You can now see the set list and reviews for the Austin, TX concert at The Backyard. Tori set list included Frog On My Toe, Siren, Your Cloud, Garlands, Pretty Good Year and the covers When The Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin) and Mad World (Tears For Fears) 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 Austin, TX on Friday, September 2, 2005 at The Backyard. Tori's supporting acts were The Ditty Bops and The Like and the show began at 7:30PM.

Set List

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

Original Sinsuality
Little Earthquakes
Parasol
Siren
Marianne
Jamaica Inn
Bells For Her

When The Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin cover)
Mad World (Tears For Fears cover)

Cars And Guitars
Jackie's Strength
Frog On My Toe
Silent All These Years
The Beekeeper

1st Encore

Garlands
Pretty Good Year

2nd Encore

Space Dog
Your Cloud

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 Matt Page:

Tori has been known to perform some amazing shows in Austin, Texas, and that trend was continued tonight! After the first two songs, Tori said hello and mentioned that she was once again in Texas, which is currently a haven (referring of course to the hurricane refugees from New Orleans). Before her piano bar segment, Tori mentioned that she wanted to perform some songs that would raise the roof due to the fact that there was so much sadness in the country right now. She then did one of her best covers ever with Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks", which was an appropriate choice considering the events of the past week in New Orleans. She also told a story about how she always had a crush on Robert Plant, and that he was so sexy, and whether you are hetersexual or "like hair pie", you have to admit he was sexy! She then said something like you need to be hospitalized if you do not agree. She also mentioned that at one point Robert Plant asked her to marry him, and also said something about having once been a slut before she was a wife and mother. (I do not have the exact quote.) Tori always does an amazing job when she performs Led Zeppelin covers. Tori also did a great job with Mad World, the other piano bar cover. It was written by Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears and appeared on their album "The Hurting" in 1983. It was later covered by Gary Jules on the "Donnie Darko" soundtrack in 2001.

Tori's version of Pretty Good Year was a real standout tonight. She held out the high notes in a really interesting way. Usually, her voice sounds pretty when she hits the high notes on this song, but tonight her voice had a little tension in it during that part which was really interesting.


From Shane Yount:

The concert in Austin was absolutely magical. The show started at 7:30, with The Like putting on a great show. I really enjoyed them. It was kind of funny to watch three girls who looked like they're only 15 or so rocking it up on stage. Good for them. Then a little bit after 8:00, The Ditty Bops came on. They were very different. I didn't get into their music all that much, but they were very charming and fun. Tori came out a few minutes before 9:00. She was wearing a yellow and green dress and looked beautiful. She appeared to be in a good mood tonight. As for the show, it was unbelievably amazing. Not only a highlight of the Summer of Sin Tour, but a highlight of all of Tori's tours. The setlist was incredible and there were so many standout tracks of the show. Bells For Her wasgorgeous. It sounded very haunting. Siren was amazing, with Tori repeating the chorus more often than usual. Mad World was a special treat because it is one of the covers I requested. She did a beautiful job on it. The song is very depressing, and it made me feel funny inside when she played it. She put big emphasis on the "I went to school and I was very nervous, look right through me, look right through me" part. Beautiful. Cars and Guitars was another highlight because it is my favorite song. The echoes on the "chachacha's" were very cool. Space Dog was awesome. She sang the background vocals at the start of the song. It was refreshing to hear her mix the organ with the piano on this track. What a great song. Tori's voice sounded particularly gorgeous tonight. Not only did she hit all the high notes, but she held some extremely impressive notes as well, a few that even garnered applause from the crowd. After the first two songs, Tori said that she loves coming to Austin because during the hard times it is one of the warmest cities in the world. During the Piano Bar section of the show, people in the crowd started to shout requests, and Tori said something like, "You know what is so sad? You guys are trying so hard!"and the crowd cheered. As for crowd behavior, the show was packed and they seved alcohol at the venue, so I was worried. I figured there would be quite a bit of chatter. In the row in front of me, a little to my right, two women were constantly laughing and talking loudly. I think they were drunk. But then the young lady behind them told them they were a distraction and they left shortly thereafter.For the most part, everyone was very polite and focued on Tori. It felt like we were all a big family there to enjoy Tori. It was incredible.


From Lisa071573:

Just wanted to send you a short review on the Austin show. It was really an amazing performance. There was a gorgeous improv before Parasol that went "I am not your enemy, I am just the sea." Another part of the improv was "like Bobby said, the times, they are a changing.". During part of Parasol she repated the lines of the improv "I am not your enemy..." a few times. The Led Zeppelin cover was utterly mind-blowing. She was so powerful and at one point was using a sort of croaky voice to emphasize "crying won't help, praying won't do no good." It was definitely one of the best things I've ever seen Tori do. Garlands was lovely and Frog on My Toe was a pleasant surprise... She was rather playful during it and I sat there thinking how that song really does such a wonderful job of translating to the audience who her grandfather was as a person and what he meant to her. All in all it was a terrific show and I'm really excited for Houston.


From Erin Samiloglu:

This is my second Tori concert. I was a little disappointed by my first experience, but this concert made up for it. The venue, for one, was fabulous. It was outside surrounded by Austin wilderness, and the weather was beautiful. It was pure magic. I think the tree and snake backdrop is a little cheesy and uneeded, but the lights and sound were awesome. The set list, with few exceptions, was amazing. The Tears for Fears cover gave me goose bumps. Tori was talkative and playful. Bells for Her, Marianne, and Little Earthquakes stood out. And Siren--it took me a second to recognize it without all the dubbing around it, but wow, what a great job she did with that one. Tori, and the beautiful city of Austin, and a fabulous crowd, and two salty margaritas, gave me the best night I have had in a long, long time.


From Jessica:

I just wanted to add a couple of comments about the Austin show.

First was the book signing. It was to start at 12:00 and I arrived about 10:30. There was already a line around the building. BookPeople had been saying during their advertising that the first 120 people were to get a book signed. So I was 158. I obviously didn't get signed, but it was neat seeing all of the others get something signed. She was to sign for two hours, but stopped at 1:45pm, with people still waiting in line. She only got through the first 100 people. She spent a lot of time with each person, which I cannot be upset about, because I would have wanted her to spend that time with me. I felt bad for the people in line that were expecting to see her, but Tori had a radio thing to do at 3:00. I left toward the back of the building and caught a couple of pictures of Tori leaving. A girl asked Smitty if there was going to be a meet-and-greet at the venue, to which he gave a thumbs up, which was later canceled due to Tori being tired. She had a busy day.

The venue was beautiful, aside from the fact that I was wearing some very expensive cute shoes and the parking lot was under construction. The Like and The Ditty Bops were a cute intro to Tori. Right before Tori came on, the guy next to me came back to say that she had requested that the concessions were to be closed. So, again with people in line, they had to quit selling beer, alcohol, food, etc. And, on a personal point, I can understand both sides. I have read plenty of reviews and experienced it myself where people get up and down in shows, so I understand that, but to think of the money that venue lost...I don't know.

And so Tori came on. And she was beautiful and in a great mood. She played a great set and was powerful throughout. I was so excited to hear Siren and Frog on My Toe, the latter mainly because my husband likes that song. (he calls it Jethro) An interesting tidbit....at the beginning of Bells for Her, which was played, I believe, on the Rhodes (please someone correct me if I'm wrong) there was some sound problems. It sounded fuzzy, to the point where I thought she would have stopped playing. But someone in the crew heard it to and it stopped a couple of minutes into it. During Cars and Guitars, she was drooling. Lots of it. Marianne and Jackie's Strength were wonderful. I was so happy to hear them. She had improved a lot on the Beekeeper since the last Dallas show, holding notes longer and more forcefully.

Before one of the songs, I forget which, I think the light tech turned on the lights before Tori was ready because she was standing and putting on more gloss while playing, and wow, did she make a scene of it. She applied sensually, looked to the heavens as she pressed her lips together and smiled as she looked back at us.

As far as the crowd goes, everyone around me was great. There was some cheering in during some songs, a little singing along, but all and all great.

These were the best seats I've had at a Tori show, and it was fun to see all of her facial expressions. All in all, I had a great time and was thankful I was able to spend it with my husband.


From dink:

I haven't seen this posted anywhere else, so I thought I would share. Here is the setlist during the soundcheck for the Austin, Texas show:

Your Cloud
Frog on My Toe (twice)
Space Dog
Parasol
Bells For Her
Playboy Mommy


From Brian Tanaka:

Though this evening had many amazing moments and was just a wonderful show, the undisputed epicenter and the most welcome surprise of the night was Tori's devastating rendition of Led Zeppelin's When The Levee Breaks. With fierce passion she unleashed this sorrowful juggernaut, and it was breathtaking right from the despairing opening lines: "If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break / If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break / When the levee breaks I'll have no place to stay." To the end, it evoked images from the last few days' news coverage of Hurricane Katrina's damage, providing, at least for me, a little help emotionally processing an event on such a mammoth scale.

Another highlight for me was when, in the brilliant nexus of fear, grief, hope, and acceptance that is The Beekeeper (the song), Tori brought each of us alone and together as a whole, gently to the presence of death and loss, both on an individual level (as with preparing for the loss of a parent) and on a societal level (as with Katrina). Tonight, when she growled the extended "south", it seemed to me to evoke both the usual death metaphor *and* a specific reference to the flooded and battered region in nearby Louisiana and environs. So much death so near, in conjunction with the omnipresent need to prepare each in our individual way for the death of those close to us, made this rendition of the Beekeeper both timely and universal.

Overall, this was a spectacular show. I've never had the privilege of seeing any of the Texas shows before, and I'm elated that tonight lived up to the reputation they have for being amazing. The Tori magic was in full effect and the crowd was in heaven. The whole show was great, but I was especially stoked about Little Earthquakes, Siren, When the Levee Breaks, Frog On My Toe (!), and Pretty Good Year.

In a way, this is a strange time to be touring with Tori given the pain and misery rising out of Katrina's wake. But in another way, it makes perfect sense to see Tori at this time, and here in Texas, nearby neighbor and receiver of refugees from the disaster, just as it made sense to see Tori on the heels of the 9/11/01: her work isn't an escape from unpleasantness but a journey through many layers of life and death, joy and loss. These days, like the days after 9/11, we're awakened (maybe more than we'd like) to the imperatives of both sides.