The final show of this leg featured the debut of Flying Dutchman (solo), as well as Not The Red Baron (solo), Live To Tell (solo), Bells For Her, Sweet Dreams, Pretty Good Year and Tombigbee. If you were at the New Orleans 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 New Orleans, LA on Tuesday, April 29, 2003 at the Saenger Theatre. The opening act was Rhett Miller.

Set List

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

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Talula
Sweet Sangria
Cornflake Girl
Scarlet's Walk
Precious Things
Hey Jupiter
Wednesday

Band Leaves

Flying Dutchman
Not The Red Baron
Live To Tell

Band returns

Bells For Her
Sweet Dreams
Father Lucifer
God
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Iieee

1st Encore

Taxi Ride
Pretty Good Year

2nd Encore

Tombigbee
Tear In Your Hand

3rd Encore

Cooling (solo)
Strange

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:

This was a great show and a wonderful way to end this leg of the Scarlet's Walk tour. The acoustics in the venue were wonderful, and the show tonight was very emotional. While Matt would not call this his favorite show of the tour, it was nevertheless an incredible evening. Matt would rate it in his top 4 for the tour.

Tori mentioned from the stage that there were some people in the audience who have been seeing a lot of shows and that she would miss them like crazy. She also did an improv befoe Dutchman which talked about Tash asking if she could go home to her room and Tori telling her no, that they had to go to Chicago first and then they would go home.


From John:

John said the shows was amazing and that it was very poignant. The show moved him to tears. It is sad to see this leg of the tour end.


From Adam:

I'm really glad I decided to go to this show, despite my money woes lately. I also went to the Birmingham show and the Houston show, so Tori really put a dent on my wallet this spring. I'd never been to the Saenger before and was really impressed with the appearance inside, and the acoustics were outstanding, which is to be expected from a venue like this. It was a very enjoyable show, offering many nice changeups in the setlist as compared to the other two shows I went to. I think I liked the crowd at the Houston show better, though. I heard virtually NO screams of "Tori!!", or "I love you!!" DURING the songs at the Houston show, which was not the case at tonight's show. While I'm on the subject of the crowd, let me rant briefly here.

I don't understand why people insist on using flash cameras at shows. Unless you're in the first 10 rows, the flash will only light up the heads of the people in front of you before the shutter closes... it does no good for your picture. I'm not trying to speak for Tori here, but I'd imagine it can't be pleasant to look out at the crowd and be greeted with flashes. Imagine you were sitting down with a good friend, and you were trying to have an intimate conversation with them, and they kept flashing this bright light in your eyes. It would be pretty tough, wouldn't it? I'm a young "frat guy" (who many might stereotype as being uncompassionate) and this is obvious to me.

Anyway, thanks to Tori for finally coming back to New Orleans. We missed you on last Fall's tour, and we appreciate the extra encore (as a make up?).

Here are the lyrics to improve at New Orleans show:

* means unclear syllable. Some term of endearment for her daughter, I'd imagine. (?) means I ventured a guess at the syllable.

* * * goes,
"Too many bags,
in the hotel room,
lying on the floor."
* * * goes,
"Mommy, when we gonna get home?"
"Sooner than I'd like to go."
I didn't say to(?).
"We're going soon,
back to your room,
back to my piano room.
But there will be no girl.
She'll be on a boat,
sailing the ocean, all alone."
-whispered- I didn't say that
to my girl. I said,
"We'll be home soon,
back to your room,
to your cozy room."
She said, "I love you so."
I said, "I love you too.
But first, we've got to go to Chicago."

It lasted about 2 minutes.


From Sarah Jeansonne:

I wanted to point out some parts of the show I thought were particularly clever and Tori-esque. Her shoes were the cutest I've seen so far, and went perfectly with her peacock-style outfit. Also, one of my favorite parts of the show, is when, before one of the songs, while she was dancing, she took time to put on more lip gloss. The improv about her daughter was adorable, and this was truly the best version of Father Lucifer that I've heard. She seemed really into the whole show, and of course the extra encore was very nice! Highlights of the show for me were Talula, Sweet Dreams, Father Lucifer, Iieee (beautiful) and Pretty Good Year. A very nice show, the acoustics were great, Tori was beautiful, and our first row (pit) seats didn't hurt at all!


From toriMODE/ Ron :

Living to tell my Tale on Scarlet's Last Walk - New Orleans

On Monday afternoon, me and my concert buddy/bestfriend Kelly and I drove down to the bayou city of New Orleans, Louisiana. We went to New Orleans for the Tori show in October of 2001 for the Strange Little Tour, and we enjoyed ourselves so much, that when I heard from Mikewhy that NOLA was a possible date when I saw him at the Birmingham 03 Meet & Greet, that I started looking forward to taking that opportunity. Little did I know that it would be the Last show of the Leg. We crossed the Tombigbee River in Alabama on the way down I-59. We arrived in New Orleans at 11 p.m. Got checked into the Hotel Provincial on Chartres St. We changed clothes and had a few drinks before we went out that night. I called my friends from Up North (Nikki Brien and Melanie), and called Lisa from Florida. Kelly and I were on our way out of the hotel, only we could not find a way out. My only way out is to go so far in. So we finally went to the lobby to ask the front desk person how we could get out, because the gates were shut/locked, and when we went in, the first person I saw was Lisa! It was really really STRANGE that we ended up meeting up with her like that. She got my call but wasn't able to call back. She was waiting in the lobby for us, because they would not let her go to our room. So we exchanged embraces, and got her things to our room, and then we walked to Bourbon Street (two streets over), and went to Oz. Heard a remix of Madonna's American Life and the Rise Up (Mrs.) Jesus song (*smirks at Luke/pianoguy*). Lisa was really tired at this point. We made it across the street to the Bourbon St. Pub, and danced a bit, and then she headed back to the room, while Kelly and I stayed out. We stayed out til 4 a.m. and didn't want the party to end. We went to bed listening to I Can't See New York. Woke up at around 9 or so with a really bad hangover. I think Kelly and I took a total of 10 ibuprofen EACH that day. We saw Lisa off to the M&G at noon after we checked out, and then we headed to Virgin & Tower Records to buy Martin Gore's (Depeche Mode) new album Counterfeit^2, and the A Sorta Fairytale single, which we still didn't have. We got those, along with some other cd purchases, and went to get a bite to eat at the Crescent City Brewery (do not go there, it sucked!). The food we had was really bad. Then we went to Hard Rock Cafe to buy the boyfriends t-shirts, and the cashier was apparently a really bad EWF... she asked me if I was going to the Tori Show, and I told her yes. I was wearing my Plugged 98 Choirgirl t-shirt, and she said is that (pointing at my shirt) from the new album? I was like "ummm, no... it's from her 98 album"Choirgirl Hotel!" She went on to say that she had Earthquakes, Pink, and the "album with the pigs." I got a kick out of that one, and wrote her off as being an entertaining Toriphile wannabee. We left there and went to get taken advantage of by a Tarot Card Reader. Went to get read by "Denise," but she was not there, so we sat at "Tarot Reading by Chris." Chris was no tarot card professional. He had to read the script as we went through the deck of cards. He basically asked if I had a significant other, which I responded "yes" and he proceeded to tell me that I'd be getting married very soon (yeah right!) and have children (chokes up with laughter). After the reading I asked him how much the average person tipped him and he said $15.00 and up. I gave him ten and left. I felt so used! Kelly and I got a good laugh about the marriage and kid thing being that I'm a blossoming riot poofer. Ha! So anyway, we drove over to the Saenger Theater for the Meet & Greet. Parked and saw NikkiB and Mellie on the median grass area. Walked over and hugged and talked with them for a few minutes, and then went to the barricades to see the cattle of the day. Time for slaughtering! LOL! I saw Luke/pianoguy, Michael/Red Baron, and met Just One Zebra for the first time... talked with them a bit. Saw Lisa up front of the M&G. Saw a couple of others that I recognized, and then went back to the grassy median to stand with NikkiB & Mellie. I met Pauline Stuckney and her friend. Finally at around 3:20 or so a black Suburban (much like the one at the M&G in New Orleans in 2001), drove up and parked on the side of the venue. Joel got out, and prepared the meet & greeters with Steve Sanchez, and then before we know it, Tori is gliding out of the black Suburban's back seat towards the barricades. On her way, she saw us across the street and bowed and blowed kisses. She was so adorable! The M&G seemed to last longer than usual (and there seemed to be a smaller crowd than I thought there would be). After about twenty minutes, Tori waved bye to us, and then went into the Saenger Theater. We talked with a few EWF about the M&G. Chris told me that Dutchman was requested, and that Tori had Bachelorette & Real Men written on her arms/hands. We left the venue at 4 or so, and went to the mall to waste some time. Went to eat at Wendy's on Canal, and ran into another toriphile who we spoke with briefly. Then we went to Bourbon and hung out there for a while, and then went back to our car and went to the Saenger Theater for the show. We got there at 6:30 p.m. Saw Jerome, but didn't speak. Saw CoolingBoi/Jon, Dor, and Jason (from the B'ham '03 M&G). Went to our seats. We were pleasantly surprised with how close Row P was towards the stage. The theater was really beautiful inside. Reminded me of the Fox Theater in Atlanta. We look in the next few rows in front of us and see the Hard Rock Cafe gal and the Wendy's toriphile sitting maybe 3 seats apart from each other. How random is that!? I went to the loo, and saw Luke, Michael, and Zebra again. Spoke with SpacePerson/Steve and Dor. Then went back in to see Rhett Miller. We didn't really enjoy Rhett Miller. He played his heart out, but he's just not polished at all. People back stage were playing with a blow-up doll during his set, which added humor to his performance (which was needed!). After his performance, we had the usual intermission with hearing some Unfinished Symphony/Massive Attack, and then the curtains light up with the Leaf-Face, and we hear a prayer of the Wampum"

Wampum Prayer
Hearing this song (recorded not Live) before each of the four shows we had seen on this tour, was in a way our pledge of allegiance to the history of the United States. It was a ritual. An anthem so to speak. He prepared you for the rest of the show, and I found it to be very enjoyable, and a good way to opening the main set.

a sorta fairytale
When Tori came out on stage from the left (which was weird, cuz I've only seen her come out from the right), and started in on ASF, a girl in front of me began to dance, and people were yelling at her to sit down. Kinda distracted me from paying attention to Tori, but I'm glad the girl sat down. Mark Hawley seemed to have added more effects on Tori's voice from the previous Tour versions, and there's a nice long band introduction to the song.

Talula
Immediately recognized this Pele song, when she started it on the Rhodes. Found it very odd that she played this so EARLY in the set. It's usually saved for an encore. Not a favorite song, but much better than hearing Little Amsterdam!

Sweet Sangria
I really enjoyed the light show for Sangria. Lime green/yellow beams of light going in scattered directions. This is one of Tori's sexier songs from the Scarlet's Walk album. She really likes to get down during this song. Making some very erotice moves around the Bosendorfer. The sound was perfect tonight.

Cornflake Girl
Also instantly recognizable. Seeing the lime green/yellow and pink lights again was kewl. The audience really loved it when she started playing the piano for this song. She did her usual performance of the song. Very enjoyable.

Scarlet's Walk
My favorite song from the Scarlet's Walk album. I heard it in Atlanta 2002, but hearing it again made my night. I really love this song! It didn't rock out like I thought it would after more people were exposed to it, but it served it's purpose. I began to see that my SW Tour was indeed becoming a summary of the four shows I had been to (Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, and now New Orleans).

Precious Things
Kelly and I were having major brain farts during the introduction of this song by Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans. We hadn't heard Precious Things Live since Atlanta 1999, so it had been a while, and we recognized it right off, but had no clue what it was! LOL! We finally realized right before Tori started playing the piano, and we freaked out. So happy! It was one of the main highlights of the show for us!

Hey Jupiter
Looks like Talula brought brother Jupiter to the front of the line. I didn' t really get to enjoy Hey Jupiter as the last song of the Atlanta 2002 show, because I knew it was the last song and I was ready to leave, but being that it was early in this show's set, I was able to really pay attention to it like I had wanted to. Everyone applauded when they realized it was this song. Seemed that Tori was playing her big girls tonight. The blue lights during the song were very beautiful! Are you blue, are you gay? (someone tacky screamed during that part!)

Wednesday
Tori goes country. It's a very up-beat performance as usual, but the content/message (which Lisa made me become aware of Tori's songs is quite the opposite). Seems that the crowd wasn't really into this song, I guess because they weren't familiar with it. I think later down the road, it'll be one of her crowd-pleasers for the masses.

Band Leaves
Roadside Cafe sign drops down, lights up, and Tori is alone on the Saenger Stage with her Bosie--

Flying Dutchman
Thank God! How many years have I waited to hear this song!!!!!!????!!!! I was ecstatic to say the least, and so was Kelly to finally hear this Live! The tour debut of the song, and it was amazing! At this time I felt that the trip to New Orleans had already been worth it. Amazing performance!

Not The Red Baron
Remember me talking about the tour summary above? This adds to that line of though. Heard this in Atlanta 2002 during secret time. Michael/RedBaron was at that show and he was at this show. I was pleased for him. I kept watching him in the rows in front of us to see any movement on his part to this terribly moving song. It was a tear-jerker song during this show. I saw many people crying. Very moving. The plane propellers are very effective during the light show.

Live To Tell
I was hoping for Seaside as the last secret time song, but was very pleased with this Madonna cover. Actually very surprised, and I knew that the EWF community would be jealous that we had such a sweet solo show. Tori's cover of this song was wonderful! I loved it! It was odd though hearing Tori singing the the words to the song, because it's so straight-forward unlike her usual lyrics. Excellent performance!

Band returns

Bells For Her
I told Kelly during Cornflake Girl to expect either Girl, Strange Little Girl, or Bells for Her (they tend to hang together) during the show, so when Tori started into Bells, we were ready. My first time o hear this Live, and I was very grateful to hear it. It's one of Kelly's favorite songs, so I was happy for her.

Sweet Dreams
Seems to be a fuck-you to George Bush much like Talula. This is one of those songs that I really don't like from Tori Amos, because I find the vocals to be a bit raw, but her performance of the night was totally rocking the house. She seemed to be really into it, and so did Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans. Totally enjoy the Live version of the studio version. So powerful!

Father Lucifer
Haven't really heard many people say anything about this performance. I've heard mp3's of this Live, and so I was hoping to hear it in New Orleans. I got my wish! I think this tour's version is my favorite version of the song. My first time to hear Lucifer. I think of my ex-boyfriend when I hear this song. You know the lyric about "everyday's my wedding day"... I had to laugh at that, because of what the tarot card reader had told me earlier that day that I would be getting married. Anyway the intent of this song review is that Tori flipped a bird towards the center crowd!!! I was like what the fuck? I'm guessing it wasn't meant directly to us, but to George Bush (again!). Who knows except for Tori.

God
Rock! The audience loved this song, much like Cornflake Girl. I was thinking of my boyfriend Jon back at home, and sending him the Tori love vibes to him. He loves this song. I heard this in Nashville '03 also. Great performance and light show!

Hotel
Mmmmmmmm!!! I love this song Live. It's one of my favorite Tori songs, and to hear this in a non-church venue (heard it at the Ryman two months previously), was very exciting for me. I wanted to dance. I seem to have over-reacted during the song. Didn't seem that many people were really into the song. But I loved every minute of it, and I thought about RedBaron and Luke in front of me. Hotel-lovers!

I Can't See New York
Many people got up during this song. Made me feel kind of irritable with them. I know it's a tour staple, and if you see Tori more than a few times, this song might become boring, but I look at it as a tribute to the 9-11 event, and I think it's a time to take a moment and think about that. We have to learn from the other side sometimes.

Iieee
The song that Kelly and I look forward to during each of the SW shows of this leg. Amazing Live. Kelly has an IIEEE license plate, so the song got it's lovin' for the day.

1st Encore

Taxi Ride
Tribute to Kevyn Aucoin. Got a long taxi ride. I knew that this song would come out tonight being that the last show was New Orleans, LA, and Kevyn was from Louisiana. I didn't get overly emotional during the song like I thought I would, but I liked Tori's performance very much.

Pretty Good Year
Debuting in New Mexico a few nights before I was sure that Tori would play it at this show. She played it in New Orleans in 2001, so it seemed to fit right in. I thought the solo Strange Little Tour version was powerful, wow! With the band, this song really kicks so much arse! Another highlight.

2nd Encore

Tombigbee
I was a little apprehensive during the introduction with the band of this song thinking it may be Pancake, because she hadn't came out at this time. But then right before Tori came back on stage I realized it was one of the songs on my wish-list for this show, and I was screaming like mad. No one seemed to know this song at all to really appreciate it like a few of us at the show. The peformance was so close to perfection. This definitely made the show for me!!!! Loved it!

Tear In Your Hand
The first time for me to sit down during the encores of the New Orlean's show. This song is almost as bad as Leather these days (which did not come out..yay!!!) I did manage to get back up before the "time to wave goodbye" part, which was very dramatic, because Tori waved to us, and I looked around much to my surprise to see the majority waving back. It was a beautiful yet sad moment during the show. I really didn't want the show to end with this song, and being that we got a 3rd song to a 2nd encore back in 2001 for the NOLA show, I was hoping for the same here.

3rd Encore

Cooling (solo)
After much applause, Tori comes back out on stage. We were all ecstatic that there was a 3rd encore. I heard Cooling at the last Tori show I had been to in Nashville 2003, but hearing it a 2nd time was welcomed, especially as a 3rd encore song. I was thinking Gold Dust would have appeared, but she did not.

Strange
The beginning of the Scarlet's Walk show contained this beautiful angel. A friend, that I have become to love as I have gotten into the SW album. Here we are ending the tour with this song. It seemed fitting. But for so many, this wasn't a perfect closer. I was content. The last words being "but now I must be leaving." Sad that Tori has to leave, but all good things must come to an end. Thanks for such a great tour Tori!


From Ashleigh:

This was a wonderful show. I am so incredibly pleased with her performance. I was very happy to hear cornflake girl. she danced a lot especially at the beginning of each encore. She did the dakota version of hey jupiter. live to tell was so incredibly beautiful. The show was really emotional. I had a great time.


From Mindy Groce:

The part of Tori's improv that is represented by * in Adam's review was actually "My story goes." The improv was lovely and seemed to be an emotional one for Tori. She seemed to be aching†a†bit because of Tash's apparent homesickness.

The crowd was slightly annoying. There were many camera flashes throughout the show, and many people were moving around. Some even left before the second encore. There were some people standing and dancing throughout the show, which no doubt disgruntled those around them.

Also, during Rhett Miller's performance, someone from backstage kept sticking the head of a blow-up doll out from behind the curtain. At one point, a crew member brought the doll out on stage and stood it up behind Rhett. He just laughed and sang to it (the song about "someone's going to ask you a question that you should say yes to" or something similar). He eventually slid the doll under the curtain and said he was leaving it there for Tori. He was good about it, and it was quite funny.

Overall, the show was FANTASTIC, despite the pre-sale fiasco which forced me to have balcony seats (growl, snort). She did not say a whole lot, but she seemed to be having a good time as she grooved around the stage and did some sexy moves. Can't wait until the next tour!!


From Richard, Baton Rouge Louisiana:

I was at the New Orleans show at the Saenger Theater last night (tuesay). I have been listening to Tori for years and last night I finally got to see her live for the first time. My girlfriend and I got second row pit seats...ABSOULUTELY amazing. The the seats, show, the songs, the lighting, everything seemed perfect. I don't have a set list, but she played alot of songs from Scarlets walk. After the show, although I left amazed and in awe at tori's creativity and piano playing talent, I felt a little let down. Tori did not do any improv or talk at all during the ENTIRE 3 hour performance. The way she presented herself to the audience made her seem as if she had better things to do with her time than play for us. She looked like she wanted to be somewhere else. There were no covers or anything extra...just simply running through the songs. And at times it seemed like she was in a hurry. Well, overall, like I said, the show was quite good and I even got to grab her hand when she came to the edge of the stage. She is a true artist, one that I will be forever faithful to. I hope one day I get the chance to see her again, perhaps when she is rested and is in more of an entertaining mood. [Note from Mikewhy: I am afraid that Richard's review is not accurate in places. Tori did indeed perform at least one improv for sure, and she did do a cover, "Live To Tell".]


From Scott Feldman:

I just wanted to point out that the bird-flipping during Father Lucifer occurred as she sang "Girls that eat pizza and never gain weight" as if she was saying a big ol' "fuck you" to the girls that can eat and eat and never gain weight.


From Natasha:

I was at the NOLA show 4-29-03.

Knowing this was the last date of this phase of the tour, made every song seem that much more poignant . The one time Tori spoke during her performance, she said she would "miss you guys like crazy" And by the look on her face, you could tell she meant it.
Highlights:

Talula : Right before she said " What you want is in her blood senators" she said "George (as in Bush) what you want is in the blood" I noticed no one else commented on this- but I heard it!

Father Lucifer: She did the Steve McQueen bridge, also when she sang "Girls that eat pizza and never gain weight" she gave the middle finger to all those girls in the audience, and people cheered.

Flying Dutchman: The Chicago improv about her daughter wanting to go home was gorgeous. Tori's voice was full of emotion. That song just kind of sunk into everyone, I think.†

She did 3 encores- Cooling was FLAWLESS.


From Angie Lee:

All I can say is AMAZING! This was my third time to see her, and it's true, the third time is the charm. What an awesome show!! She looked fantastic and the acoustics at the theatre were just fabulous. Set list couldn't have been better! Can't wait to see her again!


From Brian K Tanaka:

This was my first trip to New Orleans and, though I only saw a fraction of the city (The Saenger, portions of the French Quarter, and the Museum of Modern Art), I found it reasonably intriguing. And there was certainly no lack of good food.

It's been five days since the show. I usually don't go this long without setting down some of my thoughts in writing, but this show required extra digestion/absorption time. As anyone who's heard my vague and inane comments immediately after a show could guess, I need time between the last note and having my thoughts take on any kind of coherent form. And this show demanded quit a bit of time.

One reason, or maybe this is the sole reason, is that if I thought of the show I would tend to think of the third encore. And if I thought of the third encore I would think of Cooling. And if I thought of the first notes of Cooling that night I would become emotionally overwhelmed, the needle of my internal Tori-osity meter would slam all the way to the right, and I could go no further.

But I think I'm past that now, so here's some more of my babbling for you.

Overall the show was wonderful and worth every cent of my travel expenses. (On that note, the cost of my whole tour has been high but the *value* has been well beyond any doubt.) I haven't read any other reviews yet, but personally I loved this show and it's in my personal top two or three for the tour.

Tori was magnificent. She really delivered a show that was right and fitting for the brilliant leg she and Jon and Matt had just finished. There's always the danger of raising one's expectations too high when going into a "significant" show like this, but Tori did not disappoint in the least. Not in the least.

I went into the show feeling very ready to dive in, but I was still surprised by the degree to which I was swept into one of those states of tender awe that only Tori can conjure.

Things seemed fine and just nicely enjoyable until Scarlet's Walk. For me, Scarlet's Walk and Jupiter, with their preternatural, terrible beauty, pulled me out of my normal consciousness and, thus set-up, I was knocked defenseless into outer space by Flying Dutchman.

Dutchman. It's funny. In the course of all my conversations along the way about "what song would be really cool to hear", I talked about a number of songs but never Dutchman. It dawned on me as the first notes washed over me that somewhere inside I hadn't even allowed myself to wish for Dutchman, so great was my yearning to hear her.

That was when I knew the trip had been worthwhile. That was when the barriers between my emotions and the show, this particular show, fell completely away.

And it was a gorgeous Dutchman too. If you were to take this performance of this one song from this one show and compare it to each individual song I heard all tour, it would be among the very best.

A funny thing happened during Jupiter that I should mention. Jon and Matt started, of course, and Tori was grooving to the beat. But then, oddly, when she finally jumped in, she was playing in-time but off beat. It sounded bizarre but very cool. I wondered if she'd stop and call for a restart, but she just kept on. Matt seemed a bit at a loss and looked at Jon for a long time as if to say, "Now what?" Finally he did something that I thought was pretty fun to witness: he gave one of the cymbals and the trigger for the sampler (whatever it's called, or however all that's tied together) a couple of whacks (like a minimalistic, two-beat fill) and reset the timing of the sample to match Tori. He made it seem like it was perfectly natural to toss in an accent there. Good stuff.

I'll adore Red Baron until the day I die, so I was very pleased that she was next. I don't know anything about Live to Tell but it was enjoyable even if only for the lyrics I could make out and especially for the sheer, unbridled enthusiasm of the reception by the audience.

I missed Sweet Dreams and part of Father Lucifer because right in the middle of Bells for Her I had an asthma attack. I very rarely get them so I wasn't prepared with, say, an inhaler. So, I waited until the song was over (I felt weird having Tori see me jump up and wander away mid-song and she was making a *lot* of eye contact that night), and spent a while in the lower lobby trying to get things under control without so much as a cup of coffee to help. Fortunately I was able to return to the show cough-free.

Good thing too because, if I hadn't, I would have missed Pretty Good Year. Pretty Good Year! I had been waiting and waiting for Pretty Good Year all tour. She was pretty much *the* song I did not want to miss. I remember thinking as I listened, "I could live inside this song."

I guess after hearing Pretty Good Year, I felt like everything else was icing. Of course, at that point I didn't know that there would be one last big treat.

After the second encore I closed my eyes and thought to myself jokingly, ala a little kid, "maybe if I don't see the houselights go on, they won't go on." And as I stood there doing that, the applause just kept going. And going. And it became obvious that the houselights really weren't going to go on.

And then Tori was coming out all by herself for a third encore. I was absurdly blissed out. People were going nuts.

The whole show had been tremendously emotional for me and hearing/feeling the opening notes of Cooling was too much to bear.

And she sang it, she let it loose, she poured it over us, she closed the loop of love between us and her with this precious gift, and it blew my mind to pieces. If there was a dry eye in the house, I cannot fathom how that could possibly be.

The closing song was Strange, beautifully done. I was a little surprised by the choice at first, but it all made sense and felt right in the end.

Obviously, I've not commented on a bunch of the songs. That in no way indicates they weren't anything short of wonderful. I've just concentrated on certain highlights.

Another night of magic. Thank you, Tori.


From Joseph Stone:

I moved to NOLA for the music scene here, and I have not been dissapointed. I quit my job two weeks prior to jazzfest and saw 37 concerts in 12 days, 13 nights. I was truley the best two weeks of my life. I have been a serious tori-head for about 10 years and I have seen her live about 7 times.

After chasing music all my life, I can honestly say that 20 of the concerts I saw durring jazzfest†2003†were amoung the most memorable. Tori's show at the Saenger was truely the greatest display†of acurate musicianship, of course had the stongest writing, and†was the classiest gig I†saw (but that doesnt; say much considering how funky this town is and how†things degenerate in ways durring fest)

I was struck by her re-working of material more than anything. A few days earlier, I saw Dylan and he, as usual, re-worked songs to the point of making them unrecognizeable, and even unpleasant. On the other hand, Tori, Matt, and the Bass Player (sorry guy) played song in ways that were poinant to the setting ( very funk influenced ), intelligent as well as interesting. Father Lucifer really sticks out in that way. Matt was awesome as usual. I have only seen one other Tori show that equalled this gig in it's impression on me.