You can now see the set list and reviews for the Concord, CA concert at the Chronicle Pavillion at Concord. Tori set list included Little Earthquakes, Taxi Ride, Flying Dutchman, Black Swan, Strange and the covers Live To Tell (Madonna) and Imagine (John Lennon) 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 Concord, CA (near San Francisco) on Sunday, September 11, 2005 at the Chronicle Pavillion at Concord. 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
Beauty Queen
Horses
Winter
Barons Of Suburbia
Little Earthquakes
Martha's Foolish Ginger
Taxi Ride

Live To Tell (Madonna cover)
Imagine (John Lennon cover)

Jamaica Inn
Cooling
Flying Dutchman
Spring Haze
The Beekeeper

1st Encore

Amber Waves
Tear In Your Hand

2nd Encore

Black Swan
Strange

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 had only one change from her written set list. She had planned to play Past The Mission, but chose Strange instead.

After Horses, Tori first spoke to the crowd and mentioned that this was one of the few places she could play this kind of set and not be thrown out of the state.

Tori did an interesting improv before Winter with words like, "Peaceful warriors...marching on... white horses...chasing out the dark horses..."

When the piano bar segment began many people started shouting out requests. She told the audience to get it out of their system because she already had her mind made up, and that she was going to do some requests. Before Imagine, she mentioned that this was a song that was blacklisted by many radio stations 4 years ago, and that she had to wonder about the motive for banning such a song after 9/11.

It is nice to hear rare b-sides like Flying Dutchman and Black Swan at the end of the tour on the west coast. Both songs are rare and exciting songs to hear live.

There were a couple of glitches with the sound tonight. Before Barons Of Suburbia, Tori started singing into her organ microphone and the sound had an almost robotic and eerie quality that was quickly fixed. The same thing happened before Taxi Ride with the microphone on the Rhodes.

Barons Of Suburbia was flaming tonight, and Tori was really crazed at the end. This has turned into such a great, powerful song during the shows this year.


From Nicolle Morehouse:

The show was incredible tonight! This was my fifth show and my first time seeing Tori perform without the band. She popped out in a beige shimmery dress with shells and beads at the neck and chest, stunningly beautiful as always. This was a really special show for me because at the end she played Black Swan, my favorite B-Side. Black Swan has been at the top of my song wishlist for years.

Set list:

Original Sinsuality

Beauty Queen/Horses

Winter - she opened this song by saying that she was glad to be with a group of people who could go with what she planned to do with the set list tonight and not get chucked out of the state. Then she reminded us that it's time for the youth to remember their power and pointed out at the audience and kindly told the sleepy heads to wake up. She then launched into an improv singing things like "his time has come..the time has come...chasing the dark within," etc and broke into a Winter that had a suprisingly political feel to it.

Little Earthquakes

Martha's Foolish Ginger

Taxi Ride (solo on the Rhodes, very pretty)

Tori's piano bar:

Live to Tell - she said she was open to requests and then crossed her legs and applied lip goss with a silly smirk on her face while the audience shouted out song titles. Then she said something like..."ok, I heard all of you, yep, every one...just had to let you get that out of your system, but I already know what I'm playing. Sometimes you can sway me...but not tonight!"

Imagine - she opened by saying she wanted to play a song that had been blacklisted four years ago today by some very "clever people" and that if someone was going to ban a song like this, you had to wonder what was going on in there. Her version of Imagine was heartfelt and poignant and we all cheered when she sang "You may say I'm a dreamer...but I'm not the only one."

Jamaica Inn

Cooling

Flying Dutchman

The Beekeeper - I noticed during this song that she "toned" a lot, and her voice took on this buzzing vibration that reminded me of a bee hive. Very ceremonial and powerful technique.

Spring Haze

First encore:

Amber Waves
Tear in Your Hand

Second encore:

Black Swan
Strange



From Lois:

Tonight's show was deliberate and full of intention. As we walked over to our seats, I noticed Jon Evans chatting with Mark Hawley in the sound booth. Tori graced the stage with her lovely presence soon after we took our seats. The improve before Winter was exquisite, very fitting considering current events in America on the anniversary of 9/11. She told a cute story before Martha's Foolish Ginger about how she started to write the song in 19........1995, but could not finish it . She pointed up toward the lawn and said I was over there, you know not there but in the bay on on a boat. And you know when you are on a boat and it feels like this as she began to play the lovely intro to the song. Piano bar selections again were right on, Live to Tell is one of my all time favorite Madonna songs. The intro to Imagine was thought provoking and as she played it I kept picturing the John Lennon memorial in Central Park. Last time I was in NYC I received news that my eldest brother died, I went to that place in Central Park to begin my grieving. I do hope to hear Toast in SB, SD or LA. Jamaica Inn was lovely. Cooling, well as always I cannot spoil the beauty and intensity of this with words. I agree with Matt, a delightful TREAT hearing Flying Dutchman and Black Swan. A reminder for us parents (my daughter is 19 y.o. and at a crossroads in college) to respect our child's gifts and differences. The encores were wonderful and I felt it appropriate that she decided to do Strange instead of PTM, which of course I love, but for the end of a perfectly executed set I agree the change was a good decision. I realize my review has twisted my personal life with that of the show, but really Tori invites us to use her music as a medium to work think about our life accomplishments and tragedies and all that fall between. Thank you E,M & A for the fine wine dining before the show, we truly enjoyed a well deserved Momma's night out.


From Yolanda Berry:

Well, I got so lucky this year and scored FOURTH ROW tickets off someone on craigslist for less than face value, so AMAZING. I went with my best friend, April, who I am so grateful to for introducing me to Tori. I've never seen a show without her and I hope I never will. We were front and center, Tori was directly in front of us, close enough to see her beautiful face.We've almost always had great seats, but these were the best seats so far and are going to be difficult to top!

Tori was absolutely wonderful this evening. She was resplendent ina silver/metallic gown with a maroon sash, and an incredible beaded necklace. As always adorable shoes; gorgeous silver heels. She started off with Original Sinsuality, of course, and then went into Beauty Queen/Horses. Both were great, I hadn't heard Beauty Queen/Horses in awhile, so that was very nice.

She talked to the audience before starting a lovely version of Winter. Tori was very chatty this evening, it was so great to see....and hear. Barons of Suburbia was energetic and powerful with Tori alternating between the organ and piano. Little Earthquakes was great to hear and she started Martha's Foolish Ginger by telling us how she started the song in 1995 (?, I think) and finished it here, with the boats of San Francisco giving her, her rhythm.

Taxi Ride actually got me misty, she sang it with such depth and grace, with the keyboard changing the tone so wonderfully. She then moved into Tori's Piano Bar with a little story about choosing these songs. Some obnoxiously shouted, "I LOVE YOU, TORI", to which she replied, "F--- OFF........just kidding". Love how she handles that every time. Almost nothing is better than hearing gorgeous Tori tell some idiot to f--- off. Love it!

She then sang Madonna's Live to Tell, which was nice, but not my fave cover. Before the next cover she told us she chose this one since it had been banned around 4 years ago and you had to wonder about anyone who would ban this song and what their motives were. That was cute. John Lennon's Imagine was amazing, the audience and us just loved it.

Cooling and Flying Dutchman were great. My first time hearing Flying Dutchman live. I was so pleased when she launched into Spring Haze, my second or third time hearing it live. I love its bouncy tone and the lyrics are so pervasive. "Uh oh, way to go, so I get creamed. Waiting for Sunday to drown." Beekeeper was nice, its a beautiful song, but I prefer the album version. The organs are not my favorite. She did make reference to Michael.

The lights went down and we jumped over the last three rows of chairs to get up front for her encores. Amber Waves was great, she actually performed this as an Encore the last time she was at the pavilion. I was presently surprised to hear Tear in your Hand and loved it. Black Swan was so rare and it was one of the first times I had every heard it. Strange was haunting and beautiful, and lovely way to end the show.

To sum up, Tori was amazing. A diverse and moving set list. I wish I could see her perform every day, I am so envious of those who do. I smuggled in a disposable camera and hopefully took some awesome shots. I left the show with my Post Tori glow, a wide smile and a full and happy soul. Thank you, Tori!


From Liz:

I was at the show last night on Concord. It was my third time seeing Tori and my girlfriends first time. Tori was amazing as usual, so beautiful and her voice was perfect. Before the show I had given the venue a card to give to her asking her to play "Little Earthquakes" as that song pretty much saved me life many years ago. Needless to say she ended up playing it. I don't know if she got my card or not, or if it was just by the luck of the stars but she played it! But for that time it felt like she was singing to me and I started to cry. Her show was perfect as usual and I loved the cover of Live To Tell. It sent chills down my spine. At the end of the show I asked my girlfriend what she thought of her first Tori show, she smiled and said it was the best show she had ever been to, and the fact she sang Little Earthquakes made the night perfect.


From Carl:

I have never participated before and I have been following the DENT since mid 1997. I have been a fan of Tori since day one; Little Earthquakes was just 9 days old when I discovered her. I am a year older than Tori and come from the same music generation. I am also a musician; I work professionally as a session artist.

I point these things out to qualify the comments I am going to make.

I was at last night's show in Concord. The show was spectacular! I have seen every single Bay Area show, including 3 special Radio station gigs and a secret performance, since 1992! Tori was in rare form last night. The set was very poetic. The set had special purpose and it seemed to me that many missed this point. The anniversary of September 11 coupled with the horrible disaster of hurricane Katrina and the violence committed-and the failures of our nation's response, so fresh on our minds- All were forefront on Tori's mind and in her Heart. Tori's performance reflected this. On the way out after the show, I heard so many people talking about what Tori did NOT play and how the tone of the show was lethargic- lots of whining. I was thinking that people really missed the soft white underbelly of this very special performance. Tori meant this show to be what it was. And I feel it was one of the most masterful arrangements of material by a professional musician, that I have ever been witness to. Tori laid down a series of songs as though she were sewing a tapestry of remembrance, coloring each piece with an intentional melancholy beyond being simply poetic. "Winter" brought me to tears. Her cover-song choices were nothing less than masterful! And the encore change up at the end - "Strange"- with the Suitcase Rhodes lines she played slowed and more weighted, as though her heart were heavy; Phenomenal!

Tori is in a class of musicians second to none. Her poetry is in league with John Lennon, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Roger Waters, her instrumental virtuosity stands next to giants like Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and Pat Methany, and her ability to deliver a performance right down the listeners throat, is equal or greater to the likes of U2 or Bruce Springsteen!

Tori's show at Concord last night epitomized all of this. For those of us who were there, we were privileged to witness a masterpiece; a true master -class in performance!


From Fourseraphs:

Well, yesterday was...fantastic...

This is gonna be long. You've been warned.

Ok, Terry and I got to the venue around 2 P.M. so we could attend the meet-n-greet; Terry wanted to have her "Beekeeper" cover signed, and I wanted my magazine article from "The Advocate" signed. For the next two hours, we just chilled out, and we actually got to meet some cool fans. At around 4 P.M., Tori came out, and fans rushed to the barricades to see her (trying to keep each other in an orderly, single file fashion never works). Terry and I were near the front, but there was still one or two layers of fans in front of us. So Terry, like an awesome madwoman, throws her arm out, CD in hand, and gets an autograph! And while Tori was signing that, Terry whispers back to me, "Emmanuel, gimme your magazine!" And I handed it to her, and seamlessly, Terry traded her CD back for my magazine, and Tori signed it.

I have Tori Amos's autograph!!!

You're awsome, Tori, and you're awesome, Terry!

Whew...

...anyway, after that, we chilled out some more until the venue doors actually opened up about two hours later. We settled in and watched the two opening acts. First up was The Like, an all-girl rock trio from L.A. I think they're still a little wet behind the ears, but they've got a lot of potential to go badass (the drummer, with her hair in front of her face, looks like Cousin It from the Addams Family with good rhythm).

Next were the Ditty Bops, whom I absolutely LOVED. They were fantastic songwriters, great musicians, and excellent showwomen (one of them grabbed the Chronicle Pavillion's "Little-Man" mascot and improvised a jig with him onstage). I'd describe their sound as a cross between the Everly Brothers and the Triplets of Belleville, so they sound very light-hearted and lilty, but they've also got a tiny bit o' booty to their sound.

Then, SHE came out. I've never seen Tori solo before, and her show was nothing short of amazing. When she's solo, she's got more freedom to change up the songs, and all the sound coming from the stage is all her: melody, rhythm, voice, all of it. And Igotta say that I absolutely love what she does with the organ, because everything takes on a darker, churchy feel.

Highlights for me were "Barons of Suburbia," where she practically killed the organ; "Martha's Foolish Ginger," which I was sure she'd play since she wrote the song in the Bay Area; "Taxi Ride," a song that has been constantly changing meaning since it was written; "Live to Tell," which she made sound darker than Madonna; "Cooling," a song that always made me misty; "Flying Dutchman," a song that I didn't include on my wish list because I never thought she'd play it in a million years; and "Spring Haze," where she really showed off her skills by playing the organ and piano at the same time, and adding new sound to an old song by incorporating the organ into it.

After reading about Tori's process in creating her set lists, I was trying to find threads and connections through the songs, to current events and to each other, and I've found a few:

*First, of course, it's Sept. 11. You had songs with references to airplanes, flying, and war("Flying Dutchman," the "Imagine" cover, and "Spring Haze). Then, there's possibly veiled subtext to George W. Bush. The line in Madonna's "Live to Tell" that goes "A man can tell a thousand lies/I've learned my lesson well" really stood out for me. Coincidence?

*The middle part of the set list felt like it had to do with deception and betrayal ("Little Earthquakes," "Taxi Ride," "Live to Tell," and "Jamaica Inn"), which can kinda be linked to Bush.

*"Taxi Ride" and "Live to Tell" back-to-back felt really gay. Maybe she remembered the magazine article I had her sign? Or maybe it was all the gay guys at the concert. Hmmm... And now, some general observations:

*Tori's got an itty-bitty-bit of the diva in her. Some people haven't figured out by now that she does NOT like to have her stories interrupted. In the middle of her telling the story to how she wrote "Martha's Foolish Ginger," a fan shouted out, "I love you, Tori!" Her response? "Fuck off." A bit punk, a bit diva, and 100% fun - the audience ate it up, and Tori laughed.

*She played "Cooling," which I've always loved. I wanted to hear it. I got misty. That was enough. Then, she did "Flying Dutchman," a very rare song. I've always hoped I would hear "Flying Dutchman" live, and I never thought she'd play it. Seriously. And that's a song that's always touched my heart. I was getting misty, and I just wanted to curl myself into Tori's lap when she played that.

*Saw Tori's husband at the soundboard. My rating? She gets to go to bed with Mark every night. EVERY night! Yowzer...

This has got to be the best Tori concert I've seen. Thank you, Tori, and I look forward to your next Bay Area show, which hopefully won't be too long from now...


From Tyler Angelo:

This was perhaps the best day of my entire life! My boyfriend and I had made the 2 hr. drive from north of Sacramento to Concord for the show. We had arrived around 3 p.m. and made our way to the Pavilion. This was my third concert and the second at the Chronicle Pavilion.

To my surprise, when we got to the Pavilion entrance, the parking person asked if we were here for the concert and the meet & greet. It never occured to me that we would actually be taking part in that part of the show. So, I said, "yeah!" Already, I was tingling all over! Would I actually get to meet Tori Amos? Turns out the answer would be a giant "YES!!!" After waiting an hour in line with some nice people (this was my first and will be perhaps my only meet & greet), the word was sent out that the meeting/greeting was happening. Despite the awesome numbering system attempt, it was a pretty semi-mad dash to make it to the barricades. I was too excited for words when I saw Tori come out from behind the fence. I guess the word would be hypnotized, really. I tried to have my Beekeeper CD sent to the front for signing but that didn't happen. I was getting a little scared that I wouldn't get to see her up close until I saw she was making her way from the front to the side of the barricade. And then it was my turn! I was awed, scared, and buzzing all over as I introduced myself, she signed my CD cover and the signing photo I'd bought earlier (Thanks to the awesome picture lady! You are a doll and thanks for the photos!). My man took our photo together and we were on our way so others could get their chance. I had to stop afterward and cry a little bit, I was shaking so much. I thought I could now die happy because I'd hoped so much to meet Tori in my lifetime. I'm a little teary just recounting the experience.

We left to get the photos developed and came back for the show. The entry was delayed due to sound check but before long we were in. The Like came on at around 7:30 p.m. and did an awesome 6-song set. I enjoyed their sound a lot. Then it was the Ditty Bops with a 6 or 7-song set. I was intrigued and really liked the singers. Both acts definitely have talent. Even my boyfriend was impressed and he doesn't really like bands he doesn't know. Then, it was time for Tori to take the stage.

There were some good improvs and Tori appeared to play with fierce intention, ranging from moments of quietude ("Cooling") to fiery intensity ("Barons of Suburbia"). She was also really talkative. The "peaceful warrior" segue into Winter was one of the most beautiful moments of the night as well as the Rhodes-infused "Taxi Ride" which made me tear up a little. Okay, a lot. There was the 1995 to the present storyline of "Martha's Foolish Ginger" which helped me to appreciate it more than before. And the Piano Bar covers were just grand. Madonna's "Live to Tell" was excellent" and John Lennon's "Imagine" was, in my boyfriend and I's opinions, equal in beauty and message as the original. There was mention that "Imagine" was blacklisted and that those who rejected it had ulterior motives to be questioned, especially after the attacks in 2001 when it occurred subsequently. I had also never heard "Flying Dutchman" until this show and I was very impressed. I've got to go find this song now. In the end, I was blown away and transported into varying states of Bliss and Happiness.

There were several cohesive themes throughout the songs to coincide with the current events (the anniversary and Katrina), Tori seemed very intent with this. I couldn't have thought of a better way to commemorate the day than this show. I'm glad Tori came to perform and I'm so very glad we have someone like her here on Earth, to provide forms of therapy for some of us still Lost Americans, and to be, to some, the Alchemist, to make preciousness out of the chaos.