stand-by tickets when she first arrived increased the number to, oh, i dunno, over 100 is my guess (it looked a milllion-gazillion).

Tori was the first to show up and she was sooo sweet!! She came right over to my best friend who was with me and gave her a huge hug and then turned to me and gave me a hug and kiss. We handed her a dreamcatcher we had made and asked her if she could pleeeeeease sing "Sweet Dreams" at one of the next 2 shows because we were going to both. Tori was so sweet and said she would try, but to think of a second song too in case "Sweet Dreams" didnt feel like coming :O) My best friend and I asked if we could get a picture with her and she said no problem!! yea!!!!! Then she started signing atuographs. She spent about 10 or 15 minutes outside, and it was purely emotional bliss.

After the taping she came back out, but Joel took her right to the limo, but she smiled and grabbed the milions of gaziollion hands that were waving in her face and got in her limo and left.

It was truly a great experience,,,,except for the pre-pubescent Jenny Macarthy fans (eewwww) and the 2 obnoxious grils who tried to convince us that The Dent sucked and complained the whole time (dont worry, Mike, we stuck up for you :O) [Thanks!..Mikewhy]

I cant wait for Madison square Garden and the Philly show....wow.

Please give me feedback, comments, or suggestions about my site. Email me (Michael Whitehead) at mikewhy@iglou.com