Tori performed Pandora's Aquarium, Glory Of The 80's, Rattlesnakes, and did an amazing 5 songs solo at the piano. Four were during the Roadside Cafe and they were Mr. Zebra, Doughtnut Song, Silent All These Years and Enjoy The Silence. Then Tori did Etienne solo at the end of the first encore! If you were at the Albany 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 Albany, NY on Friday, February 28, 2003 at the Palace Theatre. The opening act was Jeffrey Gaines.

Set List

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

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Pancake
Cornflake Girl
Pandora's Aquarium
Glory Of The 80's
Black-Dove (January)
Wednesday

Band Leaves

Mr. Zebra
Doughnut Song
Silent All These Years
Enjoy The Silence

Band returns

Lust
Sweet Sangria
Space Dog
Rattlesnakes
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Iieee

1st Encore

God
Tear In Your Hand
Etienne (solo)

2nd Encore

Taxi Ride
Hey Jupiter

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:

Matt says the show tonight was fantastic and that the venue was very nice and had great sound. Tori did 4 solo songs during the Roadside Cafe instead of her normal 3, and then during the first encore Tori did 3 songs, and the last one was Etienne solo at the piano. Matt saw the official written set list and Etienne was not on there, so it was a spontaneous add by Tori.


From abby:

just got home a little while ago from seeing tori amos at the palace theater in albany. she performed so many of my favorite songs and my favorite song ever: silent all these years. it was great. she only spoke to us once, but i'm not complaining. we stood outside in the freezing cold for over forty minutes waiting to see her and get pictures, but once hypothermia started to set in, we called it quits. i did get a used matt chamberlain drumstick from a roadie though! woo! here is how the concert went-

wampum prayer: the red curtain was down for this and then it came up, but tori had not taken the stage yet. only matt and jon.

a sorta fairytale: tori came out and did a sort of bow before the audience with her hands out in front of her, one over the other..then she launched into this song.

caught a lite sneeze: sounded different without the harpsichord, i didn't recognize it at first.

pancake: yummy :)

then tori said hi, asked us how we were doing and commented about how she hasn't been up here in awhile. she said she remembered being upstairs last time she was here and woody harrelson was trying to convince her to start eating just raw vegetables and she said, "but i like men".

cornflake girl: doesn't get any better than this classic.

pandora's aquarium: i was just listening to this a few weeks ago and thinking how nice it would be to hear it live! it was gorgeous.

glory of the 80's: not my favorite off to venus and back. i was thinking how i would have rather heard 'lust' and she did that later in the show!

black dove (january girl): not my favorite off this album either, but it is a gorgeous song and it sounded very powerful with the band.

wednesday: what a fun, spunky little song.

the roadside cafe sign came down and matt and jon left.

mr zebra: :)

doughnut song: very very beautiful. did some improv that went "you can tell me, it's over..it's over..you can tell me, it's over, so maybe hey it's over..you can tell me over and over and over again.." there was more to it.. something about houston and touching down i think, but i don't recall exactly.

silent all these years: okay, i had to fight back tears with this one. there were many people around me who were just as shocked and happy to hear this as i was. my all time favorite song.. got me through some rough times.

enjoy the silence: depeche mode cover. again, i was thinking too bad she didn't do rattlesnakes or i don't like mondays or time.. but then she did end up doing rattlesnakes.

lust: the band came back for this, but the roadside cafe sign went up after the song. this is probably my favorite song off to venus and back so i was a happyhappy clam.

sweet sangria: one of my favorite off the new album! groovy.

space dog: almost pissed my pants over this one. i don't think she does it live too often and it is my favorite song off under the pink!^#@87

rattlesnakes: geez, louise.. i was practically fainting at this point. it was almost like the show was being performed specifically for me, it had almost all my favorites off each album.

hotel: ehh, not up there on my list, but it was a powerhouse live.

i can't see new york: haunting, gorgeous, extremely powerful and sad.

IIEEE: was caught off guard by this one. would have wanted to hear jackie's strength if i could pick any one off this album, but this was nice live.

FIRST ENCORE:
god: another fantastic classic.

tear in your hand: probably my second favorite off LE. couldn't believe i was hearing this on top of all the others she had already done, absolutely too good to be true. she waved to us as she sang "it's time to wave goodbye now"

etienne: she did this solo and it was breathtaking. had an improv at the beginning, it went "she dreams this over and over" that's all i can remember of it.

SECOND ENCORE:
taxi ride: stuck around for this, even though i wanted to get up close for the meet and greet and had planned to leave a few songs early. it was just great live.

hey jupter: she did the dakota version of this.. we left in the middle. i am pretty sure she played this last time i saw her too in 1998.

AMAZING SHOW. i'm so happy i can hardly breathe. i am elated, i only wish i could have met her, but i have plenty of time yet ;)


From Woj (as posted to the precious things mailing list):

just a quick review of albany from the road...

meredith and i left new haven just after 5pm and pulled into albany spot on 7:30. take that mapquest! ;) while it would have been nice to get there early enough to hang out before the show, it's kinda tough when you have a working stiff in the family...

anyway, we toodled over to the palace from the really cheap (by nyc metro standards) parking garage and went into the theatre. the frisking was the most in-depth so far on the tour (even more so that providence last year).

the palace has one of those halls across the back of the theatre which opens onto the orchestra so we stood there and watched the second half of jeffery gaines' set. not really my thing but the crowd which had taken their seats seemed to enjoy his moody solo acoustic guitar act quite a bit.

after he finished, we took our seats which were way left in the third row of the orchestra. we were apprehensive about the view but it turned out to be really good: we were left but the front rows of the far left and right orchestra angle in towards the stage rather nicely. so, we could see tori play the middle to high-end of the piano and, when she was playing the wurlitzer or rhodes, she was more-or-less looking right in our direction. since the piano's lid was removed (or down) for the sampler, we had a great view of matt across the stage but jon was partially blocked by the lighting rig. ah well.

oh, the other neat thing about the seats over there was that there were only two seats in our entire row! so, no beer drinkers were getting up every few songs to replenish their supply or depenish their bladders. there was only one row ahead of our seats and the folks who bought them never showed up so we basically had a great view of the stage from a seat that a lot of people would generally think isn't that great.

at this point, you're probably thinking, "enough pre-ramble, woj, what about the show?" (so am i! so am i!)

the palace blinked the lights in the theatre twice (a nice touch) so we were ready when "wampum prayer" started wafting through the skim (no sage -- did anyone else notice any?). then the skim came down and matt and jon started grooving "a sorta fairytale". tori came out to the usual applause and ovation.

she was wearing the brown boots, the jeans and a shimmery shawl thing which looked like it had a tigerskin pattern on it -- though it was colored a light brown stripes on the white/beige-ish base. did i mention it was shimmery? ;) oh, she was also wearing a black choker which looked like it had some small jewels on its fringe. she also had on a locket pendant of some sort.

the setlist: wampum prayer / a sorta fairytale / caught a lite sneeze / pancake / cornflake girl / pandora's aquarium / glory of the 80s / black dove / wednesday / roadside cafe: mr. zebra / doughnut song / silent all these years / enjoy the silence / band returns: lust / sweet sangria / space dog / rattlesnakes / hotel / i can't see new york / iieee / first encore: god / tear in your hand / etienne (solo) / second encore: taxi ride / hey jupiter

it was really nice to hear rattlesnakes and pandora's aquarium. glory of the 80s and cornflake girl were well done even though neither are a favorite of mine. space dog made meredith very happy. i can't see new york lacked oomph - i really want to be slammed back against my seat during that one and it didn't happen last night. etienne was a nice extra treat (it wasn't on the printed setlist) though i have to say that picking between a solo and band version is a really tough call. the roadside cafe was kinda a lull in the show for me -- neither silent all these years nor doughnut song do much for me. enjoy the silence was nice but again not too thrilling. i was also disappointed to hear, yet again, the same set of songs from _scarlet's walk_. it's not that i'm sick of them, it's that it would be nice to mix in more songs from the new record other than the upbeat ones. finally, iieee and god were way cool -- highlights for me -- i wasn't expecting iieee to be a really good closer for the main set but it seems to fit pretty good there.

so, on the whole, this was a good show but not one that had a lot of transcedent, "holy shit!" points. here's hoping for talula and spark and strange little girl in syracuse! ;)


From Stefanie:

I just wanted to add my thoughts/highlights about last night's show in Albany. By the way, the Palace Theatre is absolutely beautiful, and the detail on the ceiling is amazing (I know from being in the second to last row in the balcony).

My only negative comment (which I'll get out of the way right now) is: I get really frustrated and annoyed when venues sell alcohol. It only leads to people getting up all throughout the show, and then they get drunk and talk loudly ('cause they don't realize how loudly they're talking).

The show was absolutely amazing, and Tori seemed to be in very high spirits (during the meet & greet and while on stage). If songs could be described as "sexy," that's what so many of them felt like last night. In addition to the more blatantly sexy songs (i.e. Iieee, Hotel, Lust, etc), "sexy" surprises were Caught A Lite Sneeze and Pandora's Aquarium (in comparison to other shows I've been to where she has played these).

Enjoy the Silence and Rattlesnakes are definately two of my favorites off of Strange Little Girls-- they were thrilling to hear.

There was something about the combination of Enjoy the Silence, followed by Silent All These Years that really struck a chord in me. I loved these two together.

What Tori did with Doughnut Song absolutely blew me away. It never seemed to end, and I definately didn't want it to end.

Wednesday was so fun and beautiful, and the way she bounced during the drum intro of Space Dog was adorable. (I also couldn't believe she was playing Space Dog!) These two really show off Matt on the drums.

It seemed like Tori was either saying something different, or the words were kinda muddled, during the chorus of I Can't See New York. Did anyone else notice this?

I'm not one to cry during Tori shows... I mean, my eyes will sometimes tear, but never actually cry. Except for last night when she played Etienne. I'm not really sure why... it was just so beautiful...

I thought the whole show was very fluid-- Tori had a very hot & sour/ sugar & spice thing going on, and the songs all seemed to compliment each other very well.


From Karolyn:

I hadn't intended to go to the show, but I had a few bad days and was "kidnapped" by fiends (spelled with an R in there somewhere) and whisked off to Albany. We arrived at some point during Jeff Gaines' performance and I tried to find a ticket outside. I ended up with a fantastic 3rd row center seat next to the friends I came with (How often does that *happen*?) and indulged in my escapist fantasy to the fullest extent. As many times as I think I'm over it, as soon as the curtain is about to go up, I'm flush with the feeling that this is exactly where I should be. I've been going through a lot of crap lately and as soon as the shows start, I instantly forget all about everything else. It's incredible.

I don't remember if there was anything spectacular about ASF, but I had a smile ear to ear throughout the song. I just couldn't stop. I was so happy to be there, I almost cried. The feeling didn't stop through CALS, when I began to think about how smooth the band seemed compared to the first leg of the tour. Every move was polished and so clear that it was unbelievable to me. After reading other reviews where people wrote that she seemed detached or not really with the audience, I can understand why they felt this way. Although all the songs were performed well, there were very few "what the hell is wrong with that woman?" intense moments. I love those.

Jon and Matt had one, right before Pancake. It was the most growwlly, ferocious intro I'd heard. It went on for awhile and I only guessed it would be Pancake because Tori was standing and facing the Wurly towards the end of it. Before she got off the bench, I thought it would be Bliss- it was that level of growl. If any of you get me on the phone soon, I will imitate that "level of growl" with my voice, FYI. Some of the energy rubbed off on Tori, because this was one of the best flapjacks I've heard.

Cornflake Girl is one of those where I've heard it so many times that I just sort of relax into it. Tonight was the first time I've understood why she plays it so darn much. There were points where her hair was over her face and she was looking down at her hands and smiling, making excited faces to herself. It's a showoff song, plain and simple. She seems to get carried away by the energy both of the song itself and the crowd's enthusiastic cheers. I was a little perplexed when she began Pandora, but the lighting and the languid movement eased me in. It was one of my favorite performances of the song, although the shift in energy called for a quick adjustment. I forgot where I was for a bit and really existed in the space she created.

Glory of the 80's made me really happy, because I had discussed it earlier with someone and we both thought she wouldn't play it again on the tour. I've never heard it performed live before and the thing about it that struck me was how relaxed she seemed. I've heard the Mp3s from Charlotte 01 and this year, and thought that it would be a cornflake-esque standing on her bench song. She stayed seated and performed it with relative ease. It led into Black Dove nicely (something i would not have predicted). I don't have that much to say about this particular performance- I think I hooked into the emotional components of the song and just ran away into my head. Wednesday! I'm thrilled with the (literal) spotlight on Matt during the song. The theatrical bent is cool. Elyse and I snapped at the same time, prompting a giggle fit.

Zebra & Doughnut were both solid, but I wasn't feeling them as more than aural enjoyment. At the end of Silent, she seemed to fight back tears. Some girl's white-hat-bathroom-&-beer-trip boyfriend knew the song, so he stood up and cheered at parts he liked. Luckily, he was off to the left and became only a peripheral nuisance. Enjoy the Silence was nice. As she played, I was struck by how relevant the song is to the current state of the country and the nearly-paralyzing effect of the recent alerts. A few people sang along, quietly. Like a tiny echo from the balcony. Not disruptive at all.

When Lust started, so did the line for the girls' room (or so i heard). Someone near me was in and out in the space of the song. Just enough time. The echoes were really loud from the front speakers, almost jarring. During another song (although i forget which one) there was a low feedback for about 10 seconds. Sweet Sangria was great, although slightly slower than at other shows.

Man. Space Dog. I cried. I didnt hear it in the first leg, and it's always really special to me. I cried during Space Dog. There's gotta be something wrong with me ... Rattlesnakes was exciting. The pacing of this arrangement is closer to Lloyd Cole's original than either last tour's incarnation or the studio version. It lacks the isolation of the others and made me feel like Tori was singing about the character rather than embodying her (if that makes sense).†

I always like Hotel. This one was strong. The lights weren't as hard to handle,tonight. The Pancake energy was back in full force.

ICSNY remains emotionally potent for me every night, so I'm not a good judge of the song. I'm always drawn in and never able to hear it objectively. The added "And I said" echoes made me jump. It took me out for a second, but it may have been the speakers up top again.

IIEEE is literally moving. My ass was vibrating in my seat. WHOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO! The energy from Sangria was consistent until the end of the show. it rocked.† God rocked.The audience rushed, but then sat down again/returned to their seats. I mouthed along with the pretty daisies line and boogied down, before remembering which song it was,though. Amos-nesia. I had the dumb grin again, through Tear. Before Etienne, Tori leaned toward the guys as Jon crossed the stage and Matt leaned in. There was a double take movement, like "Oh, okay" , then they left the stage. (this all happened in the space of 2 seconds). The lights on their stations remained lit for a few moments, though. The intro to Etienne was centered around "She dreams over and over " and ended with "she'll find her". I think. I can't be trusted. I was swept up in the moment.

It was the best, most moving version of Etienne I've ever heard. She blew kisses & waved to the left side of the house before leaving the stage. When she came back, there was an uncertain rush (only a very few people) and the audience stood and danced for Taxi, then remained standing through Jupiter. Although I didn't feel like it was a particularly emotive Jupiter, it was performed beautifully and I liked it more than usual.

Overall, I felt "all caught up" after the show. I had a little mental checklist of things I hadn't heard yet and wanted to hear and she ripped through almost all of them. The high quality of the performances and variety of songs made it amazing, but it had an almost glossy feel. After the show, I found friends from disparate parts of the country in the lobby and tried to figure out when I'd see them again. It never works out the way you want it to, or think it will. The day was better than anything I could have expected. The shows just make me feel better, more at ease somehow. "fiercest calm"? I don't know. I just keep going, in hopes of figuring it out and replicating the feeling elsewhere.

**Karolyn

PS: Bonus points is you count the times Energy & Happy appear in my little review


From stacey:

I do not have a set list but I was at the concert and as always she was amazing!! I was also at the meet and greet with a terriable cold and got to meet her for the first time and instead of telling her what I have been wanting to say to her for years I just stood there frozen staring at her. The outfit she worn for the concert was beautiful. I can tell you she started with Wampaum Prayer and then A Sorta Fairytale then I don't remeber the exact order but she played Caught A Lite Sneeze, Hey Jupiter, Taxi Ride, and I Can't See New York.I have some photos but I do not have a scanner here but if I can I will forward them to you. Oh also I want to say that the people at the meet n greet were all very nice!!


Read a review of Tori's Albany concert from the Albany NY Times Union newspaper


From sam (a.k.a. RaisanGrrl):

M&G: we met some really awsome people there. we laughed so much, though, by the time it was over my sides and stomach hurt so bad, but it was just so fun! tori was so beautiful and radiant. and yes, the moment you've all waited for: all 4 of us met tori, but only 3 of us got our pictures taken with her =(, my friend leah said she didn't want a pic, but now she's like 'we're going to another one so i can have a picture too!' (i love her, she's so funny). i cried this time too, but i got to thank her for everything, especially for helping me to heal all these years. we put our foreheads together and talked for a little while, and she remembered my picture that i painted and gave to her at wallingford. and when i told her that she helped me to heal she said 'we all need eachother to heal sometimes', which of course made me cry even more. and i have a wonderful picture of us together to keep forever. i also had her sign a tour book for my friend, which reads 'to amy, wish you were here, love tori', because she couldn't go with us to the show. my friend angela, who up til about 2 months ago was like 'tori who?', is now a complete tori fan since she met tori at the m&g. all 4 of us still have yet to stop talking about how wonderful the m&g was. if any of you were there, you might remember us because we were constantly laughing, and of course how could you forget: 'this isn't really a pepsi, it's a pepsi twist! and i'm not really a bodyguard, i'm tori amos!'

CONCERT: breathtaking! we could see everything, every move, every little eye movement. she is just so awsome live! my friends were in awe the whole time, it was great to see all 3 of their faces just staring at the stage, with the wonder of a child. this was their first tori concert and m&g, and it was such a wonderful day. here's the set list for the show, with some little comments next to some of the girls:

Wampum Prayer (i have only seen her preform this live twice, but i cried last time and this time, just the few lyrics it has makes a big impact)
a sorta fairytale
Caught A Lite Sneeze (ahh! so amazing! this song is so much better live...)
Pancake (ok, i have to admit, i don't really like this one all too much. but there's something about being played live that makes this girl sing!)
Cornflake Girl (i will never get tired of hearing this song live)
Pandora's Aquarium
Glory Of The 80's
Black-Dove (January)
Wednesday

Band Leaves
Mr. Zebra (my kids love this song, so i was happy that she palyed it)
Doughnut Song
Silent All These Years (this, for me, was the highlight of the show. i cried and sang under my breath for this whole song. the way the lights lit her up was just pure magick, and every essence of beauty reflected off her into the audience. i think this will stay forever in my memories)
Enjoy The Silence

Band returns
Lust
Sweet Sangria
Space Dog
Rattlesnakes
Hotel
I Can't See New York (this song always makes me cry, whether live or cd, it has a profound impact on my heart)
Iieee (so very sexy!)

1st Encore
God (i was so fascinated by this song for some reason.)
Tear In Your Hand
Etienne (solo) (i cried during this song as well. i can't even begin to tell you how beautiful this song is live. if you are at one of her shows, and she plays this, you'll understand the beauty i'm talking about)

2nd Encore
Taxi Ride
Hey Jupiter (the dakota version!!! i sang this song to my son when he was a newborn to get him to fall asleep. i cried and smiled through this whole song. amazing!)

i was happy to hear some songs off SLG because i was supposed to go see her for that tour, and never went. truly a magickal experience, and being with 3 of my girlfriends just made this whole day so wonderful!