Tori's show include Strange Little Girl, Liquid Diamonds, Carbon (solo), Vincent (Starry Starry Night) (solo), Twinkle (solo), Another Girl's Paradise, Professional Widow, Happy Phantom, and Amber Waves. If you were at the second San Jose, CA show, please email me with your reviews and/or set list or post your review or comments in the Dent's Concert Reviews forum. (You can post under any name without registering, so it is quick!)

More Details

Tori performed in San Jose, CA on Saturday, April 12, 2003 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The opening act was Rhett Miller. This was the second of two nights in a row in San Jose.

Set List

Many thanks to Matt Page and John who phoned me with the set list after the show.

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Strange Little Girl
Bells For Her
Cornflake Girl
Liquid Diamonds
Crucify
Take To The Sky
Wednesday

Band Leaves

Carbon
Vincent (Starry Starry Night) - Don Maclean cover
Twinkle

Band returns

Mrs. Jesus
Another Girl's Paradise
Professional Widow
Happy Phantom
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Iieee

1st Encore

Taxi Ride
Bliss

2nd Encore

In The Springtime Of His Voodoo
Amber Waves

Reviews

The latest reviews are at the bottom of this page. For more reviews, please check out the Dent's Tour Reviews Forum. Please post your own review if you were at this show!


From Matt Page and John:

Tonight's show was very good, and better than the first San Jose show. Tori told the crowd that Tash loves the city and wants to live in San Jose forever. The solo songs during the Roadside Cafe were very beautiful and Tori appeared visibly emotional during both Vincent and Twinkle.


From Ursula Kirkland:

Tonight's show was just as good as the April 11 show. Tori rocked both nights and her voice went to extremes during both shows.

During the improv as the Roadside Cafe light came down, Tori sang how she and Tash were in Chinatown and around the corner there was candy. Tash wanted Tori not to have to go play the show tonight but to "play another way." Tori said they had been all around the bay and that Tash wanted to live in the area. Professional Widow, Liquid Diamonds, and Another Girl's Paradise were treats. Vincent/Starry Starry Night gave a new perspective on listening, and fitting for the bay area. There seemed to be a death theme to this show. Many of the songs had death and suicide references. Tori was wearing black. However, I like how she ended with the Northern Lights and reminded us that they are waving.


From talula's revenge:

...wampum
fairytale
bells for her
cornflake
liquid diamonds
crucify
take to the sky(i feel the earth move under my feet)
wednesday
carbon(intro w/lyrics "tell them you can't play today"..)
vincent/starry
twinkle
mrs. jesus
another girl's paradise
professional widow
happy phantom
hotel(wow!!)
i can't see ny
iieee
taxi
bliss(incredible)
voodoo
amber waves(people w/binocs said she was crying)

this is directly from the setlist i got from mr. hawley directly after the show. it doesn't appear she deviated from the setlist. awesome show, she did songs i didn't expect, hit all the notes in hotel!!!




From Ashleigh Jackson:

Seen Tori again tonight, the show wasn't as emotional as last nights nevertheless it was amazing.... wow! I was in the 10th row but just like last night I found myself in the front row. Funny thing happened after the concert, while waiting out side, just as Tori got into her Tour bus it broke down.... well, lets just say it wouldn't start, and they tried more then once... "puutt..putt.. ppuuut..." it was so funny, TORI'S GHETTO TOUR BUS! LOL! As the tour bus was "broken down" I got a security guy to walk with me up the ramp towards the bus, I thought perhaps I could see her through the darkness... thank god the window was open and she was on the other side of it - I said, "I love you Tori" into the window (But not all crazy.) So, AnYwAy, the show was great, I wish I could go to Sac tomorrow.


From Andy Coffaro:

Hey Mike, so I saw tori for the 6th time last night. Just wonderful, as always. As I was leaving I got a set list from the people working the soundboard.

Andy sent me a scan of the official written set list, and it did not vary at all from what Tori actually played. If anyone wants to see a scan of this set list, they can do so here.


From BiG:

Dressed in flowing black, and strappy heels, Tori was very lively tonight.
During Take to the Sky, she sang the line "I dyed my hair red today," and grinned and nodded vigorously, affirming that point. Unlike the version I'd seen earlier on this tour, this performance included Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move," woven into the song, which had been done previously on this tour.

Among my personal favorites from tonight's show was an incredible opening to Carbon (solo), which included a touching tale about the pitter-patter of Tash's feet behind her, asking Mommy to "Tell them you can't work today...you can play, another way." I am sure there will be a buzz about this, once copies circulate (hint, hint.) Starry, Starry night was also performed during the Roadside Cafe, drawing gasps from the audience.

The extended (which I like to call "groovy") version of Crucify was performed once again on this stop, and I can't get enough of it. Among the surprises was "Happy Phantom" (which I do not believe has been performed at all on this tour, and a favorite of my friend Whitney, who was convinced she'd never get to hear it live). A nice touch was also a heavy dose of Scarlet songs that I had not yet heard live, including Another Girl's Paradise and Mrs. Jesus.

It was truly a special EVENT, rather than just a show. The Tash intro to Carbon will become legendary, especially given that solo performances of Carbon already create quite a buzz. She prefaced it by saying that Tash loves the city of San Jose (my hometown!), which goes along with articles about Tash singing the song "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?"

Tonight, Tori certainly knew the way to San Jose, and into the hearts of its residents.


From Meredith Moseley:

Where do I begin?

I?ll start out with a disclaimer: This will be more of a summary than a review, because--really--how critical can we EWFs be about Tori?

The Center For Performing Arts is the kind of venue where Tori SHOULD be playing regularly--not in arenas where the sound falls flat in some areas and rings in others. Finally, after so many shows with spotty acoustics and bad sightlines, I got to see her again in a real theatre. I was sitting in the balcony like last night, which, in a 2,600-seat theatre, is not a bad place to be. Armed with my trusty binoculars, I settled in for another great concert.

Rhett Miller was a little less spastic than the night before, which isn?t saying much! His isn?t really my kind of music, but I admire the guy for his enthusiasm.

I went alone, and I ended up sitting next to Ray and Fay. Ray struck up a nice conversation after Rhett?s set, and we discovered that the two of us have both seen several concerts. We chatted for a while and I was delighted to know that I was sitting next to a good guy--you know, the kind of guy who just gives you good vibes as soon as he starts talking to you. That was Ray.

WAMPUM PRAYER kicked off yet another fantastic night.

Tori came on right at 8:30 wearing a black outfit that made her look something like a stylish witch (I mean that in the best way). Like the previous night, she sported another pair of crazy high stilettos, this time black with thin laces that wrapped around her ankles. She was wearing fishnets.

The sharp, high, distinctive first chords of A SORTA FAIRYTALE rang out, and already it seemed to me that Tori was in a livelier mood than the night before. Who doesn?t love this song? It?s a great opener.

Then--oh yay! She turned to the keyboards, adjusted her mic to standing height, and began playing STRANGE LITTLE GIRL. The audience went crazy! She did the whole song standing up, and it was full of energy. Matt was beating the drums like Animal, and I felt like I was at a rock and roll concert. It was awesome.

(Since I?ve mentioned him, let me just say that Matt Chamberlain is the MAN. When he plays the hell out of the drums it enthralls me... Consequently, I was enthralled for most of the show.)

BELLS FOR HER was next, with Jon on the upright bass. I?ve heard this done live on the prepared piano, harpsichord, and now with the band--this song is like a chameleon. Although I think I prefer the prepared piano, this version has a chilling effect that grabs you and doesn?t let you go until it?s over.

Then Tori talked to us (I will try to transcribe her quote from my hasty notes, and memory): ?Hi everybody, how?s it going? So um... God, what do you say? This is one of our favorite places. Been running around the Bay today. Yeah, Tash wants to live here forever, so, just know: you?re loved; come with us...? Everybody cheered, then Tori introduced Jon and Matt. As they began the rhythm section of the next song, I saw Tori take what looked like gum out of her mouth and stick it on a piece of paper (setlist?) on her synthesizer, then put another piece in her mouth.

She began the unmistakable piano intro to CORNFLAKE GIRL, which made the crowd estatic. This was so great! She was definitely having fun, and I saw Matt smiling as he rocked out on the drum part in the instrumental break before the ?prrr.? So much energy. This is always one of my favorites, and tonight was a perfect example why.

She followed CG up with LIQUID DIAMONDS. I have to admit, this is not one of my favorites of all time, but I always like hearing the twists she puts on her songs when she does them live. One thing I missed--remember the mirror balls she used to have for ?Pandora?s Aquarium?? I thought mirror balls would have been good for this song...

I wasn?t sure at first what song was coming next because she turned to the stage right mic and sang (without playing a keyboard): ?He calls to me sometimes, Heeee----, Heeee---- calls to me sometimes, Heeee----...? which went directly into ?Every finger in the room...? CRUCIFY! Jon and Matt had bright white lights on them, and Tori did the verses on the stage right mic, turning to the piano on the refrain. I liked this version! I don?t remember her doing it this way at any shows I?ve been to before. At the end I noticed she alternated the lyrics ?crucify my land? and ?crucify myself.?

And then--another all-time crowd pleaser--TAKE TO THE SKY. She slapped the piano and got most of the crowd to clap along (thank you San Jose for having rhythm), and we all had a grand ol? time. Tori was smiling a LOT and looked to be having lots of fun. Near the end she started singing, ?I feel the earth move under my feet, I see the sky tumbling down...? It was very funny, but somehow fit perfectly with the song. At the end she smiled really big--I loved it!

The stage went dim, but with my binoculars I could see Tori give Matt the thumbs-up to begin the next song, which was WEDNESDAY. I love watching Matt play during this--it?s just so bouncy. The slow parts were really slow, and at the end she crossed her arms over her chest on the word ?America.?

The lights went out, Jon and Matt left the stage, and the Roadside CafÈ sign came down. Tori started playing a captivating improv with these lyrics:

...(?)... these streets
Pitter patter feet behind me
Chinatown just around the corner
?Mommy look at all that candy
Today don?t go to work
Tell ?em you can?t play today
Tell them you must play another way.?

The lyrics were really cute, but the piano part was kind of eerie, and it gave the whole thing a sad tone.

CARBON was her first solo song of the night. I LOVE this song, and I love it live. She always sings the words very clearly. Something about the way she did it tonight made the song sound and look very personal. This will be one of the solo songs that I always look forward to.

Tori?s cover of the Don McLean song VINCENT was next. Man... she seemed really emotional during it. It was like she was feeling the pain of empathy. She put her right hand out, palm-out, to the audience on the line ?This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you? (I think it was that line), as if to say, ?Listen--this is heartbreaking.? And her performance was indeed heartbreaking. (Incidentally, I saw Don McLean perform this a couple of years ago, and it?s just a fantastic song.) Also, I like how the lights were stationary during this song with rich blue and yellow patterns decorating the stage and walls.

Next she played TWINKLE. Tori had simple blue and white lights on her. The audience stayed very quiet throughout the whole song--no screams or clapping or anything (it reminded me of the olden days...). It was a very touching performance. She put her hands over her heart on the last word of the song.

The band returned and they played MRS. JESUS. It was lovely.

The Roadside CafÈ sign disappeared into the heavens as the group started ANOTHER GIRL?S PARADISE. When this is done live the line ?Who can love you and still be standing? doesn?t get sung, and that?s one of my favorite lines of the song, so I miss it. But otherwise this is good live.

PROFESSIONAL WIDOW kicked so much ass that I don?t even think I can do it any kind of justice writing about it. WOW! It was on piano, and the thick chords were heavy and soulful. When Tori got to the ?Mother Mary? section, I couldn?t help but watch Matt--he was going crazy on the drums! Tori sang the last line in a very strong chest voice, so it came across as ?GIVE ME PEACE, LOVE, AND A HARD COCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? The audience loved it, and Tori was totally into it. This was great to hear (and see!).

An old favorite--HAPPY PHANTOM. Like most (all?) songs from the Little Earthquakes album, this one shows off a great piano part. And who can resist its mischievous yet cheerful sound? Certainly not me. And even if I could resist that, I wouldn?t be able to resist the way Matt smiles when he plays this.

I don?t know if many people share my opinion, but HOTEL is one of my favorite songs from FTCH, and I was thrilled to hear it tonight. It twists and turns and moves and excites... it always sounds so urgent. Tori played it on keyboards, and there was no instrumental section after ?still alive?; it came to a head and ended there.

I CAN?T SEE NEW YORK--epic. Just great.

Matt and Jon started grooving, and Tori pressed the magic key on her synth that sets IIEEE in motion. Before she started playing the orchestral intro on the synth, she grabbed a piece of paper that was on the keys and threw it to the ground, then started playing just in time. Once again I have to mention Matt because he let loose during the ?just say yes? section, and it was awesome.

That was the end of the full set. The first encore began with Jon and Matt coming out and starting to play. Tori came out and did a dance aimed at Matt in front of the drums, and then one aimed at Jon over on his side of the stage. Then she returned to her spot and started playing TAXI RIDE on the keyboards, standing. What a great song. Love it. And Tori, Jon, Matt, the audience... EVERYBODY enjoys this.

And then BLISS! Bliss bliss bliss bliss bliss! Yay! It was great! I don?t know what else to say, except that the audience sounded pleased to hear it. It was a good way to close the first encore set.

For the second encore, Tori joined Jon and Matt onstage and started IN THE SPRINGTIME OF HIS VOODOO. It had so much energy!

AMBER WAVES was the last song of the night. Part of me wishes that one of the more crowd-pleasing songs had been last instead of this one, but it worked.

We were sad to see her go, but the night was over. Overall, this was one of the most energetic shows I?ve seen Tori do; she pulled out a lot of the ?rock? songs and upbeat songs from her repertoire. Usually I prefer the more meditative or intense songs, but on this particular night I was invigorated by the set she played. She was enjoying herself and it won me over (not that I needed much to win me over to Tori). The only disappointment was that she didn?t play ?Rattlesnakes.? I thought she might because of the ?San Jose? lyric, and I love the song, so I figured if she were going to play it at all on the tour it would be at one of the San Jose shows. Unfortunately, it wasn?t to be. But who am I to complain?

Thanks to all who were there--I liked the crowd at this show, and, as we all know, the crowd makes a big difference in the experience of a Tori concert.

Awesome show!

See you next time,
Meredith Moseley



From Tom Santos:

The show was very very spectaculous. I was fantasmagorical. On my opinion, it was definitely better than the first show. and definitely the best crucify i have ever heard. She was singing never goin back again to crucify my LAND, and its pretty long too. Probably like 10 mins.

She also said that the Bay area is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and Tash wants to live here. and during the Roadside cafe she did an improv. It goes like chinatowns just around the corner...mommy theres so many candy...tell them youre not going to work tonight...tell them youre goin to play with me, something like that. It was very emotional. Thats probably the reason why theres no meet and greet today. Tori and Tash went around San Francisco and then Tash insisted to stay longer. and how can Tori say no.

Tori seems so happy tonight and very very energetic during the whole show.


From Mireya Ingham:

so i went to the show last night. it was great. tori came out, after wampum as usual and looking gorgeous. she was wearing a black flowing top with feathers on it, along with jeans rolled up, fishnets, and shoes that were too cute for words! - black stilletos that tied up with a big sparkly diamond decoration on them, and a braided ribbon in her hair.

after fairytale came strange little girl, which she did entirely standing up, and which she completely rocked out to, causing the audience to really come alive. after that it was the appearance of bells for her, and a little hello from her. she said that it's her favorite place in the world and that tash loves it here, and wants to live here. she also said we're all loved and to come along, and then introduced the band. then they went into cornflake girl, and she was smiling the whole time. it is interesting to see that communication between matt and tori, it's so playful. liquid came next, which was pretty.

then it was an improv that went, he crawls to me sometimees, heeeeeee, he crawls to me sometime, and then crucify began. it was unbelievable, everyone was loving it, especially tori and she showed it. she kept it up through take to the sky when she played a little bit longer version (it seemed to me) maybe singing the chorus a few extra times, playing with matt's mind....and went into the earth moved....and it did. she got so into sky that i thought she'd explode and then fizzle but no. matt began wednesday and she rocked out to it.

then came roadside cafe,†she went into an improv, china (maybe chinatown, but i thought it was the song china) is aroundthe corner, mommy look at all that candy, take me to the looking place, tell them you cannot play today, you must play another way....then went into carbon, which was what i wanted to hear. it was so beautiful, and got more emotional, as she went into starry night....which she cried a little.
twinkle was also emotional, which showed how into the show she was. it was amazing.

jon and matt came back, and†she launched into this will serve you well, an improv that led into mrs.†jesus. †and then came...paradise. and that was good, but not one of the ones i was waiting to hear. she regained energy on professional and gave it her all. fucking awesome. (not saying she didn't have any,during paradise, i just wasn't into it.) plunged into phantom, kept it going through hotel and i can't see new york....and then did iieee. there was one song , i believe it was wednesday right before the second slow part where you could hear her breathe on the microphone everything else had stopped so suddenly.

anyway, taxi returned with the encore and it was great. she was way into everything tonight. then came BLISS! amazing sweet bliss. i love it. we had fun. springtime was next, and it was great, wiht amber waves closing it out.

i am sorrry my review is so detailed, and maybe not enough sometimes. but it was the best show i've seen....energy, tori's mood, the audience and everything really came together. it was great and i wish you could all be there.


From anna ham :

First off, I just want to say that this was a great show overall. Most of the people I came into contact with were very nice, although there were two idiots sitting behind me who were jabbering away during the entire show about how drunk they were. For me, this was just further proof that some sort of ejector seat device should be installed in every concert venue so that complete dicks like those guys can be shot through the roof with a touch of a button.

Other than that, a phenomenal show! Tori played many favorites of mine, and I was very happy to hear them.

Wampum Prayer-As usual, very nice, albeit nearly ruined by screaming people fueled by excitement (and alcohol).

a sorta fairytale-Lovely.

Strange Little Girl-This was so nice to hear! Tori had a lot of energy and. . .well, so did the crowd.

Bells For Her-Haunting, for some reason, but so much better live than on the recording.

Cornflake Girl-This is one of my all-time favorite Tori songs, and since I'd never heard it live, I was psyched. Made me want to shake my groove thang, although the space between the seats was tiny and this prevented me from taking further action.

Liquid Diamonds-HOLY CRAP!! I've wanted to hear it live for so long, and. . .she played it. So, this is what spiritual fullfilment feels like.

Crucify-As much as I like this song, why Tori had to extend it into a seven minute version is beyond me. It was not as powerful as it is on record, and I think the message ended up drowning in the music to some extent. The low point of the show for me-well, the ONLY low point of the show, actually, which says a lot.

Take To The Sky-It was like shooting fish in a barrel last night- that is, the "Shoot the Fish in a Barrel, Wherein the Fish Represent Anna Ham's Favorite Songs" version. *Bang* Way to go, Tori.

Wednesday-Awesome, as usual. *Bang*

Carbon-One of my favorites from SW, and it sounded amazing with just Tori on piano. The ambigious intro was a great touch. *Bang*

Vincent (Starry Starry Night)-Made me cry. Friggin' phenomenal.

Twinkle-Not one of my favorites, BUT it is neat live. Good thing I have a live version on the Concertina single so that I can relive the moment. Hooray for nostalgia.

Mrs. Jesus-Had a jolly good time with this one. *Bang*

Another Girl's Paradise-I was very excited (this is my favorite, by far, from SW). However, the rest of the audience didn't seem to be as psychotically bent on hearing this one as I was. Oh well. *Bang bang bang*

Professional Widow-So rocking and ten million times better than the Merry Widow version (Hey Jupiter single). Mucho mucho energy. Brought the house down as well. *Bang*

Happy Phantom-I was shocked and happy to hear this one. *Bang* Hotel-Great, great, great.

I Can't See New York-Intense, but very emotional and powerful.

Iieee-Perfect ending to a great set. The live version was even better than the studio version (if such a thing is possible). *Bang*

1st Encore

Taxi Ride-I danced to this one. It was fun, because my friends were both very tired and I was transformed into a bouncing, grinning weirdo.

Bliss-WOW!!! I can't believe how awesome it was. *Bang*

2nd Encore

In The Springtime Of His Voodoo- *Bang bang bang bang*

Amber Waves-Now, this is a song to end a show with! *Bang*


From Danielle Leigh:

So I did not see the first show but WOW...Tori just seemed so HAPPY last night. She looked beautiful in a black flowy number with some ribbons in her hair. Before each song she would playfully pose on her piano. She told us that she has been around the Bay...and she loves being here and Tash wants to live here "forever and ever."†

Her voice was very strong tonight. Every single song sounded unique to me and I especially loved the new style she is doin' with crucify, totally suductive...she was getting into it doing a lot of arm gestures. Also Professional Widow was fun. The band was so tight on this song. This is my 6th show and my favorite.


From Brian K Tanaka:

Rating: Hors-category: "Beyond category", too insanely great to be adequately pinned down by any mere artificial rating method

I loved this show. I'd put this somewhere in my top five for the tour. The energy was very high and Tori and the lads were getting down to serious business right from the beginning. ASF is a pretty good indicator of how the night's going to go, and this ASF was crackling with yummy energy.

It was a Matt night. I mean, we all know Matt's a great drummer, but for whatever reason, he was on fire. A truly great night for him and his intensity seemed to add all the more fuel to Tori's fire. Jon was no slouch either.

The whole show was stupendous, in my opinion, but there were two things that stood out in particular. One was Vincent (Starry Starry Night). The problem with writing about Tori is that you wear out all your adjectives. I only wish I could coin a few new ones right now to describe how fucking brilliant Vincent was. But I won't, so I'll just say it was exquisite. It was breathtaking. It was a jaw-dropping, scrumdeli-icious, mind-melting, is-this-really-happening, flabbergasterer. I mean, how does she *do* that?

The other, at least for me, was Hotel. You know how sometimes a Tori line you've heard a million times just jumps out and grabs you by the throat like never before, unfolding like some turbo-driven thought fractal, descending with cruel compassion into your soul, and peeling away the layers of hardened armor around your heart like it was so much cheap tin foil?

Yeah, well that's what the lines "I have to learn to let you crash down / I have to learn to let you crash" did to me that night. I can't adequately explain why without going into a bunch of crap about my personal life no one wants to hear about, but let's just say that Tori reached out across the venue and threw open some doors I hadn't even acknowledged were there. Very intense.

Just to make things even more interesting (and mind-blowing), these lines and some others from the same song and others also pulled me through some strange territories because of what I had just learned that day about the life story of a new acquaintance. I have to be annoyingly vague and cryptic here out of respect for her privacy, but the clarity and strength of the resonance was eerie and transformative.

Crucify was the best Crucify I've seen this tour. It was tremendously powerful and a great example of how devastating this new arrangement can be when it fires on all pistons. Put it this way: at the conclusion of the song, I did something I never do. Namely, jump out of my seat for a mid-set standing ovation.

Professional Widow was awesome. Any of you who actually pay attention to all this stupid crap I write may notice that I never use the word "awesome", so my use of it here should not be taken lightly.

This show reminded me of the Tori quote, "When you come to my shows, you think you're walking into this really yummy lunch, and little do you know you ARE lunch."


From Rich Dagel:

One word, WOW. This was the best day of my life. I was lucky enough to have lunch with Tori earlier that day. Alice radio in San Francisco had sold 8, only 8 tickets to have lunch with her. The money went to VH1 Save the Music. I was VERY luck to get a ticket. They sold out within 30 seconds. Tori was the most intelligent person I have ever met. I was in awe of her. I did not know what to say, in fear of sounding stupid. I gave her two bottles of 1985 Mondavi Reserve Cab, that I had be saving for someone special (doesn't get more special then tori!). She asked me if there was anything that I had not heard the night before (I was at Fridays concert) that I wanted to hear, I said Take to the Sky. I was almost wetting my pants when she played it on Saturday night. I have been on a high ever since. Iieee was very cool. I loved how the samples played into the song. Bliss was also a nice surprise. I just found out today that she will be playing in Concord on July 29. I can not wait for the tickets to go on sale. I am dying to see her again!