On Wednesday, March 5, 2003, Tori taped a "custom concert" for the Oxygen cable channel in New York City in the Chelsea Market, at Oxygen Studios. Tori performed 11 songs and then rerecorded 2 of them at the end. Click the details link to find out the set list and comments from people who were there in the small audience of 50-75 people who watched it being recorded. The concert was called "custom" because fans were allowed to choose what songs they most wanted to hear from a pre-selected list earlier on the Oxygen web site. Oxygen will broadcast this concert on Sunday, March 16, 2003 at 10:00pm ET. The show will be repeated again on Sunday, March 23 at 1:00AM ET (which is really late Saturday night, March 22).

More Details

Tori played the following songs:

a sorta fairytale
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Sweet Sangria
Cornflake Girl
Past The Mission

Silent All These Years (solo)
Desperado (solo)

Spark
Taxi Ride
Precious Things
Iieee

a sorta fairytale (again)
Spark (again)


Many thanks to Rob and Nicole for sending me the set list.

Commentary

From Rob:

Hi, I was a WPLJ winner for Tori's filming last night so I wanted to send you this review... Thanks! :)

OK, this is the setlist for the Oxygen Channel filming Tori did last night. This might not be the exact order and I might be forgeting a song, so if anyone was there hopefully they can correct it. (Note From Mikewhy: I have corrected the order!)

A Sorta Fairytale
Caught A Light Sneeze
Sweet Sangria
Cornflake Girl
Past the Mission

Silent All These Years
Desperado

Spark
Taxi Ride
Precious Things
Ieee

Then Tori came back out for what we thought was an encore, but actually did A Sorta Fairytale and Spark over again. I think ASF sounded a lot better the first time around, and I think she did re-did Spark because you couldnt hear the keyboard well the first time - but again it was a little better the first time.

Tori looked AMAZING. she was wearing a long blue flowy thing with feathers, and jeans underneath. Her hair looks a little shorter and curly now. I always knew she was beautiful, but really - no video or pictures do her justice...up close she's just mesmerizing.

There were about 50-75 people there - 30 WPLJ winners, some Oxygen staff, and the rest press. The staff and press got to sit directly around Tori's piano on 3 bleachers, and the radio winners were on a bleacher to the side. The staff took a few contest winners and put them in the front bleachers. My friend got to sit directly in front of Tori - about 5 feet away from her! My seat was directly across from Tori, and she was about 30 feet from me. Unfortunatly other winners had their view obstructed by camera people.

Tori performed each song perfect tonight...she was really into it and energetic - I dont know how she does it every night. For some reason "Past the Mission" stood out to me as the best song. She chatted with the audience a lot too which will hopefully end up on TV. Before her solo songs she did this lovely improv, something about " I told my daughter to follow the yellow brick road today and she cried." She had such a big smile on her face during this song, it was touching.

Anyway, all in all it was an amazing little show - I feel so lucky to have been able to go and the staff at Oxygen are really nice and helpful. This should air on TV March 16th at 10pm so definatley try to catch it!


From Keith:

Hi Mike!! (forgive my typos and spelling, I'm tired)

the set list was as follows, although the order is slightly iffy and CALS-

a sorta fairytale
caught a lite sneeze
sweet sangria
cornflake girl

improv-silent all these years
desperado

past the mission
spark
precious things
taxi ride
ieee

(she did two songs "over")
a sorta fairytale--spark

Everything with this even ran very smoothly. The staff of Oxygen was polite and extremely friendly!!!! It seems to be a very young company which lent itself to some really good energy and excitement about the event. things started a little later then 5:45 because Tori was late for her sound check, so at 6:30 we were brought into the studio. It was very intimate, not more the a hundred people, and most of the seating was not more the 6 feet from Tori!!! A shear fabric with what looked like birch tree outlines hunk around the entire set and Moroccan style lanterns hung in various places throughout.

MY ONLY COMPLAINT ABOUT THE SHOW (and then the good stuff): There were people who "showed up" as they always do, WITHOUT a ticket and WITHOUT an invitation, and with persistence were granted seats. My problem with this is most of these people ended up in the front row!!! I myself was stuck towards the back. I just felt like this was very inconsiderate and seems to be trend at a lot of concerts and events lately. There is a lack of consideration by these people (and you know who you are [the clappers, the people who won't sit down, the people who ruin meet and greets] for those of us that spend the money, or win legitimately, tickets and seats at these concerts or events. Shame on Oxygen for seating them up front instead of us! And shame on the selfish people who hold those of us who are doing the RIGHT THING hostage with the selfish attitudes!!!

That aside. It was a wonderful evening and I am so grateful for the opportunity to see Tori in such an intimate way. She mentioned at one point how it felt like she was back in a piano bar and that Jon and Matt were like her "jazz musicians in the background." She sang the "Mexico way" verse during A Sorta Fairytale (BOTH TIMES!!!). Caught A Lite Sneeze was nice, but it was very mellow compared to how she can normally throw herself into it. Sweet Sangria was amazing!! I am not a huge fan of this song on the CD, but live it took on a life of its own. LOVED IT!!! When she sang the last line "why does someone always have to lose" I got chills considering the current state of the world, it seemed poignant. "The boys" went off for what she referred to as "what would normally be (huge grin) roadside cafe. She began with an improv that almost had me in tears...it went something like "My little girl cried today when i told her she had to go down the yellow brick road--Oh my little girl cried--my little girl cried today--when i told her she had to go--she wanted to stay--wanted to play with the big girls--my little girl cried today....then she went into an amazing rendition of Silent All These Years. Before Desperado she told a story about how she used to play this song a long time ago and how she loved the acoustics in churches. she said they were "haunting." She then mention how she used to practice this song, and others in her fathers church and how they all thought she was doing choir music. Desperado live I almost can't describe, I had thought until now that "Landslide" was my favorite cover but I think this may have taken my heart...When Jon and Matt came back out she said "Missed you!!!" in the cutest little voice to them. During Past the Mission she sang the "prison towers" lyric that she used in NYC after 9/11...at one point I thought she said prism towers...which would make sense given that won for the rebuild at ground zero. At one point after her "touch up" she told us how TV is a "mindfuck of a different kind." She then gave the analogy of how a concert is like a date and you can feel each other out, change direction in conversation and what have you, where TV is like being thrown directly into the bedroom and told to "go at it." It was really funny, and really nice to hear her talk to us like she used too!!! Her sample was screwy and really low during IEEE, she gave the sound booth an up sign and they turned it up for her. Taxi Ride was really nice live, a welcomed surprise. As was Precious Things--she mentioned that this was the number one requested song. People in the studio really went wild!!! And yes, she did the "girrrrrrrl" bit! :-)

There was more but I'm worn out from the train and waiting around before hand...let me see. She was wearing a turquoise feathery shirt with log sleeves, jeans and boots that went almost up to her knees. She had a really pretty and simple leather strap with emerald green beads randomly knotted on it. She also had a turquoise ribbon in her hair. She had all for of her pianos, her bose and a synth on top, and her rhodes and whirly on the left. Some of the drums were prerecorded loops. The show was very light in feeling. She didn't rush or edit out the verses to songs and she seemed very happy. At one point I am pretty sure she said that Joel and her brother were watching, although when I look over at Joel he was standing alone. She did come back after she left and do A Sorta Fairytale again, as well as Spark, which admittedly both did sound better the second time, more crisp, ASFT's tempo also sped up.

one more thing about the show..it was taped in the Chelsea Market, at Oxygen Studios...the Chelsea Market is a cool part of Manhatten for anyone who gets a chance to visist!!


From Sara A. Weldon:

I was at the taping of Tori's custom concert for the Oxygen last night - here is a correct set list - but in very 'shaky' order - sorry I didn't have anything to write down the song order with and am doing this now from memory.

Tori looked lovely as an exotic bird in an elaborate blue (?) dress with blue feathers covering the back. The sleeves were sheer blue and they split at the upper arm and were draped long. Her hair was loose, medium length with some curls and a blue braid/ribbon hanging down the back. Makeup was very natural - the whole setup looked amazing.

She talked to us a bit about the difference between RL concerts and TV concerts & playing with good musicians. She introduced everybody, even her makeup people 'time to clean up!' and the whole thing went off without a glitch.

She played with the guys except for her improve for Tash , SATY and Desperado - Btw (in case they don't include it) the improve for Tash went something like: "My little girl cried today - she cried today - she wanted to stay - to stay - and play - with the big kids - but now she's gotta go - gotta go down the yellow brick road - the yellow brick road' - I think she had to send Tash to bed before the taping started - really sweet stuff.

A SORTA SETLIST:

A Sorta Fairytale
Sweet Sangria
Cornflake Girl
(Improve) I'm calling it 'a song for Tash' intro
Silent All These Years
Desperado
Precious Things - THE Most requested song (as Tori revealed)
Past the Mission
Taxi Ride
Iieee
Caught A Lite Sneeze
Spark

She came back in and did A Sorta Fairytale & Spark again at the end for whatever recording reasons and that was that :)