You can now see the set list and reviews for the Camden, NJ concert. The set list included Little Amsterdam and Not The Red Baron for the first time on this leg of the tour. Tori also performed Sweet Dreams, Girl, Time (solo), Josephine and Honey. If you were at this show and want to send The Dent a review, please email Mikewhy at mikewhy@iglou.com with your comments. You can also post about your concert experience at the Concert Reviews Forum. It would be nice to get as many different viewpoints about the show as possible.

More Details

Tori performed in Camden, NJ on Tuesday, August 26, 2003 at the Tweeter Center At the Waterfront. Tori's special guest was Ben Folds and the show started at 7:30PM.

Set List

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


Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Little Amsterdam
Cornflake Girl
Rattlesnakes
Sweet Dreams
Girl
Wednesday

Band Leaves

Carbon
Not The Red Baron
Time

Band returns

Josephine
Sweet Sangria
Lust
God
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Precious Things

1st Encore

In The Springtime Of His Voodoo
Honey

2nd Encore

Tombigbee
Horses

Reviews

The latest reviews are at the bottom of this page, and I am adding reviews all the time. 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 Concert Reviews Forum and post about your experiences as well, or read additional reviews.


From Matt Page:

Matt enjoyed the Camden show, and said the beginning of the show in particular was really strong. Tori was really intense. For example, during Caught A Lite Sneeze, Tori really yelled out the word "hate" during the phrase "pretty hate machine". The second half of the show was in contrast more subdued. This show included two songs played for the first time on this leg of the tour: Little Amsterdam and Not The Red Baron!

The piano playing during Carbon was really intense and seemed to include more of the upper notes from the piano.

There were a couple of cute improvs tonight. Before Cornflake Girl, Tori sang something that included the words, "Almost over ... 8 more shows...carpooling... taking Tash to ballet class... going to miss all of you..." If anyone has the complete words, please email The Dent. The band joined in during this improv.

The second improv was before Carbon. Tori said she had to tell them what happened to her yesterday. Then she sang an improv about how she was trying to get Tash excited for school, but then they ran into their first cousin who told Tash that school sucks. Tori sang something like "No, don't tell her that". She ended the improv quoting the first cousin talking to Tash, "It sucks, good luck."

Tori had some problems with the sound during Carbon. She messed up and told the audience that she fucked up and that "We'll going to fix this..."

Tori did change the encores from what she had written on her official set list. She was supposed to do Juarez and Honey for the first encore and then Voodoo, Space Dog and Horses for the second encore. You can see above what she actually did.


From Shannon:

As many years as I've been on this site, this is my first concert review. This was my fifth Tori show and I had by far my best seats so far (8th row pit). Let's start off with Ben Folds. He was very entertaining and who can resist the audience participation stuff. During his set there were two young children walking around the side of the stage with adults. I'm assuming the one girl was Tash. It was kind of cute because they'd walk to the side go backstage again. Then they brought out a blanket to sit on but that lasted for a few minutes before they got moving again.

Now onto Tori, she looked radiant. She had on a flowy dress thing over denim capris. She was wearing dangling red earrings and awesome red shoes. Since I had good seats, I was catching all the facial expressions. She seemed really into the show and would flash these huge smiles-how could you not love Tori? We were treated to 2 improvs. The first one got awws from the audience when she said she would miss us. I can't remember all the words but it was sweet and funny. The second one about Tash and school was hilarious. Again, I can't remember the words excepts for alot of "it sucks" (meaning school).

The set list was excellent. I was disappointed that she didn't play Take to the Sky because I haven't heard the version with I feel the earth move part. I'm also sorry she didn't play Space Dog since it was originally on the set list-love that song but have never heard it live in person. They seemed to have some problems with the sound, I guess the new guy is still having difficulties. But hey, I'm not complaining, I'd pay to hear Tori recite the alphabet.

I think the crowd was really into the show. I didn't encounter any rude people. I just hope I can wait until 2005 for the next tour.


From Gina Marie:

here are the transcripts for the two improvs:

#1, before cornflake girl:

tori: hello everybody, you feelin alright?
so everyone..
guy: we love you tori!
tori: i love you back!
(this part was sort of unclear)
so what havent we seen in a long time well just see then....
what it it manny, 8 shows left?

tori sings: 8 to go
dont know
what ill do with myself
carpools to ballet school
i wonder what shoes ill wear
can you pick up the kids
not a problem
guess ill just write me a song
as i go
to the country dance
to my last chance
i think ill miss you all

#2 before carbon

tori: i ..? love you
so this is what happened yesterday ok?
ive got tash excited to go to school
yay!
guy: something
tori: well yeah, i know, but you know what?
shes only two and 3/4
you gotta like school sometime
so guess who she runs into?

tori sings:
her favorite cousin
that i happen to love
but she gave my daughter
some very strong advice
she said "school sucks"
i said bite your tongue
she said its the truth
and i...
(whispers:) bite your tongue
i said.. i paid your summer camp
you need to be careful what you tell my little one
she said it sucks it sucks it sucks it really really does
and then she said, my tasha, i wish you luck!



From Jill:

Tori was amazing tonight. While I don't think she had the same happy energy that she did during her birthday show in Holmdel, she was definitely into her music and the crowd in an intense way. The improvs were great. She elicited a little "awww" from the crowd when she mentioned "only eight shows left...I'll miss you all..." during her first improv. (is it true she won't be back until 2005?) Her bit about Tash was cute. I felt throughout the show that she was relating to us very personally. The best was when she was playing Carbon and was totally into the song and stopped dead and blurted out, "I just totally fucked up this song." We all went nuts for that, and of course she recovered beautifully, singing something like, "we'll just leave it at that.." "Time" was particularly beautiful and I was so happy to hear "Little Amsterdam." Personally, this was the best Tori experience I've had yet. I met some great people, two of whom helped me move from section 104 row H to the pit. I don't know their names, but I will feel forever grateful to them. Also, right before we went into the show, a full rainbow appearred over Camden accompanied by a beautiful sunset over the Philly skyline. It could not have been a more perfect night.


From Dave:

i waited till LAST minuet to get tickets for this show, and if it wasn't for my friend James, who is amazing for giving my broke arse a ticket, i would've never seen this show. This was my 7th time seeing her. We got to the concert a bit late, middle of Ben Folds. First time i've seen him solo, and i think him and Tori on the same bill REALLY fit well. My only regret is that they didn't duet, maybe one day. We were sitting pretty far back but i got a great view of the whole stage cuz we were about center.

i like how Tori has turned her audience banter from story telling to singing us a story through improv. The two tonight were both funny. One about (paraphrasing) 8 more shows to go, carpooling, taking Tash to ballet class, dont know what to do, maybe write a song, in the countryside, going to a country dance, could be her last chance, she will miss us. The second about her trying to get Tash excited about going to school and how a cousin was telling her it sucks it sucks it sucks. Tori reminding said cousin how she paid for her summer camp and to bite her tounge, but it sucks it sucks good luck.

Set
Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale : i like how this has changed, its a great opener and she sang it with a lot of power. i hope this becomes a standard one day.

Caught A Lite Sneeze: From the end of ASOF there was maybe a half second before Matt started pounding away the opening drum beats for this. i haven't seen Tori do this since Dew Drop Inn solo at the Harpsichord so i've been dying to hear her do it with the band. It was a strong version of the song and it set the tone for the night, or so i thought.

Little Amsterdam: Pele song #2. Smooth, so smooth and tight. This was great, she had a lot of power in every syllable. It sounded like she was saying "she let her die die die da da da da da da" if you know what part i mean.

Cornflake Girl: This was strong too, i love how she has changed this song up, although tonight was the least energy i've seen her put into the song. Still a crowd pleaser and always nice to hear.

Rattlesnakes: Wow, blue lighting, that hiss in the background. Again so smooth.

Sweet Dreams: Surprise for me, and i guess its maybe why she didn't play Take To The Sky. It was a great pounding version of the song and the crowd seem to really like it. She kept on saying "whos your daddy" before "come along now" which worked a lot better then it sounds. She emphasized "land run by a CONSTIPATED man"

Girl: James seemed happy to hear this one, as did most everyone else!

Wednesday: LOVE THE DRUMS! i think i started to hear problems with the sound starting at this song.

Band Leaves

Carbon: Pounding intro, wasn't sure what it was till she played it. Definitely sound problems, crackling, popping, from where i was at least. Not a lot but enough that i noticed. She stopped at the end said " i fucked this song up" and did an improv about letting it be i think but it was not the song Let it Be. Maybe it was leave it here.....whatever....

Not The Red Baron: Pele song #3. Again haven't heard her do this since Dew Drop Inn. She skipped the intro and went right into the song.

Time: Still small sound problems. This is a nice song, Tori does a great version of it, glad i heard it, not my favorite. Band returns

Josephine: Nice way to end the "Road Side Cafe" set. People around me were hooting for this song. Didn't know it was such a fave.

Sweet Sangria : Again how can i say so smooth. i was hoping for this or Pancake. i think one of the highlights from SW, glad i heard it again.

Lust: Although it was nice, the lights were nice, and i've never heard it live before it seemed to break the pace of the show. Her opening set with the band had a LOT of momentum and pace this second set seemed a bit off.

God: Good stuff, although i thought an odd transition from Lust.

Hotel: WOW. Never heard it live before and WOW! The "i'm still alive" was haunting, gave me chills.

I Can't See New York: Nice version. The people next to me left in the middle, i think they were getting bored. Gave me more leg room.

Precious Things: AWESOME! The wind started kicking up so it was breezy, peoples hair were blowing and Tori's was as well. Great natural effect. Audience went nuts, to me this song never gets old. Tori really gave it all on the girl with the crotch grab. Glad thats still around.

1st Encore
In The Springtime Of His Voodoo: Pele song #4 Matt and John were jamming for maybe 2 minuets before Tori came out. When she finally did she danced all around the stage before settling down, it was great and got the audience back into the momentum she set at the beginning of the night. She looked like she was having so much fun. i'm glad she's bringing this one out more because it gets people moving! Even though it was jazzy and funky i forgot the real hard themes of this song until...

Honey: i was thinking "Space Dog" would be a great follow up, but she did Honey which brought out some really dark tones which seemed to be a theme of the night. Possibly because of all the Pele songs.

2nd Encore
Tombigbee: Matt and John did another little jam which was great. Tori came out hopped up to her organ which was cute and gave a kick ass, high energy performance of this. i've never heard this before so it was a treat for me. Very impressed.

Horses: Pele song #5 With the band it just makes this song more haunting and ending the show with this made a lot of the threads from the set list make sense. Very dark.

Again looking back on the show, there was some dark themes running around under all of the songs. Maybe its just me. Unlike lasts falls Camden show it seemed like the audience was much more polite. This was not the strongest show i've seen her do but still a solid one with some nice surprises that seemed to be enjoyed by all. i think Tori's energy kept coming and going from her. More often then not though it was there. When she sang the improv of 8 more to go it really hit me that yes, she is taking a break. She's earned it!


From The Keebler Elph:

The Camden show was totally great!! I have not seen her perform at the Waterfront since her stint with Alanis. This is the first time I have gotten to hear alot of songs of hers played live, like Caught a lite Sneeze, Girl, Not the Red Baron and Springtime!! I had so much fun and really enjoyed the atmosphere. I was allowed to scream and cheer here ( unlike at the Boston show where I seemed to have really ticked some older people off- but that's a different story) She really seemed to jam out on the keys this evening, and shared a little story about Tash going to school and her cousin telling her to "bite her tongue" and Tash responding to everything with, "it sucks!! it sucks!! it sucks!! it sucks!! it sucks!! it sucks!!" I nearly fell over laughing!!

On a side note, and I thought that this was really precious how Tori just picked up after having in her words "really fucked up this song" during Carbon. Just seriously showing her talent and that musicians are still human...but she's still a goddess in my book. I was able for once in my life to finally rush the stage and get in the front, and for the first time get a closer glimpse. (and some handy dandy pictures) It was magical and amazing, and I bounced like the little elph that I am....and call me crazy but I think she smirked at me trying to see because I couldn't see over any tall people clearly standing until they moved a bit to let me.....oh wow.... I am totally thanking my stars tonight!!! Wow!!


From Lorraine Eakin:

Although the Holmdel show had more energy and much more ofa "special" feel to it, what with her birthday and all, I preferred the setlist selection at Camden. I got to see a lot of songs I hadn't seen yet, and the Roadside Cafe was amazing.

Caught A Lite Sneeze and Little Amsterdam were both phenomenal. Her voice sounded stellar (love those days off she gets once in a while!) and the band was reallyworking overtime.

During Little Amsterdam she added a little extra line"But you just watch her die" right before the "Don't take me back to the range" part. Very chilling. After that she and the band did the "Eight more to go" improv. She said "Matty, how many more do we have to go, eight?" and then sang "Eight more to go/Wonder what I'll do with myself/ Carpools to ballet school/Wonder what shoes I'll wear/Can you pick up the kids?/Guess I'll write me a song as I go/Guess I'll go to the country dance/Guess I'll miss you." The last line was very slow and sad. We'll miss her too! Sweet Dreams was another highlight of the first set; although it wasn't as powerful as when I saw its debut in Austin, it was more polished this time around.

Before Carbon, she told us about how she had gotten Tash excited about school "Because she's only two and threequarters and you have to be excited about school sometime!" She then did a funny improv about how "Tash's favorite cousin" gave her "some strong advice - school sucks!" She said something like "I pay for your summer camp/you better watch what you say around the little ones" and the cousin says "It sucks, it sucks, it sucks!" Very cute.

Then, between the improv and the song, she played a really wild intro. It was mostly higher notes, very harsh and striking. Towards the end of the song (as usual, I didn't hear anything wrong) she stops playing and says, "Okay, I'm making a mess of this song, let's try something else." She plays a little improv about "getting it right" and moves flawlessly into Not the Red Baron. Something I never ever expected! It was stunning. Every note was "on" - it was so beautiful and sad. Her transition into Time was so appropriate - the three songs really "lived" well together. Time was slow and touching. The band came out for Josephine to wrap up a really powerful Roadside. The mood mellowed a bit with Lust and Sweet Sangria (which were both very good), but Hotel was awesome as usual. The new piano parts in the song just knock me off my seat. Definitely my favorite from Choirgirl. ICSNY seemed to have some different stuff going on than usual - I can't pinpoint it, I think Jon was playing something a little different, but I noticed it. Precious Things was really amazing - Matt and Jon both seem to be adding and changing things all the time, and tonight it seemed everything they were doing just worked. At the end of the song I was afraid Matt was going to fall off his seat he was playing so hard. Voodoo during the first encore had an awesome awesome intro by Matt and Jon, they jammed a lot and it was so good it looked like Tori didn't want to interrupt them! Honey had some new stuff going on in it, the arrangement sounded slightly different.Horses wascool, it was my first time hearing the band version, I loved it.

Altogether I think this show was pretty experimental for them; even though they were doing familiar material I could her a lot of jamming and adding of new parts to each song. And I want tocredit Mr. Jon Evans- he has successfully taken over Caton's "playing weird noises" duties as well as playing his grooving bass lines. He's doing a lot up there, and it sounds great. Both he and Matt add so much to the songs, I think their work together makes every show different, whether the setlists are similar or not. Can't wait for the Merriweather show!


From Lashanna Lawler:

What an incredible show, starting with the energy and wit of Ben Folds and Tori in all her splendid glory. It was a beautiful night in Camden and Ben Folds came on at 7:30pm. I've seen him in concert 3 times but I couldn't name his songs from memory. He does a very fun bit getting the audience to sing for him. Good fun and a great way to get in the mood for Tori.

hour later, our piano playing goddess sauntered on to the stage to open up with Wampum Prayer and A Sorta Fairytale. She looked incredible as always in her "Sex in the City" shoes, jean capris and flowy sleeve dress. After seeing her in Cleveland two weekends ago, I was excited to hear some fast, piano banging, hair thrusting piano playing. The Cleveland show was great, just a little on the sedate side. That would not be the case in Camden. Next she played Caught A Light Sneeze, which I hadn't heard live before. I love it when she hits those high notes. She played a faster version of Little Amsterdam, but it was still easy to groove to. Of course she had to introduce the boys, John and Matt and she sang a little ditty about only 8 shows to go and what her life would be like after the tour. . . back to being a mom, carpools, ballet class etc. Very cute. Right after that she tore into Cornflake Girl, what a classic, a great signature song played in Tori's signature style. Here's a little bonus: she played Rattlesnakes from Strange Little Girls. It had a great flow and was really mellow and delightful. Sweet Dreams followed and I really started getting into that song. It sounded great live. Girl was next and the only song she played from Little Earhtquakes. After that she launched in to Wednesday which is just a totally great feel good song that you can bop around to. And here's where things start to get really good. Tori talked to the audience a bit and came up with a lovely song about inspiring Tash to go to school. Apparently, Tash was psyched about it until she ran into her cousin who told her "school sucks." It was great, she's such a loving mommy. Roadside cafe time, just Tori and the piano and all the songs I wanted to hear. For starters she played Carbon, which was really quite lovely. Her voice sounded beautiful and she looked like she was really getting into it, then all of a sudden she was like "okay I really fucked that up" and she just started playing, her voice soaring, coaxing hte sound guy along till they could get things right. Tori even makes screwing up soud good!

Next she played a very dark and brooding version of Not the Red Baron that was incredible. She really let the piano have it. Time, the Tom Waits cover was an absolute gem sung with intense depth of emotion and thoughfulness. And as if that wasn't enough she played Josephine, the minute and a half song that should be longer becuase it's so beautiful, delicate and touching. John came out and played on the upright bass for this one. And Matt can make those drums sound so good. Sweet Sangria brought us out of the somber mellow mood and Lust, with the blaring bass that nearly vibrated me out of my seat put things over the top. That's another one of my favorites and I'm so glad she played stuff from Venus (unlike Cleveland where she played nothing). God brought us back to Under the Pink, followed by Hotel, the only song from Choir Girl (nice pink and yellow lights). Next she performed a very impassioned I can't see NY, her voice effortlessly emitting the confusion and chaos of the 9/11 tragedy. To bring things home, she topped it off with Precious Things. Time for the encore, evryone rose to their feet and she came back out and played In the Springtime of His Voodoo. The more I hear this song live, the more I like it. Great lyrics. Tombigbee was next. I never heard this song ever in my life before. Now I have to find it. It's a fun song. The second encore really topped things off for me and nearly made me cry. She played Honey, which for me was just as sweet as playing Sugar. Beauttiful, beautiful, undoubtedly beautiful song. And to know that it's her favorite from Under the Pink made it even more special. Absolutely gorgeous. And for the finale of this grand concert, she played Horses which I really liked live! It was amazing. It sounded so good with the band and Matt was using these special drum sticks (the big padded ones) that gave it sort of this great muffled suffocated sound. Nice contrast to Tori banging on the piano.

Since I love lighting design, I just have to give props to the light guy. The show looked great and the colors really accentuate the mood of the songs.

Hopefully anyone who wasn't at the concert can live vicariously through that description. If you were there you ran reminisce about the glorious splendor that Tori graced our ears with on that splendid summer night on Aug. 26 in Camden , NJ. Thanks Tori!


From Debbie & Nancy:

Hey Everyone! What a great show last night! First we have to tell you that we took a Happy Birthday bag with us.

Filled with lip gloss, fairy dust and a glamour girl card. The guards told us that Tori and her staff have requested that we give the gifts to security so she can be presented with them all at once after the show. We only hope they followed through...

Ben Folds was a great way to open the night up with music. He has so much energy - you couldn't sit still! Then she came...we were only 4 rows from the stage. Saw every bit of her and got great pictures that we will share as soon as they are ready. She had a great set, playing a variety from all of her albums.

After Caught a Lite Sneeze, she said hello and goodbye at the same time. Telling us how there were only 8 shows left...it was sweet :) Sweet Dreams was great, and she added a "Who's your Daddy" in there that just rocked! She told a sweet little story about Tash starting school and how her cousin told her that school sucks. In the end, cousin wished Tash luck - it was so cute and you could only imagine little Tash as the cutest little red head you've ever seen! Carbon was played at the Roadside Cafe and had a 'f*** up' in it. Mark was not doing sound so she sang "Come on Justin lets fix this". The bass was really overpowering as well. Mark wherever you are, you were missed!

After that, she went right into Time. Not one of our favorites but she was totally into it and as the breeze from the river came in and wrapped around her - it was a great Tori & the piano moment. Honey was a wonderful surprise ~ we haven't heard that in so long.

It was a wonderful experience, being so close like that for the first time...breath taking.

We'll miss her as she takes the next year and a half off ~ but she left us with a great "See you Next Time"


From Robert:

I wanted to add that Tori soundchecked Blood Roses last night.


From Torinymph02:

The key words for this show are High Energy. The band was really pumping this night~ Tori really seemed to be enjoying herself. I myself was ecstatic to hear both Not the Red Baron & Josephine-which by the way it a bit more mellow the album version. Another highlight- Tori's parents were in the audience for this show, although she didn't mention them.