You can now see the set list and reviews for the Virginia Beach, VA concert. The concert tonight included the Lottapianos debut of Pandora's Aquarium and 1000 Oceans, and only the second performance of Riot Poof this summer. The set list also featured Doughnut Song, Landslide (solo), Father Lucifer and Space Dog. 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 Virginia Beach, VA on Thursday, August 28, 2003 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Tori's special guest was Ben Folds and the show started at 7:00PM.

Set List

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


Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Crucify
Pancake/Ohio
Cornflake Girl
Doughnut Song
Upside Down
Girl
Wednesday

Band Leaves

Silent All These Years
Merman
Landslide

Band returns

Pandora's Aquarium
Siren
Father Lucifer
Virginia
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Precious Things

1st Encore

Riot Poof
Rattlesnakes

2nd Encore

Space Dog
Liquid Diamonds
1000 Oceans

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 called this a "great, great show!" Tori debuted Pandora's Aquarium and 1000 Oceans for the Lottapianos tour, and performed Riot Poof for only the second time this summer. She sounded great, and did really well considering the fact that this venue sits near a major airport, and there were constant planes going by overhead. The planes were really noticable and annoying during secret time, but she amazingly did not allow the noise to get to her, and she gave Virginia Beach a great show.

Space Dog had the piano intro, which is the way she performed the song back in 2001.

Tori did not talk too much, not did she perform any real improvs. She told the audience that she only had a few shows left and she was glad to see the people there.

Tori made some interesting changes to her written set list. She was supposed to do I'm On Fire instead of Landslide, and she actually substituted God with Riot Poof tonight, which is really interesting!


From Steph:

Tonights show was awesome. I only get to see her when she comes within 4 hours or so and this is the first venue she has played within 5 minutes of my house in four years!

I typically do not like shows at the amphithetre particularly because it is 5 minutes from Oceana Naval Airforce Base. The planes don't stop until midnight!

There were a lot of video cameras set up at this show as well. Film guys walking around adjusting the angles. So maybe this is why she didn't talk that much, and no real improves. She did say before CG that it was so hot outside and that she loved it. She then said that they were winding down and she appreciated us all for being there, then putting her hand to her chest she said "it's been heaven."

Doughnut song was a beautiful surprise.

Her voice was on point and she smiled a lot. She noticed the planes sometimes and would kind of smile towards the sky.

She seemed a little emotional at times especially ending with 1000 oceans.

She and the boys were at there best tonight. Definetly one of the top shows I've seen thus far. Next time I hope she comes back to Chrysler Hall!


From Lita:

Ben Folds was excellent. I really enjoyed him live. He loved the audience too, and got us involved! He was so adorable and awesome up there on the stage with his piano.

Tori Amos..tonight's show was amazing. Of course, I'd love any concert of her's I'd ever attend, but this one was different from the others. She played Space Dog!

There was a positive vibe coming from everybody. The mood was pleasant and the way things were up on stage looked fun too. Tori seemed to be enjoying herself and she danced. She was so cute tonight.

I was impressed with Pandora's Aquarium, as well as Father Lucifer. We had excellent encores! But during Riot Poof, Tori had a little drooling problem..it's all good though. Space Dog was my favourite performance of the night because I have waited so long to see that song live! My boyfriend kept saying it wouldn't be played, but I just had a feeling, and it WAS played! It seemed appropriate to end the show with 1,000 Oceans. Poor Tori was probably exhausted!

Well that's about it. It was an amazing show and again, PEOPLE GO SEE BEN FOLDS!


From Lupa:

Tonight was phenomenal. Seriously, the best show I have ever seen. The energy was really high and Tori hit every note perfectly. She did lots of dancing between songs and lots of hand gestures. What a sexy, beautiful woman!!

She came out wearing short jeans with slits on the sides, strappy pumpy shoes (don't know enough about shoes to describe them properly) and a beautiful white flowing shirt with amber colored leaves. One sleeve was sheer white and the other was sky blue. Her hair was back in a low ponytail with a cute red ribbon and lots of strands framing her face....

Crucify... she was so into this song. I loved the way she crossed her wrists throughout and it was such a strong start to the show. then a little dance and into...

Pancake with Ohio, which I had never heard before. It's amazing how seamless she makes the transition.

The she said "it's so hot, love it hot...we're winding down... thank you for being here...it's been heaven". She introduced Matt and Jon and went straight into Cornflake Girl. She did this cute salute to the audience during one of the "watchword" lines.

Doughnut Hole... (Mike, I know you can't say shit) BUT holy shit... this song blew me the f*** away. The intro was gorgeous and she ended it with an "OK" hand gesture (yanno, doughnut hole).

then another cute dance while wiping away some drool and then Upside Down with the band. First time seeing it live with the band and WOW does this song rock with Jon and Matt wailing away.

Girl had a piano intro that was much higher in range than I've heard it. Sounded almost like a music box. Then Wednesday, the sign came down and without a word she went into Silent all These Years. She did some interesting vocals with the "years go by...choke on my tears..." She sang each line twice which really added some dimension to this song.

Then Merman, what can I say... just beautiful. Then Landslide, a lot of cute expressions on the 'I'm getting older too" line.

Matt and Jon came back out and when I heard her voice soar through the opening word "Pandora" i wanted that moment to never end. Her voice left ground from the first syllable and didn't come back down... and I admit, I thought of my friends in The Tank and wished they were there.

Siren seemed a little slower tonight than in the past, which I dug greatly... she really pronounced each word so much clearer.

Father Lucifer was awesome and had her giving 'the girls' the finger. The audience loved it.

Virginia, beautiful of course, though I suspected it was coming. Another little dance and into Hotel... I don't think I blinked the whole time. I love Hotel and wasn't expecting much, if anything from Choirgirl. Fabulous!

I can't see NY was great, but it seemed a good portion of the audience got up to use the bathroom or whatever.

Precious Things was so much more energetic than last night. There was that great moment where she growled the world "girl" getting louder and louder as she slowly stood up grabbing her crotch.

The encores were awesome and Riot Poof put everything over the top. Rattlesnakes seemed to calm the audience down and there was a real reverence. Coming back with Space Dog is always such a treat (also one of my favorite songs-ever). Liquid Diamonds and 1000 Oceans cemented the theme in my mind... if last night was atmosphere/air, tonight was wild, wet water.

I'm so sad that this will be my last concert until her next tour... but what a wonderful final concert of the tour!!


From Jim Roberts:

This was the fifth time I have seen Tori Amos dating back to 1992. The Little Earthquakes show at The Boathouse in Norfolk was brilliant and awe-inspiring -- the single best musical performance I have ever attended. Under The Pink at the Harrison Opera House was pretty damn good, too, but did not live up to the mesmerizing standard she set for herself on that first tour. Unfortunately, she's been on a slippery slope ever since.

I know I'll sound like an old fogey here -- I just turned 33! -- but the new material doesn't do much for me. (By new, I mean everything after Boys For Pele.) Live, the new stuff just comes off as too ethereal. Dare I say -- filler? Last night, for example, when she closed the main set with Precious Things, it only served to show the contrast in quality between it and the previous songs: I Can't See New York, Hotel and Virginia.

That said, there were some things I really liked about the show, not the least of which was the fresh take on Crucify. The drummer deserves a lot of credit too. He was top-notch all night long.

For me -- as you might guess -- Silent All These Years was the high point. Take that performance, multiply it by about 16 songs, trim the audience to about 200, and you'll have some idea what that seminal Boathouse show was like 11 years ago. It took me back, albeit momentarily.

Merman was VERY good, but I definitely could have lived without Landslide. That song was overdone BEFORE the Dixie Chicks did it. (After reading some of the setlists on this site, I was hoping to hear U2's Running To Stand Still.)

In the encores, Space Dog was probably the high point. I left wishing I had heard more of my favorites -- Hey Jupiter, Past The Mission, etc. (Side note: My girlfriend, seeing Tori for the first time, loved the show but wished she could have heard Blood Roses.)

Ben Folds was awesome. I have seen him three times before -- twice with Ben Folds Five -- and while I don't think an amphitheater is his ideal venue, he easily won the crowd over. I'm looking forward to getting his newest EP.

It occurred to me this morning that when I saw the double bill of Billy Joel and Elton John -- now that's a "lottapianos" -- they each did one of the other's songs. Wouldn't it be cool to see Ben Folds sing Cornflake Girl or Tori sing Brick? Just an off-the-wall thought -- call me blasphemous.

To clarify from the earlier posts: The Virginia Beach Amphitheater is near Oceana Naval Air Station, not an Air Force base or a commercial airport. The sound of fighter jets flying over was often distracting, especially during the quieter moments of the show, but as they say in these parts: "That's the price of freedom."


From Alexis Hill (PeleGirl5284):

Tori was absolutely wonderful.

I won these two tickets over the radio to meet her and have her sing a couple of songs for us. I brought my 10 year old sister with me. The songs she played during soundcheck for us were "Riot Poof" and "Girl". She kept looking at my sister and I during "Girl" and winking :) Afterwards we went back to get autographs, pictures and I asked her about the greatest hits album and b-sides she's putting out from SW.

She was incredibly kind at the meet and greet. I gave her a paper doll I made of her and she seemed so impressed, so I was happy. She also signed my sisters Little Earthquakes and my Lyrics book.

As for she show, I am so happy I finally got to see Ben Folds. He is so wonderful. My Republican Christian parents thought he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, lol. So I am very thrilled about that. And I have to say, I've always had a crush on him.

As for Tori, she was absolutely splendid. We could have done without the airplane noise. My sister and I were rockin hardcore to her. Though she did not play "lovesong" for me, I believe there definately was a reason for that. It was being taped..which is probably why there was no improv or much talking at all during the show. (which made me a little dissapointed)

Her voice was top notch. The highlights for me were probably "Pandora's Aquarium" "Virginia" "Father Lucifer" "Riot Poof" "Hotel" and "Space Dog" "liquid Diamonds"...actually after thinking about it....almost all the songs in the concert I was amazed to hear. Her voice was so beautiful, and it was so wonderful to see her play so many of the songs my sister is familiar with.

My only dissapointed (besides no talking) was the roadside cafe. Seemed a little too mellow for me. And I would have changed any of those for the new Take to the Sky and Professional Widow....but hey..there's always next year :)

I'm kind of in my depressed mood now, knowing she won't be touring for a couple years or so, but oh well, time to look forward to a new album and a new tour. Tori is just an incredible artist. Hands down. Don't know what else to say.


From Lorraine Eakin:

Tori must have been feeling that the ocean was near (though you wouldn't know it from the location of the ampitheatre!) This was a very "underwater" show, with songs like Upside Down, Pandora's Aquarium, Merman, Siren, Liquid Diamonds, and 1000 Oceans. I thought this setlist was better than Merriweather's, more of the dark, complex songs that I love.

Crucify continues to amaze me, I'm always impressed at how this old song manages to reinvent herself over and over. It wasn't as powerful as the first time I saw this version (Fairfax) but I still love hearing it. This was the first I had heard of the Ohio bridge in Pancake, and she works it in flawlessly. And Doughnut Song - I was a big defender of Doughnut Song with the band, I thought it rocked. Then I heard her do it solo in Camden and I thought, this is the way this song is meant to be heard. But now last night's version was so good I am forced to say I like both ways equally - I think the band brings a lot to the table and makes her (and the piano) work harder. Speaking of the band being cool, this is the first time I've seen Upside Down with the band, and I love it love it love it! Usually when the band is added to a song she used to do solo, they follow what was laid out on the album (songs like Girl, Caught a Lite Sneeze, etc). But what they're doing here is completely new and different - the bass line is really funky and sexy, the drumbeat too. And I have never been comfortable with the "I found the secret to life" bridge, but with the band it's awesome! This was a highlight for me.

I would have enjoyed SATY more if there hadn't been a lame girl in front of me acting out the song and half singing/half talking along. Oh well. Merman was better than when I saw it solo on the SLG tour, she took her time with it and made it very powerful, especially the line "to cross his lands of ice" - she held out the "ice" and played an interesting piano bit after it - beautiful. Landslide was (once again) not a song I wanted to see, but I had to eat my words last night - she drew out a lot of the notes she usually skims over, and played a much more animated and improvisational piano than usual. I was moved!

Pandora was another big highlight for me. It's one of my favorites off of Choirgirl (although it was one of my least favorites til I saw it live). She really held out those last notes, it blows me away every time. The rest of the main set was strong, but nothing new or particularly different. The ampitheatre was right near an airfield (isn't that brilliant) and the planes were so distracting! But during ICSNY, exactly at the line "swallowed in the purring of the engines" a plane flew very low overhead and swallowed up the line. Tori must have noticed, because she smiled, and she usually doesn't smile during that song. The encores were really strong, Riot Poof was rockin. At the "it will all find its way in time" in the middle of the song, she sang it the way she sings it at the end.

When they came out for the second encore, I thought it was odd that she came out with the band instead of later. Then they brought up the "Space Dog" lights and I thought "Wow! She's going to sing the Andromeda part!" And she did. It was beautiful, I liked this version better than the one the night before because of it. Liquid Diamonds was amazing, as usual - so dark and creepy. She almost sang my favorite part, the "I go inside her shell" bit, but she seemed a little off the beat or something and instead sang a little improv (the same notes as the shell part) that said "Matty get me back in line, Mr. Jon bring be back" or something like that. 1000 Oceans was a nice compliment, it's so pretty and sad, a nice was to end the show. This wasn't my favorite so far, but it was a strong show. Onward to Raleigh and Charleston!


From Jessica Dennis (sisterjanet2):

Hi. I have to say that while agree with all of the comments that Tori's performance was outstanding, as well as Ben's, that the venue itself, as well as the crowd were horrible. I would say that 60% of the crowd had exceeded their 2 drink per night limit, with constant talking and getting up during the middle of numbers. The jet noise was absolutely a factor in Tori's performance, ruining Silent All These Years, Merman & Landslide. She was forced to hold some notes for an extended time, and I feel you could hear and see her aggravation towards this. There were also several times that Tori gestured towards the audience for quite, and during Merman between the breaks of fly-bys she sang "doesn't need your voice, girls" directed to a particularly loud section. I was embarrassed at the behavior of these fans that had $45 a seat to spend getting drunk and acting lude. I understand that generally when a crowd first realizes what a song is there is applause (this wasn't my first Tori concert, or concert period), but hooting during the pieces in unnecessary and disrespectful to everyone else, most importantly Tori. I was surprised she gave a second encore to this undeserving crowd, and that perhaps all of these fans giving great reviews of this particular concert should shut their mouths during the singing next time.


From Kalani:

Last nights show was.....well for me, words can't describe it! That was only the second time I've seen Tori live. The first time was at Chrysler Hall in 98' I believe. And I have been a huge fan since Little Earthquakes. I have to agree with Steph's comments about the jet noise, it was kind of annoying, but she handled it beautifully! Probably my favorite moment of the show was when she did Father Lucifer and gave the finger while singing " girls who eat pizza and never gain weight"! I was really impressed with the spin she put on Father Lucifer as compared to how she played it at Chrysler Hall back in 98'. I was very pleased to hear Merman and Pandora's Aquarium live. It gave me a severe case of the goosebumps to hear her hit the high points of Pandora and to actually feel her voice through the seats! She had a very sexy, elegant vibe about her last night. She didn't talk to the audience too much. She commented on the heat and how she loved it and told us that the tour was now winding down and thanked us for coming. The lighting and the backdrops were awesome. It really set a serene type of mood for the show. I was totally blown away by her performance last night and am very sad to hear that she won't be touring for a few years. It's difficult for me to travel far for her shows because of my job, but I will wait patiently as I did before to see the Goddess again!


From DP:

I also wanted to clarify that the ampitheater is near the Naval Station, hence all the jets flying over - they weren't commercial jets! I did not mind them because of that reason - and during ICSNY, one went over right when she sang "our engines" and she gave this really emotional look upwards, like in tribute to the jets in NY. I thought it was really powerful that it flew over right then.

Anyway, this night was incredibly special for me because I had written her a note a few days before, explaning that my sister and brother-in-law (who is stationed in the Navy in Norfolk) were going to be at the show and that it was their first, and that my brother-in-law had been deployed for 10 months in the Gulf and had only recently returned. In the letter I told her that the "Navy Girls" intro of Space Dog is particularly touching for us, and that if she could find a place for Space Dog in the Va Beach atmosphere I knew it would be appreciated because of all the Naval people there. I wasn't even sure if she would get the note, or if Space Dog would be "in the air" for that night - but when she came out WITH the guys for that last encore, my stomach did a jump... and when she started playing.... I was in tears. I couldn't believe it. She not only read the note, but she played the Space Dog WITH that amazing Navy Girls intro. I was floored. She is simply amazing. She seemed particularly emotional about it, too, which I thikn meant she knew that a lot of Naval people were out there in the audience (and flying overhead). I was seriously blown away- she never ceases to astound me with her beautiful nature and heart. And then to follow it with 1000 Oceans... I was seriously just in shock. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that she played that song for the Naval people, especially since I had written her about my brother-in-law's long 10 month deployment to the Gulf. "these tears I've cried, i've cried 1000 Oceans... .and I would cry 1000 more, if that's what it takes to sail you home... sail you home... sail you home...." She is amazing. I was so blown away. I wish I could thank her in person, but I'll say "Thank You, Tori" here at least.... it was so beautiful. :) Even the two OBNOXIOUS drunk women who were screaming through the whole first half of the show (not even about Tori, just talking about other stuff) could ruin the night for me after the encores :)

The whole show was amazing.


From L. Gibson:

I just found your website while searching Google for a setlist for the Va Beach show. I had a fantastic time at the show, which I attended with three other women who weren't quite sure who Tori Amos was. Car conversation on the way to concert went something like "What songs does she sing? Do I know anything of hers?'" To explain their ignorance -- our friend had won four tickets and invited us along for a "Girl's Night Out." I actually have enjoyed Tori's music since Little Earthquakes and saw her at Norfolk's Harrison Opera House with Bill Miller. She seemed angry at the audience during that performance in the mid 90's so I wasn't disappointed when she didn't speak much during this show. (During the Under the Pink tour she had all these fairies, stuffed animals and dolls all over the stage. She picked one up mid-performance and said, "See this. It's a puppet, like you. I control it like I control you...then proceeded to laugh.) Reading some of the other reviews from people who follow the tour, I learned she does interact with the audience a bit more sometimes. Whatever. Frankly, I don't give a shit if she doesn't address the audience as long as she sings and plays. I came to watch her perform and that - she did! I think it's amazing how emotionally she gets into each song. It's like she is playing just for herself in some altered state of consciousness. The audience is secondary -- we are privileged to watch her do what comes from deep in her soul. She delves into pain, isolation, and hurt that is part of the raw human experience and transforms it -- with rage, indignation, a screw you attitude and leaves you finally a soft "everything will be ok" feeling. Tori Amos makes me feel proud to be a woman.... By the end of the Va Beachs how many women were swaying and dancing in the audience... tapping into their own source of sensuality and sacred energy.... moved and encouraged by Tori and her message. My "Girls Night Out" group walked in with one fan and left with four.