North American Club Tour
San Francisco, CA
May 5, 1998

Updated June 30, 1998

Check Out The Reviews And Set Lists Page

Tori performed her 11th concert of the North American club tour in San Francisco, CA on May 5, 1998 at the Fillmore. The photo you see to the right is actually from this San Francisco concert. It and many others like it can be seen much larger at Tori's Official site maintained by Atlantic Records.

Set List

The photo to the right shows Tori singing "Honey" from this show. It was taken from a RealVideo clip available at www.tori.com.

Dor was the first to send me this set list. She called me at home after the show! Thanks also to Doink? for emailing it to me as well.

Black Dove (January)
Cruel
Precious Things
Spark
Liquid Diamonds
Cornflake Girl
Northern Lad
Mother
Upside Down
Honey
iieee
Tear In Your Hand
Waitress

1st Encore:

She's Your Cocaine
God

2nd Encore:

Horses

Tori At The Cafe In San Francisco

After this show, Tori made an appearance at a gay bar in San Francisco called The Cafe. They were having a Tori album release party at the time. I have a report on this from Mark Folkman and a photo of Tori at the club that was sent to me by a Toriphile named I Heart 59.

See the photo and read The Cafe report.

Reviews

June 30, 1998 - The following is a less than flattering review from the June 1998 issue of Venice Magazine, a local publication that bills itself as "Los Angeles' Arts and Entertainment Magazine" (Why is a LA publication reviewing a San Francisco show anyway?) Thanks to Kim H. and Lorraine Lieu for the review and thanks to Kim H. for scanning the photos below that appeared with the review (However, the photos do not appear to be from this San Francisco concert.) The review appeared in the Live! In Concert section of this issue, which had Courtney Thorne-Smith is on the cover. One half of the column is a review of Tori's club show in San Francisco and the other half is about a Dave Mathews Band concert.

Live! In Concert
By Steve Baltin

Tori Amos
The Fillmore
San Francisco, May 5

Watching ecstatic fans shriek with delight and even cry at every move and word Tori Amos delivered at the completely sold-out Fillmore, one couldn't help but be amazed at the bond her followers have forged with her music. It is, in some ways, equal to the one Deadheads fostered. However, while it was her intensely personal songs and strength as a live performer that initially made fans latch onto her, one had to wonder how much of it is Amos' music, and how much is the fans' preconceived notions of what kind of reaction Amos' music is supposed to elicit. Given that fans had yet to even hear the new CD, _From the Choirgirl Hotel_, as the CD was released the day of the San Francisco show, the connections fans felt at this show were most likely based on her previous works.

Based on the response to this sold-out small venue tour, it seems Amos will be able to prosper commercially as a result of the fan base she built early in her career. Whether that's warranted or not is another matter. _Boys for Pele_, the disc that preceded _From the Choirgirl Hotel_, was the weakest of Amos' three solo CDs. _From the Choirgirl Hotel_, though a comeback of sorts, doesn't yield any indication that Amos will be able to move beyond being a more successful version of Kate Bush.

Having said all this, it should be noted that, as an entertainer, Amos can be riveting at times. In addition, the back-up band she chose for her first tour with accompanying musicians was strong throughout, with drummer Matt Chamberlain holding the sound together impressively. But, the material, other than on a few occasions, failed to live up to Amos' stage presence. As a result, most of the show felt like a waste of all that talent on stage. Amos is a gifted performer, there's no question about that. The questions, at this critical juncture in her career, are about her song writing ability.

From Alex

May 19, 1998 - I was visiting your page and well I saw the reviews and experiences posted from the May 5th Fillmore show in San Fran. I was also at that show, and here's my story. I left Sacramento ( 162 miles from SF. ) at noon on Monday 4th, that was the longest car ride I have EVER been on. We found the Fillmore at 3: 30pm, and there I stayed for nearly 30 hours. My friend Bobby and I were 7th in line behind Joel and Michael (the 2 guys that made up the line system, and left it with me for the night, and most of the next day, thanx goes out to them, they are great guys), and in front of some people that never talked. I am the girl with the purple wig . Around midnight, there were 14 people in line. We then sent a large group of people to go and buy 20 new Tori CD's. When they came back 3 hours later, they had quite a story to tell. They were slitly drunk, and they were almost arrested, and some guy gave them a free pizza. (People that sell CD's in Berkeley are weird.) More people came, we played cards, and talked about the rat that kept creeping up behind us in the little field by the Fillmore. That kept the 24 of us busy until about 5am. The Fillmore is not only a club, but a bus transfer too, so there was a bus every 5 minutes, for 29 hours straight. Then the sound equipment van pulled up, and they made us move back. For the next few hours, it drizzled real lightly off and on. At around 9am we had about 50 people (we stopped the listing at 57). And lucky for us (SARCASM) it started to POUR. It rainned so hard, we all nearly froze, but it was fun, we wore plastic bags, and bought pink umbrellas, and gold rainn jackets. At around Noon, the crew bus pulled up, about 20 people thought it was Tori, and ran to it. It was amusing. The rainn lifted, and at around 4:30pm they started to arrange us in 3 lines, A-F, G-M, and N-Z (I think). Then the nice security man let about 25 of us in the A-F line go up and meet Tori as she got off her bus. I was luckily one of them. I was 2 rows of people back, and I couldn't see her well, but she was wearing a red-orange (but more red) suit jacket over a white shirt with some overall print on it (I think). She shook hands had little conversations, then I got to give her my gift. Bobby and I had bought her a picnic basket, and we wove dried blood red roses into the top, and put little things in it. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a picture frame for her husband (Mark Hawley), Organic honey, a little faerie box w/ glitter and rose petals in it, a quartz crystal necklace, and some letters. When I handed her the basket, and said " this is for in case you're ever stranded on a desert island " she grabbed the basket and said " this is the prettiest basket I have ever seen " and went on her merry way. When we got back in line, her main security guy, Joel, came out and asked us if we knew all of Tori's lyrics, we said yes, and he asked us if we could write out the lyrics to "Honey". Bobby, Myself, and a new friend Kristin Bond did the best we could to get the line to sing the song as we wrote it, but it seemed like no one knew it. In the end we finished (only to find out later that we forgot to add the last verse, yes i do feel like an idiot, which she mumbled later on during the show, oops!!!) and the Joel guy told us to put our names at the bottom. Contrary to popular belief, none of us got a free shirt, and if I did, it must be invisible, because to the best of my knowledge, I bought my shirt. (= I was the 27th person to get into the Fillmore, and I was against the rail slightly to the right of the middle. Before David Poe came out, a few friends of mine, and myself, got a burst of energy and sang crazy songs. I could tell that the people around us were hating us, but what normal person could resist singing Little Mermaid songs?? Unknowingly, before the show I had a short conversation with David Poe. He was a neat guy, but I'm sorry to say that I hadn't slept in over 36 hours, and his music wasn't helping me stay awake. But perhaps under different circumstances, I would have been more involved in his music. He was funny, and my dear friend Erin kept yelling that he was sexy, cute, and hot. Then during the 30 minute break before Tori, we sang some more. Then, Tori came out, dressed in dark grey cargo pants, a sheer black top over a black tank top, and a nice pair of Prada platform sandals. She was so pretty. She brought out a cup of tea, and Steve Caton poured himself a glass of champagne, and got a can of Coke.

There were photographers there during the first two songs ( Black-dove, and Cruel ) but they soon left. Precious Things was sang kind of spacily, and she grabbed herself during the " stuffed inside the heart of every nice girrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl " part. Spark almost made me cry, it was sang a little bit slower than normal, but when she said " she's convinced she could hold back a glacier, but she couldn't keep baby alive " she seemed to stick that line, and it was so unhappy.

Liquid Diamonds was interesting, and she sang part of it at me ( yay )!!! Cornflake girl was great, and full. Northern Lad was one of my favorite ones she preformed, she seemed to blacken the stage with her voice, and leave only the watcher, and herself to listen to her voice.

the band left the stage for Tori's secret time, when she sang Mother, and Upside Down.

Mother forced tears from my friends eyes, and made me think of Tori and Mark ( the whole "he's gonna change my name " thing )

Upside down was great!!!!!!! yay. I love that song.

the band returned for:

Honey which she sang very interestingly, and I was so excited
until these lyrics:
western sky,
la de de die
cowboys know
cowgirls ride.....
and so on, that's were we messed up an the lyrics. Oops....(
more about that later )

iieee, mine and Kevin ( Boy4pele 79 ) 's favorite song on the new album, was increditable.

Tear in your hand.... okay this is where I started to cry. My friend Erin and I kept putting our tears in each others hands, it was fun. during this song, one of my favorite things happened.... I was mouthing the lyrics, and at the same time Tori was looking at me, and we both shrugged our shoulders, and tilted our heads, it was sooooo great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waitress was rad, it was the best version of that song that I have ever heard. Then Tori stood up, walked straight over to Bobby and I grabbed our hands and walked off stage.. and Steve grabbed both of my hands and followed her along with the rest of her band.

the first encore:

she's your cocaine...... this was sooo neat to see live, all the switching and moving, she did was great.

God, This was the first single I bought from Under the Pink, and well it's been a favorite of mine for a while, and with her add-in's and little isms, and little seated dances, the song only got better. second encore:

Horses... I remember horses, she only got through the first verse, in this song, she never did the " off with superfly " part.. I don't remember it being the last song, but I guess it was. It was great....

then she left the stage......

we all ran out to get a free poster, and to see tori off... at this time Bobby apologized to Tori for us forgetting some lyrics, and she said thank you so much anyway.... She waved, and saluted us.

We followed her 13 blocks to the corner of Market and Castro. To a gay bar (coincidence, I think not), where she talked to us, autographed stuff, hugged us, and accepted our gifts. We talked to her about her outfit, ( the one she wore on MTV Live ) designed by Jessica Augden, she changed. I got the first hug. I gave her a set of little purple butterfly barrettes, she said thanks. that's where the night ended, and we drove home..... It was the best show I have ever seen, and will ever see. I have pictures. yay. I want to say hi to all of the other Tori fans that toughed it out overnight, and through the rainn, just to see her. One last note: Tori finally gets to do big arena shows, like she's wanted to do since Y Kan't Tori Read, I feel proud, like I'm her 'Mother'(hehe).

Alex ( Starfukur @hotmail.com ; Starfucur@hotmail.com ; Starpunk@alloymail.com Starfucur @Alloymail.com )

From The San Mateo County Times

May 19, 1998 - The following review appeared in the May 6, 1998 edition of The San Mateo County Times. There is a photograph of her, which says "Singer Tori Amos plays two pianos at once during her sold-out performance at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco." The review was sent to me by Chris. I still don't have the author of the review.

Amos' new material a successful departure

Tori Amos fans admit they're a little crazed. They shamelessly proclaim their devotion to the fiery-haired musician on Web sites and in fan-club correspondence. Those with a lot of time on their hands follow Amos from tour stop to tour stop.

Amos' followers will wait hours at the next venue to greet her as she steps off her tour bus. It used to be the 34-year-old singer/pianist would spend as much time as necessary- sometimes an entire hour- greeting her admirers. But on Tuesday, when Amos stepped down from her bus outside the Fillmore in San Francisco, she spent only a moment or two chatting with fans before she rushed inside.

Could Amos, arguably one of the most innovative and popular female musicians of the '90s, be worried about increasing fanaticism? It appeared so during her concert. She looked shaken when a fan bellowed "I love you, Tori! Forever!" during a quiet moment of "Tear in Your Hand." Her voice was apprehensive as she acknowledged the familiar fans lining the front of the stage. "Thank you for staying with us (on the tour) and not getting too bored," she said, laughing nervously.

But Amos' professionalism kept her from losing focus during the show, and her performance was spectacular. Tickets to the concert, one of a series of small-venue dates that Amos is playing as a warm-up to her summer stadium tour, were almost impossible to get. But that only seemed to add energy and excitement to the proceedings.

The concert coincided with the release on Amos' fourth record, "from the choirgirl hotel." She relied heavily on the album for Tuesday's set list: Seven of the 16 new songs performed were new.

For the first time in her solo career, Amos has been touring with a band. The group, featuring drummer Matt Chamberlain, bassist Jon Evans and Amos' longtime collaborator Steve Caton on guitar, offered an entirely different experience from Amos' usual voice-and-piano solo performances.

With the band, Amos indulges in drum-and-bass grooves, which in most cases enhance her music in surprising and satisfying ways. She walked on stage amid swirling fog as the group thumped out the opening bars of "Black Dove (January)," from her new album. Unabashedly sexy, Amos wore a shimmery black shirt, tan cargo pants and loose red hair as she took her place at the piano.

The sultry "Cruel" followed, drawing heavily on its jungle beat, and when the stage lights flashed on as she sang, "I could be cruel, darling," the crowd went mad.

She slowed the pace a bit with "Precious Things" from her first, album, "Little Earthquakes" (1991), before greeting the audience and breaking into a smile.

Although her songs are thoughtfully constructed, Amos' rich voice at times seem to free-associate from one octave to the next, or from anger to joy, depending on her mood. Listeners seem to love it or hate it.

Amos' asymmetrical arrangements and sometimes vengeful lyrics often draw comparisons to Kate Bush, her heroine. The songs of the rock 'n' roll-based "from the choirgirl hotel," while quite different from the lean arrangements on her earlier albums, are still unmistakably Tori Amos. The material is strong- especially when performed live. Fans seem willing to forgive the overwhelmingly bass-driven intros to most of the new material. Amos delivers barely muffled range on "Spark." "Liquid Diamonds" falls into an almost spoken-word pattern at times.

Amos performed a lush and dreamy version of "Cornflake Girl," the hit from her second record, "Under the Pink" (1994). After the leisurely but intense ballad "Northern Lad," which was almost ruined by a too-loud bass, Amos took a break and started poking around in her mouth.

"I've been chewing ginger and sometimes when I'm singing it comes out on the mike and it's really disgusting," she said sheepishly. But, of course, the audience loved the candid comment.

The band left the stage for two songs, "Mother" and "Upside Down," then returned with a hip-hop beat for "Honey." Amos incorporated a jazzy piano to match Chamberlain's tempered high-hat on "iieee."

But it was "Tear in Your Hand" that roused the audience most on Tuesday. From the first album, the song is a lovely wash of lyrics that drop references to Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" comic book series. (Amos and Gaiman are mutual admirers.)

The set ended with "The Waitress," as Amos' sets have at most of her previous club dates. The song, while engaging and intense, grows a little irritating with the repetition of its "I believe in peace, bitch" lyric.

Amos didn't keep her fans waiting long for two encores. The first opened with the dizzying "She's Your Cocaine" from the new album and ended with her famous "God," a sweltering, groovy song pumped with intrigue.

She reworked "Horses" for her final encore. Lengthened and performed in a slower, more deliberate fashion, the song, from "Boys for Pele" (1996), was as ferociously emotional as ever.

From Lois L.

May 19, 1998 - I worked as a volunteer usher at the Fillmore show on 5/5/98. I really did not want to work. I was able to get two tickets through a connection I have locally in S.F. I gave those two tix to a couple of my friends. My boyfriend and I frequently usher shows at both the Fillmore and the Warfield so we were able to sign up for this show. By giving the tickets to my friends al l four of us were able to see the show. Anyway, The usher call was at 5:00 PM. I believe of all the ushers working the show that eve. I was the person most into Tori.When we arrived to my intense pleasure Tori and the band were doing sound check. They were sound checking HONEY. One of my FAVOURITES.

She had forgotten the part, I tell you one last time....So she stopped and asked, "Does anyone have a CD with Honey"? I stopped one of her crew members and told him I had a cassette in my car w/the song on it. I really thought this was going to be my chance to meet her. So, I race out to my car cue up the tape and race back in. No such luck, The Fillmore did not have a cassette player, only CD. At that point I should have went into the theater and told her the words. But I didn't. I was over whelmed. The production people at The Fillmore were so stressed out about the show I was afraid if I made a move like that they would never let me usher again. So my fleeting moment was gone, I didn't think I'd ever see my tape again either. I waited by the stage after the show and the gentleman returned my tape. I did speak to Caton for a minute before the show.He was giving a couple of girls who looked like the girls from the video and the album photos a tour of the stage. He said he was looking forward to playing. The energy was up and the interaction between all players on stage was very connected. I am looking forward to seeing the shows in September at the new Oakland arena and Arco arena in Sacramento. Possibly Red Rocks..... Sorry if I carried on for too long. I'm not really a computer person, I don't own one yet I'm using my friends. At this minute Hotel is screaming in my head. Anyway, I enjoy your site it it full of great information, you are dedicated, we appreciate your work.Thank you and jolly ho.

From Beth Winegarner & ATN / SonicNet web site

May 13, 1998 - A review of the San Francisco club show appeared on May 7, 1998 on the SonicNet Music News Of The World web site.

LIVE

Finally, Tori Amos Music You Can Dance To

Sorrowful singer pumps up her live show with a backing band and some rocking tunes.

Contributing Editor Beth Winegarner reports:

SAN FRANCISCO -- For veteran Tori Amos' fans, it was the end of an era.

Before Amos came onstage Tuesday, the emcee at the Fillmore auditorium announced that the piano songstress would be returning on a formal tour this fall, playing Sept. 14 at Sacramento's Arco Arena and the New Arena in Oakland on Sept. 15. Good news, right?

Wrong. For fans this came as bad news: What it meant was that this date at the Fillmore might be the last time that they would be able to enjoy her music in a small, intimate setting.

Despite the tight, rehearsed sound of Amos' new band, there were points throughout the set that seemed to lack energy, as if she were already exhausted from the brief tour preparing for the series of larger arena shows. Still, the rich and often beat-heavy nature of Amos' songs kept the hundreds in the audience happy and on their feet. At first, a club tour didn't make sense for a balladeer like Amos. But the club sensibility that pervades her latest LP, from the choirgirl hotel, inspires a different reaction:

Finally, Tori Amos music you can dance to.

And her fans deserved it. Those attending Tuesday's show at the Fillmore Auditorium lined up around the block hours -- in some cases, days -- before the doors opened. They waited in the rain. Some huddled under umbrellas, others wore garbage-bag ponchos. One group even made a kind of lean-to with a blue plastic tarp. Having dubbed this her "Plugged" tour -- as it is the first time that she has played with a full backing ensemble -- Amos included seven new tracks from her electrifying choirgirl in the 90-minute set. The elastic "Cruel" was introduced by way of Jon Evans' sawblade bass and a tribal drumbeat. "I can be cruel/ I don't know why," Amos crooned, before taking a boxer's pose during the song's midsection.

The show was the second-to-last in a 12-date club tour, meant to highlight the material on Amos' just-released fourth album and give her new band a chance to warm up -- both to the music and Amos' hard-core audience. Amos kept her listeners in suspense until she hit the stage to the sound of her new bandmates -- longtime guitarist Steve Caton, bassist Evans and drummer Matt Chamberlin -- lodging a hypnotic rhythm for "Black-Dove (January)."

The strawberry-haired singer sat sandwiched between her baby grand Bosendorfer and a Kurzweil keyboard, drawing blustery notes from the latter before straddling them both, playing the piano with her right hand and the keyboard with her left. It's a pose that she's likened to "an octopus who's eaten too many nachos."

Several of Amos' older songs fit nicely into a full band. "Precious Things," a staple from Amos' solo debut, Little Earthquakes, hasn't sounded so full since it was recorded. Likewise were "Cornflake Girl" and "God" from 1994's Under the Pink -- the latter of which found Amos howling "you dropped the bomb on me, Jesus," taken after the Gap Band's "You Dropped a Bomb on Me."

Other Amos standbys took on new arrangements under the pianist's ever-expanding ability to reinvent her songs. The self-acknowledging "Waitress" came off more viciously than ever. "I believe in peace, bitch," Amos growled over layers of percussion, piano and Caton's Cure-inspired guitar work. Her "Horses," which opened 1996's Boys for Pele as an invitation to travel to the underworld, took on an underwater feel so eerie that it sounded as if Amos had recently returned from Hades herself.

The all-male band left Amos alone onstage for a solo interlude that she called "secret time." A heartfelt version of "Mother" came first, bringing with it a renewed sadness in light of Amos' miscarriage 18 months ago. The bittersweet B-side "Upside Down" followed. "I've found the secret to life," Amos trilled, "I'm OK when everything is not OK."

The line has become something of a motto for many fans.

During the new single, "Spark" (RealAudio excerpt), Amos switched from Kurzweil to Bosey and back again, never missing a note. The song, said to be about the loss of her unborn child, was all the more harrowing for its slow pace and the swirl of red lights blinking -- like those of an ambulance in an emergency -- around the auditorium.

The slow horror continued into "iieee," where Amos intercut harmonized vocal loops with a cappella bursts. "Why does there gotta be a sacrifice," she belted, at once bringing to mind her recent loss and lines from her first U.S. single, "Crucify" (RealAudio excerpt), where she sang, "Why do we crucify ourselves every day?"

And for a moment, despite the larger stage setting, all the new instruments and the microphones and wires snaking around the stage floor, Amos was alone, left to herself and her fans.

From Lisa, aka 'herowngirl'

May 7, 1998 - I want to first off thank Joel (with the great handwriting from Berkley) who generously sent me (by the woods) a taped copy of the Choirgirls about a week b4 the SF show so that I could enjoy and get aquainted with all the girls ahead of time....thanks to my camping buddy Sara, and to my son Jesse (the real cute 16 yr old at the show) for coming with me, being my friend and protector!

Tori was absolutely fabulous! I have seen her many times but was thinking this might be my big chance to meet her personally (even tho I feel as tho we've kinda met already thru her music and power it's given me). I tried both b4 and after the show and got close (also tho, a little too close to some of her other fans). Jesse managed to do better...his hand was on the other side of the post card as hers was (at the same time, can you imagine?!) when he handed it to her asking for an autograph for mom. :o)

I was so glad to see Tori without the makeup and glitter which is when I feel she looks the most beautiful. There was no question that this show was much different than prior ones....as mentioned by others, the intimacy was gone... even when the band was off-stage for those couple songs....although "mother" still brought tears. Any sound coming from Tori is truely magical and deep and full. I wanted so much to talk with her...

Anyway....after camping out weeks b4 for the voucher and getting completely soaked from head to toe (even inside the shoes, yuck) the day of the show and getting squished big time during the show....I am looking forward to having a seat at the Arco Arena in September (even tho the venue is so big).

When we arrived in the Japan Center Parking Garage at noon I met a guy from New York (Matt?)...that heard the Choirgirls playing from my car and came on over to say hello...said he's been to every show this plugged tour but one...wow...I noticed he was front and center during the show...special treatment? I think this is who Tori must have noticed and referred to when she looked out at us and mentioned that..."some people come to every show!"

I figured I could have enjoyed David Poe if I would've had a seat for I think you'd need to be relaxed to try.

I knew she was going to open w/Black-Dove (I like it better when I can guess what'll be)...it was beautiful. Oh...I also liked how she danced a little to iieee. She was more dressed up than when I've seen her b4. I was surprised that she didn't play Raspberry Swirl or Jackie's Strength and especially Playboy Mommy. I thought the band was just fine, but you know...I'm not sure if I even looked at them for more than a sec. I missed the quietness and respect and awe shown from past experiences (I've seen her when I felt like it was just me and her there)...I wonder if Tori does...didn't appear that way to me....I think she wanted it this way for that must be why she set up this mini-tour this way.....she seems very happy with what's going on and is where she wants to be....and I think she's looking forward to playing at large venues this summer...remember she's doing what she wants to do. All in all it was great, and I look forward to each and every time I see her from here on out no matter what the venue or how long I have to wait or how hard it is to stay dry.....and I guess if I want it to feel like ' just me and her '....I'll put in a cd (or two!) :o)

From Steve the Sweet Fat Man

May 7, 1998 - (Originally posted to Really Deep Thoughts Right Now)

Well, for the first time since becoming a Tori fan way back in '92, I wasn't at the record store on the day the new album came out. But I've got a good excuse. I actually SAW the person that put out said album!

Yes, that's right. I know I posted here about not getting tickets and being somewhat disappointed and life goes on and bla bla bla. But life has a way of working out sometimes. And this time, it worked out with an extra ticket that our lovely listowner Violet had, and offered to me. Like I told you last night, V, I owe you big time, babe. And no, that doesn't mean that I stiffed her on the ticket price. :-)

Anyway, I have about a half hour to type my impressions before I go to work, so here goes. First, David Poe. Cool guy! His music was just OK, but I liked him a lot. Tori seems to have this history (at least for me) of opening acts whose personality is more interesting than their music, which is just fine. The thing I especially liked about David was how he dealt with the folks who yelled "Tori!" during his set. (Who, happily, were in the minority; he got an enthusiastic welcome from most of the Toriphiles in attendance, many of whom even shouted down the rude people.) He treated them exactly the way they deserved to be treated - with blistering sarcasm. And still, he came off as ingratiating instead of snotty. Good opening choice, although he did play maybe ten minutes too long (which still does not justify the rudeness).

Anyway, on to the main event. Unlike seemingly a lot of folks here, I didn't have access to a copy (bootleg or otherwise) of FtCH before it was released. So, I was hearing most of the new songs (the only exception being "Spark") for the first time last night. Which was really kind of cool, in a way; it was as if Tori was introducing the new girls to me personally. And I loved many of the new songs, and disliked none of them. I can hardly wait to get the album now!

From the moment she came out and started playing with the band, it was obvious that she'd made the right choice with that. She seemed rejeuvenated, artistically AND personally. She's right - she's gone as far as she could with the girl and her piano thing. I doubt that she'll stay with guitar, bass and drums her whole career; what I'd love to see is something like Bjork does, when she comes around with odd and innovative new band structures on each tour. But for now, I love this band. Matt, Jon and the ever lovin' Caton (he with his glass of wine and can of Coke) kick serious ass. And it's so much fun to watch Tori smile at them as she plays, and them smile back. I also loved watching her give hand signals and stuff, playing bandleader. No doubt who's in charge here!

But she can still certainly do the solo thing. She did solo versions of "Mother" and "Upside Down" last night. And they were the best I've ever heard, in any context. In fact, as much as I loved the band, I'd say the "Upside Down" was my favorite moment of the concert. It was amazing.

My second favorite would have had to been the stunning full-band version of "Precious Things". That song has so much power, it must have been exhausting for her to play it by herself over the years. (I understand it was excruciatingly painful to play when her carpal tunnel was acting up.) Here, with the band filling in the spaces, she was able to relax and really let it rip. At the end, it looked like she was falling apart with sheer intensity - but, of course, she was in complete control. Again, stunning.

I also loved what she did with full-band versions of old faves like "Cornflake Girl", "Honey", and especially "Horses" and "The Waitress". The new versions were different and innovative at times, but always retained the spirit of the original song.

And that was the single best thing about the show last night - the spirit. Tori seemed really, really happy, and she shared that happiness with all of the folks at the lovely Fillmore. (I had heard a rumor that the show was oversold, but it wasn't true - at least, the place was no more full than other sold-out shows I've seen there. It was packed up front where I was for most of the show, but there was plenty of room to move around and breathe in the back.) She looked like a million bucks, and just radiated health and energy, despite her recent minor health problem. It was truly lovely to see.

And finally, the real highlight for me - eye contact. I was dead center and just about 8-10 "rows" back, and I got several moments where Tori looked directly in my eyes and smiled. I'd never had that before with Tori; I've been lucky enough to have it with other faves (most notably PJ Harvey), but not her. But this time, it happened.

And now that Tori has introduced me to her new girls, I'm gonna go out and buy the album. And thank my lucky stars (not to mention Violet) for the fact that sometimes things work out better than expected.

The girl and her piano are dead. Long live the girl and her piano!

From MICHAEL

May 7, 1998 - THE LINE:My friend Joel & I-originally showed up on Sunday morning 2 find not a soul in line. We left & arrived the next morning to find a bout 4 people ahead of us. I TOLD JOEL THAT WE SHOULD START A LINE/NUMBER SYSTEM (due to my history of line difficulties at O(+> aka Prince shows) Joel & I went to tthe store a created a system so people could a sort of insurance policy with there place in line, a little community that will protect eachothers spot. At night we handed it 2 a girl named "ALEX" (she had a purple wig) while I slept in a car. All in all the system and the people in the line were great. This was my first time seeing TORI. So I had a bad case of "line-cutter hysteria". Around 4:30 the people who were in front of the line got a greeting from TORI, I shook her hand, and had a mini conversation with her. My girlfriend finally showed after that, and after alot of line drama I got inside (cutter free).

THE MUSIC: David Poe was more charismatic then musically entertaining. The first couple songs were great but I just became more & more bored. ---When "BLACK DOVE" started and TOri came out, it becomes a blur. All I know is she kicked my ass. My girlfriend almost fainted about 5 songs into so we had to relocate, but tori still touched my soul. The whole day i knew Tori had big shoes to fill (considering how many i've seen, and I firmly believe is the baddest perfromer alive) TORI touched me.

From Jasmine Li

May 7, 1998 - Tori's show last night was absolutely fabulous! Before the show, the Fillmore staff split everyone into 3 separate lines, depending on what your last name was. That caused a little confusion, cause some of the staff members didn't know that "L" is not between "K" and "Z" but that's ok.

David Poe wasn't bad...Tori Amos is a really hard act to open for. He understood that we weren't there to see him and joked about it. "The number of songs I play won't affect the number of songs she plays..." I felt bad for him because a few rude audience members kept yelling "Tori!" while he was playing. He had a nice voice and his lyrics were fairly amusing.

The crowd was very nice and there was almost no pushing and no moshing at all. Some people even tried to help short people (like me) get a a better view of Tori. I'd only listened to the new album a couple times before the show, so I wasn't very familiar with her new stuff, but it sounded great. I was really happy that she played Upside Down and Honey...those are such beautiful songs. Her new interpretation of Horses was really good, I almost didn't recognize the song at first.

I think Tori is one of the best performers because she really puts herself into every single song. She also makes an effort to face the audience and make eye contact. At the end of the show, she went to the audience to wave to people and shake their hands. She also pointed at an audience member and then pointed at her forehead, which seemed to mean "I'll remember you."

They were selling 2 t-shirts for $25 each. One was black and had one of the Tori Amos pictures from the album on the front and listed the cities for the unplugged tour. The other was a white baby tee with "Tori Amos" surrounded by an electric plug (this was the plugged tour...)

I guess I left the show late cause there were no more posters :( While we were standing around outside, the Fillmore staff started to move metal barricades to make a little walkway to the light blue tour bus. The bus is really cute and had little beanie babies & stuffed animals on the dash board. Somehow, I ended up in right behind the barricade. Matt Chamberlin walked out first and shook a few hands, then quickly went into the bus. A few other people walked by, and finally, Tori came out. A blond man (her husband or bodyguard?) had his arm around her waist. She went over to the other barricade first and shook hands and autographed stuff. One fan was crying and telling her a story...I couldn't really hear all of it.

Then, she came over to the barricade where I was standing. She really cares about her fans...she tried to talk to some of us and was worried that some people were getting squished or hit by posters. She signed my ticket and I shook her hand! She asked me how I was doing. My friend also talked to her and told her that the concert had been great. Tori said "I had fun, too." She was wearing red high heels with silver glitter on her toes. Her outfit was really hard to describe...a green and kinda patch-worky shirt & skirt, I guess. The blond man next to her was really worried about her and kept trying to get her into the bus, but was very nice and signed some more autographs and talked to a few more fans. She looked really tired. Then, she went into the bus. She waved to us from inside.

Someone stuck a poster into the window for her to sign...it reappeared in a little hand puppet's mouth. It was so cute! It had little button eyes. Then, the tour bus rolled away...we all waved good-bye.

From Beth Winegarner

May 7, 1998 - I know a lot of people have posted about their experiences at the SF show last night, and at all the club shows so far. I didn't wait in line like most folks did -- I was lucky and got a press ticket through Atlantic, since I was reviewing the show (set to go up on sonicnet/addicted to noise's site sometime soon).

But there's something I've been thinking about since last night's show that I haven't seen discussed at any length... and it's something that's really bothering me, as much as I try not to let it.

One of the things I had really been looking forward to, aside from the show itself, was the meet & greet beforehand. I knew there would be a lot of people there, but I really had no idea. My small group was just trying to stay in a place where we thought we'd see her when she arrived, but we got yelled at by everyone -- the Fillmore staff, the girls in the front of the line who'd been there for two days, everyone -- even though we only wanted to say hi to her and then we'd go to the back of the line.

Even though I managed to see her bus pull up, and we waited alongside the barrier, Tori was only outside for about 5 minutes, saying hi to a few people before going inside. And to tell the truth, the way people were behaving, I can't blame her. I had had a pretty important message for her, and I know Violet, who had been waiting right next to me, had something she needed to tell Tori as well. But we never even had a chance. Everyone was rushing the barriers, screaming her name.

However, I had told myself beforehand that it would be ok if I didn't get to meet her this time, because I'd gotten to interview her before and everything, and will probably be able to do so again. So it wasn't a huge deal. It was just -- the way things were handled could have been so much better.

But the really sad news was the announcement of the places she'll be playing when she comes back to san francisco this fall. She's playing the Arco Arena on Sept 14, and the *New Arena in Oakland* Sept 15 (formerly the Oakland Stadium). Folks, even when the Spice Girls come to town they're not playing anyplace that big. This is the place where Elton John performed and Celine Dion is scheduled to perform. It's a fucking *arena* in every sense of the word.

I nearly cried when I heard the news. I know, a lot of you probably think I'm overreacting. But however much sense this makes in terms of how many tour stops she'll have to make, marketing, etc etc etc, I can't bring myself to believe that having Tori play arenas makes any kind of sense at all. It's not going to be intimate or enjoyable or spiritual -- how can she tap into the energy of that many fans, some of whom are sitting thousands of feet away from her?

I know they still have the time to change their minds, but I don't know whether they're going to. What are these people thinking? Johnny Witherspoon, her tour manager, should know better than to do something like this that could basically destroy Tori's core audience's desire to seek her out in a live setting anymore -- and fragment our loyalty to her. I'm feeling right now like I wouldn't even want to GO to an event like this, or if I do, I'll pick Arco because it's much smaller.

I'm just so sad and I feel betrayed by the people who represent Tori. I wanted to find out how everyone else has been feeling, especially those of you who took the time to wait in line all that time -- was the club show worth it? Would you go to an arena to see Tori? Would boycotting do any good?

I think we all need to think about this, of course, I could be wrong... but it seems really important.

For more on the issue of Tori's rising popularity and the issue of playing concerts in arenas, go to this special page on the Dent.

From RaysinGyrl

May 7, 1998 - This show was breathtaking! Let me begin by giving GREAT thanks to my friend Trevor who was gracious enough to allow me to share his voucher! Trevor and I flew up from L.A. just for this show with nothing but a voucher and a change of clothes. The weather was horrendous (thunder, lightening, torrential downpours, tornadoes in the rural areas). We headed over to the venue and took our place within the ultra anal alphabetical lines at about 6:15pm. Luckily the rain had let up about an hour before then so we were all starting to dry out. The lines were huge and LONG, and every now and again a desperate rainsoaked fan would wander thru crying "anyone have an extra ticket?" to which we could only reply, "good luck". Our friend Jenn was in line with us waiting, wishing & hoping for Trevor's acquaintence Matt to show up with his voucher which is her ticket into the show. It's 7:00pm, we're cold & wet, Matt's still not there.. the lines begin moving.. Jenn's losing hope when finally, Matt arrives! Whew!

7:25pm we enter the theater and head straight to the balcony and Trevor and I are both a mite under 5'2". Naturally the balcony tables are taken at this point, but I stake out a nice place with a clear view behind the tables. It seems Matt got lost in the crowd and we never saw him again (but Jenn thanks you anyway..really). Bill & Toby convince Jenn it would be better for her to join them downstairs on the floor amongst what I can only describe as a sea of people. I decline and hold my ground on the balcony. The gentleman sitting at the table in front of me asks about my tattoos and after some conversation reveals himself to me as Jessen and shows me his tattooed portraits of Tori. All of the people at the tables were so super sweet, a couple of the girls asked who I was (as I was writing and discussing) and thought they had "seen" me before on the net. There was a very handsome gentleman (whom I now know as Alden) scribbling on his notepad and when I asked him what he was doing he said he was noting the set list to send to the Dent. So many loyal readers Mike, what would we do without you!??!

8:01pm David Poe takes the stage and attempts to woo the audience. Let me state for the record I would NOT like to have his job. The fans were less than cooperative and at points downright rude. After his set I met with him briefly (right after Alden I believe) and he was so sweet and reviewed his set list with me which was, World on a String, Reunion, Bloody, California, The Ballad of El Goodo, Silver Eyelashes, Star, The Apartment, and Blue Glass Fall. He asked if I was a journalist and I giggled and told him I just wanted to post it on the web to which he replied "oh cool, alright"! What a refreshing attitude! BTW he mentioned he loved email! :) After Dave's set which ended at 8:44pm there was an intermission which seemed to take most concert go-ers by surprise.

9:20pm Tori and band take the stage. Tori is wearing a long sleeved black sheer top with a black spaghetti strap tanktop underneath, grey cargo pants and strappy black platform shoes. She looks lovely and seems so happy and I'm happy for her and happy to be there. She opened with Black Dove (January) which seems to be her signature this tour. The next song was Cruel which began with the band rockin and Tori sorta slipping inside herself and doing this crossing of the arms trance/dance (very cool). Precious Things followed and I thought the lighting for this song was particularly eye catching. Tori crossed her legs and wiggled the toes of her left foot at the audience, showing off those wonderful shoes. The band was introduced upon the conclusion of Precious Things and Katon was received most warmly and the rest of the band was received well too. Spark was next and produced lots of head bobbing and body wriggling by the fans. Liquid Diamonds followed during which Tori's stool almost tipped over. Then she did it.. she played Cornflake Girl with the passion and energy I know and love about her. She sang like an angel, she stood up and played which brought a loud roar from the audience. Changing tempos and moods Northern Lad showed up. She took a little time out to refresh her lip gloss, held up her hands palms out to the audience and firmly said "Don't worry, I have my own" relating the story of the hundreds that were hurled at her during a previous show. She revealed her secret of chewing ginger and apologized to the equipment manager for spitting ginger into the microphone. :) She announced it was "secret time" and said we could suggest a few of our favorites. Naturally everyone screamed at the same time and after 20 seconds or so she waved her right hand at the audience as if to say forget it, turned to us, smiled and barked. It was so cute. Secret time consisted of two of my favorite songs, Mother and Upside Down. The band returned to the stage and Honey began the next gathering of girls which included iieee, Tear in Your Hand , and Waitress. Tear in Your Hand's "wave goodbye now" was reality for one girl who was picked up by a security guard and carried off. Tori waved goodbye to her as she was wisked away. Waitress was extended because the drummer had some technical difficulties.. but Mark (i think??) hopped up on stage during the song and fixed the problem without skipping a beat (no pun intended). Tori and her band then took leave of the stage and returned shortly for the first encore. She's Your Cocaine was awesome followed by God and Tori gathered her band, they stood arm in arm and waved goodbye again. She returned for the second encore and played Horses (the dark version). She made her leave for the last time, and I promptly grabbed my coat and headed for the door.

11:05pm the concert was over. I was standing outside with a poster in hand, collecting postcards and trinkets from various eager hands. I would have loved to stay and have seen Tori up close and personal, but was exhausted from the trip and running on someone elses schedule.

All in all the concert was great, the people were great and I had an amazing evening that I'll never forget. Final thanks go to Jesse the guy at Camelot Records who was nice enough to tear down a Tori display to give me a poster, Toby & Bill for allowing me to sleep on their couch, Jessen, Alden and the three girls who's names I don't know for allowing me to hover over their shoulders all nite to obtain the most perfect Tori view & the fine people of San Francisco who were nice enough to give me directions anytime I asked. See you in the summer!

From Heather

May 7, 1998 - Just got rested up from the san francisco show... I got in line at 11:30 the night before, and ended up being 25th. There were two people who hadn't gotten tickets at the line up ( i hear they tried though :(!) and had arrived sunday morning (!) and were real troopers.... I hope they ended up finding tickets. Aside from the torrential rain Tuesday afternoon, and a group of people who kept trying to cut in line (the guards ended up taking their names I think and keeping a close eye on them --- these people were REALLY assholes) -- the line-up waiting period was intense and high spirited and the people around me were incredibly cool.

Once inside, I ended up in the second row, behind two (thankfully) short women dead center right in front of tori's piano bench. David Poe was awesome. I don't know why people haven't really liked him so far.... maybe it's because they weren't listening. Anyway, it's hard to make the "guy with his guitar" thing original, but he did: his songs were very interesting and ambitious, musically, and his lyrics were total black comedy. I plan on getting his cd. There were a few people who started chanting "tori tori tori" in the middle of his set, but lots of people yelled "shut up" or "David david david" he seemed really down to earth about it, and even said "i know you guys want to see tori... and trust me, she is going to play for you, so just settle down" he was funny and handled the crowd really well... he ended up getting lots of applause and screaming adoration (one girl kept yelling, "david you are sooooo cute" hee hee) and he told us he was just really happy to be in sf, and couldn't believe he got to play the fillmore.

then he left, and they worked on tori's sound stuff for about half an hour. then ....tori took the stage.... i was incredibly close to her, and the recipient of countless of her "stares" -- wowowowy. someone else already posted the setlist, so i won't bother... the highlights of the show were (for me) mother, honey, iieee, northern lad, waittress and horses.... i really wanted to hear pandora's aquarium (my favorite now!) and yelled it out a couple times, and was surprised to hear other's requesting it too....i wonder why she isn't performing this song live? oh also, in one of the "talk sessions" she mentioned that she'd accidentally drooled a bit of ginger on the mike.. "some people chew tobacco, i chew ginger....sorry marcel, i got ginger on the mike!" it was cute.

I can't say it was the best show I've seen because some of the stuff going down was really distracting (see below for my gripes), and also because of the band. Don't get me wrong, the band was incredible, and I loved what they were doing with the older songs... There just wasn't as much intimacy as before, and it's just not the same. You were able to hear a pin drop before, and heard every nuance of her voice and piano, and that was just lost this time around. This time it was much more of a wild party, which is incredibly cool, just different. Oh and her voice was in celestial form....i was amazed at how versatile and daring she's become with her vocals. The things she did with those vocal chords, in the words of my friend, "made my throat hurt vicariously" -- no wonder she's got to chew ginger all the time and guzzle olive oil. It reminds me of something i heard about kurt cobain -- that the way he sang was damaging his vocal chords and his doctor was telling him to be really careful. i don't think kurt was the type to listen and chew on ginger though :(

i agree with whoever (alden keith?) about how scary the fans have become. if i were tori, I wouldn't even stop for a few minutes to talk to fans now. i know (because i spent the night with these people) that they are good people, but when it comes to tori, i think they lose their minds and all manners. it's sad, because i remember when she would talk to EVERYONE, and give hugs and kisses and stuff. back then, even though fans loved her just as much, they managed to treat her like a human being. Now i think her fans are loving her as much, but in a different way. I'm surprised we've only heard about ONE stalker. It made me fear for her safety, watching the behavior of fans last night. Anyway, please everybody, tell your friends too if they are part of the rabid wild-dog mentality, this kind of behavior sends the most wrong of wrong messages to Tori, and is only resulting in her fearing for her safety. oh and i was also stunned by the behavior of the girl immediately to my right druing the show....I was actually near her in line, and then inside the fillmore had offered to move over if she was having problems seeing. she thanked me, but said no. so what does she do for the entire duration of the concert? she was shoving me, whipped out her elbows and everything. at first i couldn't believe it, because she had seemed friendly before. but then, there was no mistake...she was trying to steal my spot, and move me back into the third row, even though at this point she could see just fine. i was really freaked out.... and during the "waittress" and "cornflake girl" she kept this up... AND this girl by my friend scott tried picking his back pocket several times....he finally caught her with her hand down his pocket. Can you believe this? anyway.

One very cool thing that happened in line: While Tori was doing her soundcheck, I guess she forgot some of the words to "honey" and sent a messenger outside to ask the fans for the lyrics. This really cool girl with a purple wig who'd been waiting overnight and had organized the number-line thing (thank you!) rallied our part of the crowd into singing "honey" so that she could get the lyrics written down for tori. There was one party-pooper bouncer that kept yelling "NO singing!" (!what?!) but the girl got the lyrics down and sent them in to tori and got a free t-shirt. i thought it was just really endearing that tori asked her fans.... how many other musicians do that?

From Lil eeyore

May 7, 1998 - So I got From the Choirgirl Hotel as soon as Blockbuster Music opened, between my two finals of the day, needless to day, it really helped to calm me--but it was very energetic at the same time. Considering that I now have over 25 Tori CDs, I find it almost hard to believe that any fan could downright hate this one. It is definitely traditional Tori as far as her haunting lyrics and interesting musical arrangement goes.So she added a band, I think it works, my only fear is of commercial success...oh please no no no! Now for the songs:

Spark.
wow. This girl really took me by the arm and led me in. I was truly impressed by the swelling lyrics and music. I can heard her Bosey unlike some of the reviews I have read, it is highlighted in various ways.

Cruel.
This one is definitely interesting song, I can dance to it. Her quirkiness and amazing voice is showcased, I believe.

Black Dove.
The piano intro sounds very familiar. "by the woods" is very beautiful, I love the way it sounds...."on the other side of galaxy" and "I have to get to Texas" are so loud, begging to be noticed.

Raspberry Swirl.
Orgasmic, definitely. "in the garden I did no crime" sounds like Eve wanting to state her side of the story. This song builds and builds...."things are getting desperate when all the boys can't be men" so true!

Jackie's Strength.
I admit to listening to her for only a couple minutes and then starting it all over again. Then I went several times in a row with it. wow. This one is so beautiful. "Make me laugh, say you know what you want.." Gorgeous. I find "you're only popular with anorexia" to be a great social comment. "I got lost on my wedding day" the idea of it makes me think of Mother from Little Earthquakes. There is so much said here. Amazing.

Iieee.
interesting, although I was confused when I first heard it. I love the "iiieee" in the background. "in this chapel, little chapel of love, can't we get a little grace" This one seems to be about some sort of forgiveness, with religious tones. A very tribal beat, and Tori's little "la la la"'s are so nice.

Liquid Diamonds.
This is the only one that hasn't captured me yet. I am not exactly sure why. It seems like I always get so interested in a few songs at a time, and then I discover the others later. It took me a while to like "Muhammad my friend" from BFP, maybe I will like this one later.

She's Your Cocaine.
wow. This is so satirical, the spacing on the lyrics in the booklet drives me mad. I am really taken by the line, "you don't need one of these to let me inside of you"

Northern Lad.
At first I didn't really get this one. I think it's because I was listening to it while stuck in traffic. The second or third time I heard it, wow, it is very direct, not too much private things here. It reminds me of "Hey Jupiter." It's pretty.

Hotel.
This reminds me of "Spacedog" with the change in instruments. I really like the "meet 'em in a Hotel" part of it.

Playboy Mommy.
wow. I can definitely hear Willy Porter on this one. I really really love this song. I think it's my favorite, but that can always change. This is so heartwretching, the lyrics are very personal. "those angels can't ever take my place" wow. There is so much to talk about here. I am intrigued by the way she says "little girl" there is an accent of some sort there. She is obviously haunted by her miscarriage, as anyone would be. When I saw her talk about it on MTV I could see a deep sadness in her eyes.

Pandora's Aquarium.
I really don't have an opinion on this one yet. give me time

From ~Beth

May 7, 1998 - I saw Tori for the first time yesterday and I need to share!  This was definitly one of the best nights of my life. I suppose the experience truly start back in January when I was trying to find someone that would go with me to an upcoming Tori show.  Since then, it has felt like one hellish experience after another getting into that show.  I would've prefered things to run a little smoother, but maybe because they didn't I respected and loved the performance that much more. Tori was amazing.  I took my friend who wouldn't be able to see her at any of the summer shows because she is going to Japan for a year (foreign exchange student).  I felt really good about this because I was also the one who made her a bee-sides tape for her birthday and introduced her to some of her favorite Tori songs.  Her absolute favorite song is Honey and she really loves Sugar and Upside Down as well, so I think that Tori must've been psychic in some way to have played both Honey and Upside Down -- and right next to each other! She played Black Dove, Cruel, Precious Things, Spark, Liquid Diamonds, Cornflake Girl, Northern Lad, Mother and Upside Down (during secret time), Honey, iieee, Tear In Your Hand, and The Waitress.  Then, for encore #1 she played She's Your Cocaine and God, and then for encore #2 she played Horses.  I thought it was amazing what she has done with Horses, and The Waitress sounds so different!  She talked of how she "chews ginger like tobacco now" and sometimes it will come out of her mouth and its really gross.  She also said that she will be playing Arco Arena Sept. 14th and tickets go on sale June 3rd(?).  I'm definitly planning on going to it :) I was disappointed in some of the noise though... I have quite a few Tori Amos bootlegs and I've noticed that as the years have passed by, the crowd has gotten louder and louder and that bothers me.  It also seemed to me like she has attracted a lot of juvenile fans.. not to offend anyone, I just found it rather "juvenile" when a group of teenagers yelled out "6:58 SPARK!!!!" when the clock turned 6:58.  There was just a tad bit screaming too... I couldn't really understand it, I was so paralyzed by the fact that I was finally seeing Tori I didn't really feel a need to scream or draw attention to myself in any such manner.  When she got out of the bus, she spent about 5 minutes out there before she went inside, and the fans were going crazy... I just tried to see if I could see her while my friend was climbing a fence to see if she could see past the mob of people as well.  I even saw one person who had Tori Amos shaved into their head.  I guess if _I_ was Tori, I'd be scared. Anyway, the performance Tori put on was spectacular even if the performance of the fans kinda lacked the quality it should have.  As for David Poe, he was humorous, and not nearly as bad as past reviews would indicate.. near the end of his performance, people were getting rude however, but for the most part they were "respectful". As for those of you who I was buying raspberry swirl necklaces for, I got them and they should be in the mail shortly.  Enjoy! For those of you seeing Tori tonight in L.A. or in the near future at the summer shows, you're in for a treat (as if you didn't know already)..

From Darlene

May 6, 1998 - To all who care what I a stranger might have to say, It's Wed. morning and I'm still pondering the events of the evening at The Filmore Tori concert last night. I'd first like to say I don't have an exact set list but my memory serves me to remember the list shown on the previous review is not entirely correct. For example, I know Horses was not the last encore. [Note from Mikewhy: All other reports say the final song was "Horses" The new version of the song is so different that it is easy not to recognize it!]

Ok for the good stuff, the show last night was definitely something not to be missed. It was "quite" different for us long time Tori enthusiast, like myself, due to the rock concert like atmosphere. Just when we thought Boys for Pele was "rock'en" for Tori, she once again throws us for a GIANT loop with her and the band. The performance was intense but very different than the typical "intense" moments at Tori concerts. Not many tears were wrenched out of our souls, rather we were pulsated by loud bass leads and disco lights. I feel she has evolved into being more "one" with the band as a whole rather than such an emotional "oneness" with the songs themselves. Tori was energetic but somewhat less personable with the audience than usual. She did however play several Tori classics with a new "rocker girl" twist, for example...Precious Things, Honey, Mother, Everybody Else's Girl, The Waitress (which was amazingly powerful), God, Horses (which I wasn't too fond of the re-working of the song), and Tear in Your Hand (which was one of my favorites of the night), she seemed to really be having fun with that song. Her new stuff is funky, fun, loud, and very sensual. The new album is definitely unique and is ideal for live performances. She didn't play "Jackie's Strength" which I was hoping she would play. However all the songs new and old "really wanted to come out and play". One disappointment for me is that I couldn't see her shoes on stage...Oh well. I had a great time despite the screaming crowd and evident newcomers to this sacred event us old time Tori admirers hold so deeply in our hearts.

From Ethan

May 6, 1998 - I was a little apprehensive about going to see Tori but I figured that this was the best way to see her on this tour.  I got to the Fillmore around 330pm and there was a line there already ( I couldn't have been there sooner b/c I as teaching a class). Luckily the lines want that bad and I figured I would at least get a fair chance of getting in. Wrong.  The employees & Fillmore decide to reshuffle all fans at around 600pm!!!... Alphabetically... (Into a single file line.... Brrrr.... A kindergarten flashback) Anyhow at 8 we got in and David Poe came on at around 815... He was the cheesiest opening act Tori ever had. He was a talent player with bad material but oh well... The crowd was really rude and almost made him cry be screaming TORI TORI TORI TORI ( esp. some little girls who came to here god and cornflake girl-- you know this was going be a "FAN SHOW").  Someone yelled THE CURE and David freestyled a song about the rain, lipstick and long hair...Ummm.. Yeah.  Finally he finished and at around 930 Tori came on.  I heard she was still stick from Saturday but if she was it did not show... I wish she'd open with something else but Black dove was still very cool and sounded much fresher than on the album.  Cruel was just fudging amazing.  Its was my favourite on the album and I figured it cant get better... But it did.  You know Tori takes this song personally because the lighting changed to reflect that of a heart... Very red and blue and veiny... It was a delicious moment and probably the second best that night.  Precious things came off as a tribal experience with a cool drum beat.  However the audience was so RUDE!!! Girls, calm down.  every pause, every key change every FUCKING second the screams bombarded the stage... If I was Tori I would have left.  She must have her ears plugged up... I know I am going to date myself by saying that In the GOOD OLD DAYS ( of Toridom) people had some RESPECT.  Tori knows you are in the crowd, she knows you know that bside-from-that-old-single-from-that-album.... we all do. so shut UP! After that bad crowd Tori motioned for her mike to be mixed up ( the soundboard was stage right and they  quickly complied). The next to song were loud and then CfG began... The front 10 rows went buzzerk and people began to dance and mosh and scream because now the other half of the crowd recognized a tune... I frequently heard "thats the one I came here for.... Oh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my godOh my god TORI!!!!!" I left to pee. Came back and she was in the middle of Jackie's Str. ( I think you have it listed as northern lad)  I was pushed through the crowd and ended up 2 feet in front of her as the magic secret time was announced . She started playing mother and I almost died.  It sounded so fresh and bittersweet; I would have been happy to just be there forever-- but some C+nt began screaming Tori Tori Tori!  and every time Tori would pause people who didn't know the tune would applause...  This seemed to be the pattern for the rest of the night but Tori arose above the rudeness and delivered the finest moment of the night. Waitress began as a reworking and seemed to be what everyone previously said it was -- new.  But then Tori became possessed and began chanting a line I cannot recall but plying like a possessed woman and Steve was feeding on that energy and channeling Jimi through his guitar-- I swear the smoke on stage was not from the cigarettes or joints but from Steve and Tori who did waitress in with sheer beauty and grace and a fucking 50 megaton nuclear assault.  You just had to be there.  The encores were good but after waitress nothing short of god walking out on stage for a striptease would have been more shocking.  Tori was in top >from and although the days of an intimate seance are LONG GONE she sit emotes magic.  Now the reason to go and see her is different.  It aint no imitate experience-- its just pure magic.

From Robyn Wandzell

May 6, 1998 - I am in a wonderful mood today...I'm tired, my feet hurt, my back hurts because I wore stupid heels to the show, my neck hurts from having to crane it to the right to see around this guy in a baseball cap, but somehow none of that matters.

First, David Poe was great. It's hard to go up in front of a crowd that has already waited hours and hours (and hours) in line to see someone that's not on stage yet...he was great about it though. He acknowledged that we all wanted to see tori and no matter how long he played, it would cut her set list at all, so we can all relax...it was cute!

Then the wonderful moment came...she came out and opened with Black Dove (January)...AMAZING! Mother, Upside Down were beautiful during "Secret Time". She commented that there were people who have been to every show! "Only one to go"...I couldn't imagine being able to do that! I'm so jealous!

She said she needed lip gloss at one point and then quickly added that she has some and no one needs to throw any to her...she got pelted with "buckets of this stuff" when she lost hers at another show :)

She belted out Precious Things--that was powerful with the band! And She's Your Cocaine is definitely a song tailored for live performance. It was pounding through the crowd.

"Honey" was so amazing...I've never seen that live...I was in awe.

The new "band" version of Horses was interesting...No one recognized it until she sang the first line...I think I like the original better although this version was great. If I'd never heard the original, I wouldn't think twice about how wonderful this version was, but I'm still partial to the "Girl and the Piano" thing...

I was bummed she didn't play Pandora's Aquarium but I'll live :)

Can't wait for September 14th and 15th...Arco Arena and Oakland arena---the venues are way to big and the sound sucks but I'm still excited!

I'll be on cloud 9 for weeks!

From QTsmile =)

May 6, 1998 - Tori's concert at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco was my first time seeing her and I have to say that I'm absolutely blessed to have seen and witnessed this intimate sneak preview club tour ;) Her performance was really amazing....though I was a bit disappointed that she didn't perform Jackie's Strength, which I think is one of the best tracks on "from the choirgirl hotel." I was glad to hear Winter live...and just before she finished that song, I wondered if she was gonna play Honey...and she played it just right after Winter!!! I was so happy 'cause those two song are my fave Tori b-sides.

Black-Dove (January) and Spark are great live. These two songs, along with Jackie's Strength, are the most accessible songs from her new album. I really need to listen more to the whole album to appreciate all of the songs (just like my experience with Boys For Pele).

Other highlights of the Fillmore concert are: Precious Things and Cornflake Girl. After the concert, just before you go out of the door, they handed out an exclusive poster of the show (a Fillmore tradition)..and just before Tori performed, it was announced that she will perform at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento on September 14 and the New Arena in Oakland on September 15. Tickets will go on sale in June.

From Lavina Elaine Lee

May 6, 1998 - Since I was lucky enough to be able to go to the 11th show, I thought I'd just share my thoughts. The concert was beautiful, and it was definitely worth all the standing and the rain and everything else. This was my first time seeing Tori in concert, so it was quite an experience. Before I say anything else, I just want to thank all the great people in line...they made the waiting seem less long, and certainly more entertaining! People will probably do a song-by-song review of this show, so I'll spare you, but I will share what I remember. Right now, I can only recall Tori's story before she went into her "secret time." She informed the crowd that she had been chewing on ginger, and that it was falling out of her mouth when she sang into the microphone. I guess that's not much of a story, but it was funny! Ummmm....she was wearing this black see-through shirt with a black tank-top beneath it, and olive green cargo pants...unfortunately, I was too short to see her shoes. I'd share something more enlightening about the show, but I'm dreadfully tired, so I'm going to go to bed now! goodnight..

From Zeiram

May 6, 1998 - I showed up at the Fillmore around eleven this morning and there were *tons* of people there already, some had been there since Monday night! I waited in line until four (and got drenched in a storm) when the blue bus finaly showed up. I wormed my way to the front of the meet & line and took tons of Tori pics (soon to be on my web page) then I gave her a present (a Tori Fairy ^_^) and took a photo of Tori holding up the Tori Fairy. I also got to touch the wedding ring!

The show itself was awesome. David Poe wasn't really as bad as I feared: he's talented and writes great lyrics but his music either too slow or too fast. Tori was fabulous, that's all I can say =)

From Erin Ahern

May 6, 1998 - The Tori concert was amazing. When we first got to the Filmore, it was pouring rain, and we got soaked. It stopped raining at about 4pm or so. SO that was harsh... but once inside.. everything was great. David Poe had a great voice, but all his songs were about how much he hated his last girlfriend, so... I don't know. I was really close (if there were rows, I would have been about 3rd row). It was a great view. She was very sweet and goofy sometimes, and other times very very deep into the songs. I got the album at midnight May 4th, so I was semi-familiar with the new songs. I was thrilled that she sang Cornflake Girl, my favorite song, and Honey was very cool. She talked about how she "chews on ginger, and sometimes when shes singing she spits a little on the microphone" and she laughed.... and when the band went away, she said that she had to play some songs that people asked her to play.. and she went into Mother. I know a lot of people request that song, and it means a lot to so many people, so that was really cool. Her voice was great, it was very exciting. All the songs sound great live, even the new ones. Horses was cool, it was slower... but yet more up beat... very cool. She talked about the "lip gloss incident" . It was a great show. After, I waited outside by her bus. The Filmore gives away posters at every show, and I got one... when she came out, every one rushed up and crushed us. I was trying to get her to sign my poster, but the security guard pushed it away, so I just thought... "forget it" and I tried to put the poster down.. but i was squished .. and peopls hands were in my face.. and I must have had a distressed look on my face, and that when she looked at me and said "Don't let them punch you in the face Honey" and I just said .. "YA" (what could I say??) then she said "is this your poster?" and i said (in a pathetic voice) "Yaaaaaaaa" and she took it from me and signed it. I gave her a book of mine, and told her to keep it. But after a few minutes she ended up signing it and giving it back to me. She was being yelled at from every differnt direction... it was crazy.. I have never seen anything like it. She must have been confused. It wasnt like other meet and greets of the past (at least from what I heard of them). This was very chaotic and crazy. Anyway, I got to talk to her.. for that moment, got a poster signed... so I am happy. She was great.. they also said she will be playing at the Arco Arena in Sacramento and at the new Arena in San Jose in late August and early september... so can't wait till then! Thanks to everyone who was so cool. I was next to Doink in line! It was just the perfect night.

From Alden Harbour Keith

May 6, 1998 - David Poe was great. He knew how to work the crowd quite well. I talked with him after the show, and was extremely impressed with him, and his abilities.

Tori was absoluty wonderful, and she put on an fabulous performance. I was suprised with the reworking of Horses.

There is a totally different feel to a Tori concert now, and it really makes me wonder what is going to happen in the future. It seems that fans are getting less respectful of Tori when she is performing. It used to be that people would shut up the moment a note was played or when she started talking. Dead silence. But the last few times I have seen her, It was loud. People were talking and shouting, screaming and hollering.....oh well...It just makes me wonder how it is going to be on the Summer Stadium tours, and such.... Another thing is that, when Tori used to get off the bus, no one really rushed to see her, because we all knew that she would get to everyone of us eventually...She would sometimes stay out there for 45 minutes or more. Today, she was out for maybe 3-5 minutes, and everyone rushed out of line to try and see her.

Maybe what I am saying is that, perhaps, she is getting a little fearful of the devotion of some of her fans. Something to think about..

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