You can now see the set list and reviews for the Cary (near Raleigh), NC concert at Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park. Tori set list included Gold Dust, Toast, Baker Baker and the covers Dreams (Fleetwood Mac) and The Long And Winding Road (Beatles) during Tori's Piano Bar segment of the show. If you were at this concert and want to send The Dent a review, please email Mikewhy at mikewhy@iglou.com with your review or comments. You can also post your review of the show on The Dent's Summer Of Sin Tour Forum. Thanks for sharing your reviews with The Dent. Please feel free to review Tori's supporting acts as well!

More Details

Tori performed in Cary (near Raleigh), NC on Saturday, August 13, 2005 at Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park. Tori's supporting acts were The Ditty Bops and The Like and the show began at 7:00PM.

Set List

Special thanks to John for calling me with the set list after the show!

Original Sinsuality
Little Amsterdam
Leather
Amber Waves
Goodbye Pisces
China
Playboy Mommy

Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
The Long And Winding Road (Beatles cover)

Cars And Guitars
Northern Lad
Crucify
A Sorta Fairytale
The Beekeeper

1st Encore

Gold Dust
Tear In Your Hand

2nd Encore

Toast
Baker Baker

Reviews

The latest reviews are at the bottom of this page. If you were at this show and want to send The Dent a review, please email Mikewhy at mikewhy@iglou.com with your review or comments.

You can also go to the Summer Of Sin Concert Review Forum and post about your experiences as well, or read additional reviews.


From John:

This show was obviously dedicated to Tori's brother, who passed away recently. Before her piano bar segment, Tori told the crowd that she was going to perform songs that her brother used to play for her when they were younger.

Tori also did a long improv before Crucify which was interesting. She mentioned in the improv going to bible school and how she was taught that women were subservient and that men change the words in the bible to enforce that.

Tori's written set list had her doing Gold Dust and then Toast for the first encore (talk about intense!) and Beulah Land and Baker Baker for the second encore. Instead, she performed the set list you see above.


From Diane Sherman:

Tori played an incredible show in Cary, and it was very apparent that her brother was on her mind tonight as she played. The show was lower key and more intimate than usual, and Tori played songs that reflected a melancholy and somber spirit. The venue also played a big part in the show, as it was smaller than most outdoor venues where I've seen Tori perform. A big bonus was that the audience was very respectful and quiet during her performance.

I was particularly delighted to hear her talk about how the hot and humid weather just "feels right" to her since she was born in 100 degree weather not too far from here. She also incorporated something about the tall pine trees we have here in the state into the opening of one of her songs. It's always nice to see what she says about North Carolina.

I enjoyed the show, but I left feeling like I just wanted to comfort Tori and cheer her up. My heart goes out to her in regard to the loss of her brother, and I think it's great that she can use her talent to express that to her fans.


From january:

I've seen Tori on every tour since 1992 and have to say that this show was by far the most sad I've seen her on stage. The entire show seemed to be a tribute to her brother Michael who lived in Southern Pines (not too far from where she played tonight).

The heat and humidity were oppressive and along with Tori's mood, the Cary show was pretty somber overall. My heart went out to her tonight. The highlight to me was being able to hear Gold Dust live. It was heartwrenching!


From Lisa Helton:

Tonight's show was amazing. The venue was so cool. It was outside, completely surrounded by forests with a lake to the left. It's a small venue also, so pretty much every seat was a good seat.

Tori looked beautiful. She wore a yellow tank top with green ruffles on the sides, white carpi's, and of course, kickin' shoes. She seemed very energetic and comfortable, despite the sweat-dripping heat! She wasn't very talkative, but she did say that she had been born nearby and that at the time of her birth, it was around 100 degrees. She said that this is probably why she always "likes it hot."

Tori's piano bar was very touching. She said that she chose those two songs because her brother had played them for her. They really were very lovely covers. She did an amazing job, despite seeming somewhat concerned that they might not turn out. She said that she hoped the persons who requested them were at the concert, and that if they weren't, we could tell them if "they (the songs) sucked." Of course, the covers were nothing less than wonderful!

Note: If you are going to a Tori concert, please don't talk during the songs. I had a drunk dude who was really excited about every song and talked about the songs loudly while Tori was playing. I appreciated and shared his excitement for her work, but I went there to hear her, not him.


From Reina:

Just to let you know...yes, this show seemed dedicated to her brother Michael. Tori even said during the song The beekeeper.

"send it to Michael" right after the word angels. The ending was fairly intense with Gold Dust, Tear in My Hand, Toast and Baker Baker. I was in the 3rd row and the aisle seat was vacated so I was able to move to that seat. Baker Baker felt as though she was staring right at me when she sang it. I was in tears. The encore definately affected me emotionally. I lost an aunt to cancer in April and the encores hit home with my own feelings so I can only imagine how they were for Tori thinking about her brother. The show was awesome. The security kept people from standing at the end. They allowed people to approach at the end of the first set and but then sent them back to their seats when she came back out for the 1st encore. I saw one lady dancing during Tear in My Hand and the security guard made her sit down. The hightlight of the experience for me was seeing her parents. They entered about 15 min before Tori came on. I saw them right away and pointed them out to my fellow seat mates. What was really cool was that her dad was proudly telling someone who he was as he walked by using a cane. He said, "we're Tori's parent's". At that time, I said to him "Pastor Amos, you raised a wonderful daughter" and he said. "I hope so". I love going to a concert and having an experience to remember, for me, I will always remember being able to speak to Pastor Amos (who was in his cleric collar (as usual). This was my first experience hearing Tori at an outdoor venue and it was funny to hear the crickets chirping along with her. Tori also made a cool comment about being born "not far from hereon as my mother says a 100 degree day so I think that's why I like it "hot" (referring the the overwhelming humidity).

I will forever remember being able to just stare at Tori and listen to her as she played what I consider a fairly somber set that was definately meant for her brother Michael.


From Kelley:

we saw Tori at Regency Park in Cary tonight. it was a powerful show, albeit heavily laced with the loss of her brother, and evidently was a turning point in the family's grief process.

that's the somber affair part, which i will get to, but i think the other two parts are pretty significant too. in fact, i think they're quite related. i've been a Tori fan from Little Earthquakes, seen her every tour, been to several meet & greets along the way, although i have never met her. i have never been comfortable with the pushy affairs of fandom, though i always enjoyed seeing her greet her fans and get a sense of her spirit in proximity. all the longtime fans saw a major change in the m&gs around the time of the Dew Drop Inn Tour, at which point Tori herself sent out public comments to fans to back off of each other and give everyone a chance to interact with her.

maybe she needs to do it again, or maybe some people just don't give a fuck, because what i witnessed today only reinforced my lack of interest in being that involved in a fandom. when i realized that she was literally going to be in my backyard, i decided i was going to shoot for the m&g, and that i would actually FINALLY make an effort to meet her. myself, my SO and two friends, along with little sisters (9 and 8 years old) all planned to go to the m&g. we got there in plenty of time, and from the minute we came round the venue the conversation weaving through the crowd revealed the starfuckers. "well, i'm # ___, and they said nobody else can go after me." ???

there were about 40 people there total, and Tori came out in pretty decent spirits. she seemed a great deal more guarded than i have observed her being in the past, but it's been easily 4 tours since i went to a m&g. i didn't think much of it. but the first thing she said was that her mother and father would be attending, and that it was the first time that her family had been in the area since her brother died at Duke last winter. she said because of the weight of their reunion she would have to hold a very different space, and indicated that she felt out of sorts about that. she went on to sign autographs, and told people not to push, that she would get to everyone and circulate around. at the beginning, the people who were nearest her got their autographs, hugs and photos and moved out of the fray. everyone else moved up. it continued this way for about 15 minutes until this one little group got up to the barricade. they did the same round of fans stuff that everyone else was doing, but they didn't move back when they were done. there were about 5 of them, and one in particular would hold the area and shuffle her friends up from the back so that they could cut in front of everyone else. despite this, we in the middle held the ground and waited patiently, moving the two kids (the ONLY kids in the group) as close to the front as we could. Tori kept talking and signing. then in the space of a millisecond, she looked up and said, "i gotta roll. catch you guys later," and she very abruptly turned around and left. it was curt and the vibe of the whole affair bottomed out. i don't know what happened, but it was a total 180, as if someone had said something or did something displeasing, cos everything was fine one second and then it wasn't and she was gone. i have seen 200 people at M&gs before and there was not this kind of vibe or reaction from Tori. everyone in the crowd, including myself, reacted like a 1 year old getting dropped off at daycare. not the most mature reaction, but everyone was utterly stunned. i truly don't know what that was about.

so somewhat shocked and dejected we headed to dinner and then back to the venue for the show. on our way walking in, who do we meet but the group of starfuckers SELLING THEIR AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE PARKINGLOT. yeah, i was pissed. i have met a ton, i mean a TON of awesome people through tori fan groups. i have been in touch with many of them since the Under the Pink era. i'm seriously taken aback by the "fans" that i observed today. i've read other people expressing these experiences on the various Tori groups i circle in, but now i finally see at a deeper level what they (and Tori herself, in the past) are talking about. i won't give much detail to how the lead starfucker shoved her way to the front of the show seating, totally oblivious to the people she was cutting off, even though they were asking her to move back.

i do have to add that one girl who was at the m&g i also bumped into the restaurant, and then two more times at the show. she was really sweet, and it reminded me again of how many great people i've met via Tori. i also got to meet meowsic26meowsic26, and two new online friends who were all very cool! on to the show...

it was very sad. she did not speak much at all, only saying that she loved the heat (which was smothering), and that her mother told her it had been 100 degrees the day she was born, not too far from Cary, and that she liked it that hot. she dedicated the piano bar portion of the show to her brother, Michael, playing Dreams (fleetwood mac) and Long and Winding Road, both of which he had played for her growing up. they were phenomenal and downloadworthy. she played a lot of new songs, and many of the olds ones that i usually attribute to her singing to a lover felt as though she was singing them to someone else tonight. through the second half of the show i felt like i was attending the funeral of a distant relative--someone i did not know well, but felt very sad about the grief of my loved ones who did. i almost felt like i was intruding on a private affair. she did an amazing improv to Crucify, of which i only caught part:

i went to bible school just like you
not far from here
at Lake Junaluska
running by the water
chasing Michael
chasing you

i'm repeating myself, but it was incredibly sad. it would not be overstated to say that parts of it were heartbreaking and angry. her encore (of 3) included Toast, and Baker Baker, which instead of lovers parting felt like a little sister never being enough. there was no rushing the stage. o wait--people tried (guess who was the lead among them), but they were quickly sent back to their seats. about the venue...

i had never been to Regency Park before. we had what should have been ace seats second section, 4th row. who thought that reversed stadium seating was a good idea? the whole seated section was sunken in the center, so that each row back was actually LOWER than the row in front of it. besides that little snaffu, it was a good location.

my SO got some good photos of her from a distance that he may put out at some point.

so how was all of this linked? the vibe was bent from the time we got there. as we learned what was going on in Tori's world, it made sense why. she was upset about just coming to the area, let alone performing the show. i am glad that she honors her natural process in healing, and is so very cognisant of how to hold the space for her family to honor theirs. i've seen Tori a ton of times now, and while this show doesn't stand out as the most amazing, best set list, or most cathartic, it stands out in how she presented herself to us. although a common theme we hear afterthefact in her music, it was evident to see in her performance: her amazing power in moving through painfully difficult times.


From Wendi:

As has been previously mentioned the show in Cary last night was very somber and you could tell that her brother was on her mind. The venue was beautiful, and I felt it fit Tori's music. Dr. and Mrs. Amos came out about 15 minutes before Tori took the stage. They chatted with people as they made their way to their seats. Some highlights of the show were Goodbye Pisces, China, and the covers.

Security was fairly tight on allowing people to rush the stage. One main reason for that is there was absolutely no room between the first row and the barricade around the stage, and also the seating wasn't permenant seats, they were folding chairs. Unfortunately were myself and my husband were sitting there were several people who talked through most of the performance. The girl that was dancing to Tear In Your Hand that Reina refers to was directly across from us in next section over. Security had to talk to her five times that night. She was fairly drunk and fairly rude. A couple guys who were sitting in front of them turned around one time and yelled fairly loudly, "Shut up!"

Other than that it was an amazing show.

If you would mind not posting this, I would appreciate it as it this may refer to someone who reads The Dent. During Tori's second encore the Tear In Your Hand girl started singing very loudly and my husband looked at her and said, "Can you please be quiet?" The guy that she was with said, "He's just kidding" to which my husband replied, "No I'm not there are two songs left and I want to hear Tori sing them not you". When the show was over the girl who was sitting in front of us told them exactly what she thought about their behavior during the show.


From Wendy:

This was my very first time to go see Tori. I was in the lawn area. I'm so very sad...everyone around me was so quiet and intent on hearing the concert up until the piano bar segment when 3 very drunk people and their poor but also equally loud kid starting talking very loudly right next to me. I was so mad I was shaking! Why would you come to a concert and talk all the way through it? I've waited soooo long to see Tori, why didn't they want to hear her too?

I did get up during the long and winding road after being able to hear so very little of the fleetwood mac cover to go get security or something. One of the amphitheater people followed me out to talk to them...then just walked past, because they got quiet for that moment seeing I had brought someone over. But, they didn't say anything to them! Just walked past! Some of the people surrounding the loud people had moved and we moved into their spot...you could still hear them...but it was quieter at least and I got to enjoy the rest of the show and was able to focus for the most part.

It was a somber show, but very touching and brought tears to my eyes. It was so heartfelt. I don't know how those people weren't touched by it! Next time I'm sitting up front! Seeing Tori means too much to me to have loud people ruin it again.


From Bryan Cody:

During the long improv to Crucify she also kept mentioning Bible School at Lake Junaluska. It's not uncommon traveling I 40 in NC to know about this lake. I think she also said Raleigh during the part where she was talking about under the pines (I think it was during Little Amsterdam).

This is the first time I've seen Tori solo since 1996 DDI Tour and I am more amazed with her talent than ever. I've gotten used to her live groovy second to none rhythm section and was not so sure how the new songs would sound solo. I figured her vocals would shine more than with a band and they did. Her range is amazing to say the very least. She is still one of the very best artists today.

Below is a link to the Lake in North Carolina she was probably talking about.

http://www.lakejunaluska.com/


From Evelyn:

This will be my last Tori Amos concert, and I'm glad it's ended on such a good note. I was the winner of the Rrain ebay charity auction. I was very glad to have won/bought/donated (whichever you want to call it). I flew from Winnipeg Manitoba Canada to attend this concert in Cary North Carolina. Tori was apart of my childhood and seeing her in the front row finally gives me closure on this part of my life. (scrapbook will have to keep me happy from now on :)

Meet and Greet:

So Jon(bestfriend) and I are driving back to the hotel. I commented that maybe we should go and look at the venue to make sure we knew where we were going. It also happened the highway turn off led him in that direction, so there we drove.

We went to the front of the box office and talked with the people there. I asked about the Meet and Greet. They told us that it was down the road closer to the river. They weren't sure if Tori Amos came out yet.

I was like, ok...

Jon said we should go, but I wanted to check it out. So I started walking down the road. Jon commented and was annoyed that I was walking quickly in the middle of the road, so I did a short sprint to where the meet and greet was. I could tell because the barricades were up. I wasn't sure if she was there, but there was a ton of people in front so I figured I wouldn't be able to meet her anyway.

Somebody commented, yeah she's up there, why don't you go look?

I was like... uh ok...

I found that the crowd was sort of in a V shape and I walked to the middle of that V... and I found I was just behind one person.... she saw my CD and was like, Ok I'll sign that. I was like Awesome! in my head. She asked me if I wanted her to sign the plastic. I was like uh... no uh could you remove it? She wa slike, maybe you should remove it. (I'm such an idiot). So I did, she took pictures with someone else, then I handed her my CD. Then she took a picture with me!

Then she said, well that's it! I gotta go! I was the last person to get a picture/signing with her.

I hate to sound cliche, but it was as if every delay was meant to be, every slightest bit of timing. Strangest thing was I dreamed it the night before... about arriving just in time to get an autograph. I'm not saying I have a connection with her at ALL... just weird coincidences. So yeah, I was totally late for the meet and greet and managed to be the last one she signed and took a picture with!! On top of that, the first time I ever met her was at my first concert in Montreal, I was the first to get signed and picture taken. How awesome is that?

I DO wonder if she was signing for awhile? I can't say since I wasn't there from the start, but it looked like a lot of people got their stuff signed... I would almost guess everyone? At the other M&G I was at, that was never the case. CONCERT

The venue was amazing... it was a breath of fresh air ;) since we were outside. It was humid as heck.The Like was a pretty good band, reminded me of Bjork.too bad they didn't have the sampler available.

Toriwas beautiful... it was so much better without the band... I'm very happy and satisfied.

I really wish I could have taken photographs of the crowd. I thought there wasn't going to be that many people, turns out there was a ton. The seating arrangement was quite different with lawn seating. There was a LOT of room up front to the sides that weren't filled. I want to ask around to see if anyone has pictures of the crowd on the internet.

Tori Amos's dad talked to me! He shook my hand and asked me if I ever met him before.

He paused to talk to me andshared a moment, talking about the death of Tori's brother. I offered my condolensces.

The sound was amazing... very clear. Not like the other concerts I'd been to. (Montreal and Toronto, always in stadiums) No band is so goood! The outside venue was very refreshing. It was all polite... people weren't allowed to rush the stage during the encores. As well, in the stadium concerts I had been to, the base was always too loud. The sound here was very crisp and you could hear her voice perfectly. I was with my best friend (He was the guy reading a book :P). He commented that he had heard Tori do crucify better before (which had to be in Toronto of the Scarlet's walk tour). To me it was all a dream, so sorry if I can't comment on specific songs. Leather stood out for me.

I will say, I was extremely happy about the first row upgrade for fans (I wasn't apart of that, but I thought it was awesome for the fans). Better than having scalpers manage to snag them and sell them at ridiculously high prices! I think that's one of the reasons everyone was so good in the end ;) No one wanted Tori to change her mind about upgrading her loyal fans. I hope she continues to do that.


From Allyson:

It was another hot and sticky North Carolina day for this show. Fortunately, the torrential downpours blew through earlier in the afternoon so it was a little less hot and a lot more humid for the show. Of the five times I've seen Tori, this is the show I have been most excited for, probably because these were the best seats I've ever had. Seventh row and centered, slightly off to the right so I could see her face when she played the Bosey.

The Like opened and were pretty good, considering their apparent age and performing experience. They definitely have potential. The Ditty Bops were very talented and have a beautiful sound together, although they were more folky than I expected.

I think this is when Tori's mom and dad came out and were shaking peoples' hands and thanking everyone for coming. They are the cutest things EVER! Then Tori came out and for the first time I got to get a good glimpse of her up close--almost cried right then and there.

Her voice was amazing--I could feel her words and the emotion in them straight to the core as she sang them. It was a very emotional show, and I definitely could tell a few songs into it that she dedicated it to her brother. She hit all the notes, which wasn't a huge surprise! My favorites/highlights would be:

Playboy Mommy: so much more feeling in this one than I can ever recall. Just beautiful.

Dreams: I think she outdid Stevie Nicks on this one. This is one of my favorite songs, so I was happy to hear it even if she didn't play Thank You like I requested (lucky kids in West Palm Beach!)

Long and Winding Road: TOTALLY unexpected and beautiful. Definitely shed a tear by the end of this one. She done Paul McCartney proud.

Cars and Guitars: While I knew it was a tour staple, it is my favorite song on the Beekeeper so I was really happy when she started cha-cha-cha-cha-ing. Wasn't sure how it would sound without the backing instruments, but as usual Tori carried this one just fine on her own! Really from here on was just completely vicarious.

Northern Lad: Really wanted to hear this one tonight and man did I feel the sadness come through on this one. Was I pissed I forgot to bring tissues...

Crucify: Had a really interesting improv intro I think I've heard somewhere before about going to Bible school around here and how women are subservient and how people are now changing the meaning of the bible to suit their agendas. Timely, no doubt. I never tire of hearing this song live.

Beekeeper: She really channeled all of her feeling on this one. I wondered how her mother felt sitting in the audience while Tori sang with passion about knowing she is going to one day lose her.

Gold Dust: Don't recall seeing this on many previous set lists and she was playing it off sheet music which leads me to believe this was a rare gem on the tour. It sounded incredible, and by the end I could tell she was overcome with emotion. She didn't improv much from the recorded version, but regardless it sounded better and this one takes on new meaning now!

Tear in Your Hand: Love, love, love this song, I don't care how often she plays it. She actually started the first few bars of Toast but I think she wasn't going to be able to keep it together so she switched to Tear in Your Hand. The crowd loved it and she was able to get into it by the middle of the song. It seemed to almost cheer her up!

Toast: I am so glad she was able to gather herself to do this one. I had a sneaking suspicion given the fact that her brother lived in NC that she might play this one. She did it beautifully and I could tell she felt his presence while she played it. Bravo, Tori!

Baker, Baker: What a way to end a show. I had hoped for Hey Jupiter but I'd take this one any day. Under the Pink is one of my favorite albums and I was a little surprised that this was the only song she played from that one, but that is OK. It was a great ending to a very intense show.