North American Plugged '98 Tour
Washington, D.C.
August 8, 1998
Updated September 29, 1998
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North American Plugged '98 Tour
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Check Out The Reviews And Set Lists Page Tori performed in Washington, D.C. on August 8, 1998 at the MCI Center during the main North American leg of her Plugged '98 tour. Footage from this show was shown during an episode of MTV Ultra Sound on September 27, 1998.  Set ListTori performed Winter and Me and a Gun solo. Many thanks to Lee Chaix for being the first to give me the set list. She called me on the phone from the nation's capital. Special thanks to Richard Handal as well for phoning me. Jeremy Rueger, ilya, and riley were the first to email me the set list. Precious Things 1st Encore: 2nd Encore: |
ReviewsThe most recently added reviews are first. From devin ayersSeptember 29, 1998 - it's been almost 2 months since the d.c. show at the MCI Center, i loved it, it was incredibly amazing!!! seeing some live footage of it on ultrasound last night made me want to put up a review about it. i LOVED "me and a gun" i felt so privileged to hear her sing it, i just pretended not to hear that TWIT laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was so mad! i went to the meet-n-greet, tori didn't look very well, she was sick so, what did i expect ^_^ at first i just decided not to try to get up front to get her signature, but, my friend nicki talked me into it, i barely made it up there, right when i was close enough to put my tix in her face, she had to go do soundcheck. i was very dissapointed. but anyways, so, my friend and i went to a little grill type place and got a drink, it was so hot outside! after a while we got bored, went into the MCI Center, and sat down and listened to the soundcheck. my friend drew pictures while i just sat there and listened. since we were there the whole time, we were on of the first people to get in. when the gates opened, i went straight for the merchandise, got a shirt, program, and necklace. i heard that camera's weren't aloud so, i didn't bring a camera, if anyone got any pics. and would be kind enough to send me some, i would greatly appreciate it, thanks!!! or a boot of the show would be awesome too (Nez3000@aol.com) ^_^ my seats sucked, i was in section 417, there were a bunch of middle aged people around me, no one stood up except me, i didn't care, i was so happy! there was some girl behind us who was asking some guys for a ride home, total strangers, i wanted to say something but didn't. anyways, i was soooooooooo glad to hear "cornflake girl" with the new intro!!!!! it was amazing, and so was "the waitress", what am i saying, they were ALL awesome!!!!! but, i must say, "precious things" had to of been the highlight, the lighting was incredible too. i love tori with or without the band, each has it's pro's, neither has con's, :) i want to see tori in baltimore but, i'm flat broke, i guess i'll survive. hope you all enjoy your tori shows!!!!! From rebecca a arthurSeptember 12, 1998 - It's been over a month since the show and I can still feel this energy surge through me each time i speak about it. This wasn't my first Tori show....I have seen here 3 other wonderful times in DC. I've never been disappointed in the shows, but hwen i would leave I felt like ......it's unexplainable, I was on a high from seeing her, but i was expecting more (?).....SO ....On Aug 8th, I pick up my Best Friend, Erin, head to Subway for veggie subs and we r on our way. Of course traffic was dead stopped for some unexplanable reason, so we drove on Rt1 and backroads getting to DC as soon as we possibly could. We made it there with little time to spare. We book it inside to find out seats...As we walk in to the MCI, i could just feel this energy..it's so weird whenever i get around large amounts of Toriphiles...It's so comforting....It's a bond that we all love this red headed goddess....ok, anyways before i totally get off subject.......so we find our seats and we r close on the floor ..... not close enough for me, though ...i wouldn't have been happy unless i was sitting on her lap......So Erin and I mingle and such.....we have about 20 min left before she comes on stage......oh..I almost forgot.The people at the doors made Erin give her camera batteries up, and she was really pissed!!!! So ...we talk , I show people my Tori tattoo.SO the starts ..... She came out with so much energy ..AMAZING ..it was amazing...Precious Things is one of my Fav songs and the way she played ...with the band and the pure ANGER .....I could of just peed myself........I HAVE TO SAY : THE BAND COMPLETED THE MOOD THAT NIGHT...HER MUSIC WAS ANGRY AND PISSY AND I LOVED IT. IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE BAND! So, she played cruel and it was nice.....THEN came *Cornflake Girl* ....Again all i can say is AMAZING!!!!!!!!! She was so into everything that she was just making up lines...grabbing heself....and babbling and screaming.....ohh my ...it was WONDERFUL!!!!Uhmmm...so The highlights from the show......YOU KNOW PEOPLE NO ONE HAS SAID A THING ABOUT HER WAITRESS STUNT......During *Waitress* she started screaming "I BELIEVE IN THE DEVIL BITCH" ...i can't believe no one said anything...I loved it....Some have talked about her *iiee* improv too.....What i heard was ..."You can scratch, you can --- --- scabs, but you took my little girl." and I of course that made my heart drop.....*sugar* was amazing....*Me and a Gun* was just gut wrenching like always...i don't know if anyone knows anyhting of this but I swear i heard either laughter or really hard crying during MAAG. I don't know i am hoping that it was the latter. UHmmm.....During *Rasberry Swirl *All i could do was ge up and dance ...it was amazing SOOOO FAST..The song means a lot too e any From Wayan CarlinerAugust 12, 1998 - The meet and greet was surprisingly pleasant for having so many people. @200 would be my guess. She stayed for a decently long time, and signed anything and everything put in front of her. Joel and Steve seemed rather surly for this one tho. The show was absolutely incredible. This was my first. Before the show, I
was raving about Matt Chamberlain to anyone who's bother to listen to me
(remember the email I sent you all those months ago when I found out Matt
play(ed) on choirgirl?), and he very much held up to my expectations of him
:-) The energy, compared to Richmond especially, seemed a little lacking,
but it was still an amazing show. Now, I feel as if I'm the minority here
in saying this, but I think From Eva SzentpeteryAugust 11, 1998 - Well, this was my first show of the Choirgirl tour, and overall I was pretty pleased. I showed up to the meet and greet at 2:00 and there were already a ton of people there, all numbered... I never got a number but it didn't matter anyway, it turned out. The waiting just about killed me. I was so thirsty by the end I almost passed out. Anyway.... She stepped off her bus and I was so stunned... She is incredibly beautiful. I was so shocked when she started talking to the girls in front of me that I didn't even TRY to hand her my CD for her to sign... I was just in shock. I was so close to her I could have reached out and touched her hand. And that was enough for me... We showed up to the MCI center halfway through the Devlins, and waiting for Tori was like waiting for Christmas.... I was incredibly excited. The only thing that really detracted from the show was the audience. The boy sitting next to me really didn't want to be there... I think his girlfriend must've dragged him along. I swear... He didn't clap the whole time and looked at his watch about 500 times. The whole section I was in was kind of a downer. When that drunk woman started laughing in the middle of Me and a Gun, I got even more pissed off. The crowd was incredibly dead the whole show. I expected more, really. Well... it wasn't all bad... Tori put on a great performance... Winter was my unchallenged favorite of the night. The piano and her voice were SO stunning... I did not breathe. Me and a Gun was a definite great surprise... Sugar, with the band, was unbelievable. Precious things was an amazing beginning... The Waitress was another favorite. I wanted to jump up and start dancing during Raspberry Swirl... next time I will... I really was hoping for Purple People to make its debut, because of the DC mailing list and all, but hopefully she will play it at the Charlotte show, which is my next one. I'm definitely looking forward to it. From Leslie Madill (Posted to a local D.C Tori mailing list called Purple People and reposted here with permission.)August 11, 1998 - yes, taken for granted that she did have the flu, and that it was a big arena and that she was under the weather, she did put on a professional performance. yes, it was wonderful, and at some instances just purely enchanting...but there were so many buzzkills last night that it had me wondering... for instance: (i HATE bitching but i must...) because she did such a big venue, a lot of things that i loved about the ddi shows i saw did happen this time. the intimacy, i thought, for the most part was gone. she didn't connect with the audience as she usually did, she did say a few things to us, but she didn't explain how the doughnut song was inspired by her and her friends drinking guinness, and she didn't botch any of the songs up at all...(which is good i guess but i thought it was the cutest thing when she did the first verse of hey jupiter twice at constitution hall...) plus, with the full band, which did compliment her i may add...*was* a distraction. sometimes the drums were louder than her vocals, and that bothered me. plus, i don't think she could have done as much improvising as she had the freedom to do so had it have been without the band. also, they sold alcohol last night. it may not have bothered some of you guys, but when you're sitting next to a sweaty drunk guy that had to get up every 5 minutes to either relieve himself or drink a beer (or both?), it could be quite a distraction. i hate it that i'm talking about an incredible show like this...but i hope that you guys can see where i'm coming from on this. another thing, it seemed like less of tori and her piano. yes, that may have been a blanket statement, but come on. we all know that tori's greatest music achievement is the fact that she's a prodigy on the piano (her voice is incredible...but for me personally what initially drew her music to me was the way her piano playing put chills down my spine)...and for her not to be playing it for the most part of each song bothers me. for cruel, for instance....when she didn't even touch her bosey until a solo that isn't even on the actual song...it broke the mood for me. and lastly, yes, i feel like me and a gun wasn't appreciated as it was in previous shows. someone was watching the ravens game (or some other loud athletic event) very loud in the suite behind our seats and totally diverted from the song. also, after the people were quieted, people were talking at the top of the aisle. at most other shows, the only diversion that we could have possibly encountered would be a person in the audience crying...not someone in a SUITE at an ARENA watching a football game. =( don't get me wrong, i was crying, myself, through half of the show because just being in tori's presence is incredible...i was thrilled with the fact she did precious things and winter and SUGAR (!!) and i think it's wonderful that she can try something new with her musical talents...but i hope that this is just a one time thing, and she can get back to connecting with her ears with feet and start explaining the david cassidy reference she made in the song jackie's strength...cause i personally would like to know how that came about! =) From StephPVICHAugust 10, 1998 - i just want to comment that tori was absolutely magical saturday night. i think me and a gun surprised everybody. th entire auditorium was silent except for some ignorant girl about six rows behind me starting laughing histerically. i dont mean to give her the spotlight but i almost got up and yelled at her, but i didnt want to interupt tori like this girl had done. i only hope tori could not hear the girl because i think she would be really disappointing considering that was the first time she sang the song. i hope tori knows that we all love her and support her no matter what . she was truely beautiful From DawnAugust 10, 1998 - well i thought i'd tell you about my experience with the tori show august 8th...it was my first tori show, and it just blew me away totally. i couldn't believe she played "me and a gun!" i never expected in a million years she would play that...by the 3rd line of the song i had tears streaming down my face, and i had to bite my lip to keep from bawling. it sounded as if tori was crying also (i was too far back to be able to see her face clearly), because she had to take a deep breath in the middle of the song. what ruined the moment to some extent was some giant a-hole that actually had the nerve to laugh, and someone else in one of the suites who had the orioles game on!!! what's wrong with people? anyway, then the band came back on and they played "sugar" which was the first i've ever heard the song...i only know the lyrics. but it sounded so great, i think maybe one of my favorite songs of the evening. other highlights for me were "precious things," "i i e e e" (during the part that goes "why's always there gotta be sa-sa-sacrifice?" tori had her hand on her stomach and she cradled her arms like she was holding a baby...it almost brought me to tears then.) and "the waitress," one of my favorite songs from under the pink. tori improvised a little on that song too, saying something like "but i believe in jesus, and i believe in the devil too..." right after "but i believe in peace, bitch" of course "northern lad" was beautiful, i love that song...but i thought all the songs were beautiful...i only wished she had played "playboy mommy" but oh well. i wanted to stay after the show and try to meet tori (i missed her by, get this, 15 minutes before the show) but i had to leave and catch the metro, or else it would have been a really long walk home. the tori concert was by far the best concert i've been to, the most emotional...i'l never take off my rasberry swirl girl necklace!! Ý dawn Ý p.s. oh yeah, i was sitting next to two girls who were wearing faerie wings and glitter...i wish i had talked to them, they seemed cool. i forgot two things: matt chamberlains' drum pounding during "rasberry swirl" was so intense and neat looking, with all the lights around him and everything, i wish i had a picture! and steve caton was doing this funny little swivle type dance thing during the waitress, it reminded me of elvis or something!! the band was really fun to watch...oh and if anyone bootlegged the show, please e-mail me (warfield@tqci.net) because i really really really want a copy of it...thanks! From ZohraAugust 10, 1998 - I arrived, with a friend, a heavy bag, and some wilting flowers.. Hoping to meet Tori again, to bask in her divine beauty. I was hoping to get there around 10AM, but, being the procrastinator that I am, I arrived at 2PM. The barricade was up, and I was pretty far behind, but I was having none of that. I was determined to hand my gifts to Tori. After all, I spent a lot of time and money into it, it only seemed fair. I started chatting with some people and they were speaking of some number system. In all my years, I had never heard of such a thing. We were all like, "Screw that, I don't think so.." I started to situate myself in the crowd, but if I had known who I was going to have to stand by, I would have changed direction. Because of my love for Tori I endured the tortures for over two hours. You see, there is a different sects of ears with feet. Those of us who obsess over her music, her meaning, her depth, and her soul. Then there are those of us who's main objective is to be the supreme, ultimate Toriphile. "I've been to 58 shows, I attend every meet and greet, for no absolute reason other than Tori seeing my face over and over again. Oh, maybe one day she'll want to be my friend." Sorry girls, do your homework. Tori is extremely sweet with her fans, a part of her endless charm. If you are so concerned with conserving her time, you would let ears with feet who don't have the time or the means of seeing her in every known city have their opportunity with the siren. Finally, her blue bus arrived, and she walked out quickly. Looking more beautiful than ever. Her outfit was stylish, but there was something off about Tori. She looked as though she felt forced to meet us, like it was part of the job description. I was very disappointed that she wasn't hiding her disinterest. When she finally got around to my row, my new friends around me insisted she pay attention to me. "She has heavy gifts for you, you have to take them Tori.." She flashes me a smile, and looks at me, and says, "Who are these from?" Um, "me". "And what's your name?" "Zohra". "Oh Zohra, thank you Zohra, that was very nice. Thank you." I asked her to sign my pictures, one for my friend, another for me. (Heavens NO! I passed it up to her, that was another big nono.) She took them, and did her "duty". I was in shock, not realizing how important these moments of my life were. I had met her previously, but this was a bit more interesting. This was more confrontational. Although it was another nono to walk away after meeting her, I did anyway. It was hot, and I was going to pass out. The whole experience was too much for me. Meeting the most talented person in the world. Having them say your name.. These sort of things mean a lot to me. Those girls, everything they said Tori would do, didn't prove itself. Tori was having an off day, that's for sure, but she remained goodhearted, and beautiful, body and spirit. I convinced myself that the Toriphile radicals were there to test my loyalty. To see if I could hold out in a hellish situation for longer than ten minutes. I did, and I am damn happy. We went to the grill next to the venue, where they were playing "Boys for Pele", perfect for the occasion. We stayed there, trying to make of the events, when we heard soundcheck was on its way. Everyone was on the main floor listening, but being the wittiest (I say this in sarcasm) we decide we could hear much much better on the top floor. MCI Center has four floors- just for your knowledge. Let's just say MCI's security was shabby. The fourth floor was open by escalator, and we could have easily snuck into the soundcheck. There was nobody there, and it just would have been so easy. But, out of respect of Tori, we stayed and listened. She played "Winter", and "Cooling". It was so exciting hearing her, my day was just going too well. When we went back down, we sat down marveling at the pictures she had signed. We couldn't wait for the doors to open. Just to sit in our magical seats, getting a taste of what was to come. Finally at 7:30PM, we got to our seats. We were right in the center, 21 rows back. We were joyous, this was going to be a night to be reckon with. The Devlins came on stage, and they were pretty good. But desperate to sell records. We got advertisements on our seats, and they had this neon sign. Kind of pathetic, but I wasn't going to be too hypocritical, you do what you have to do. They were good, but nothing that grabbed me. I was just dreaming of Tori. I mean, that's where the excitement is. They finally left stage, which was good, because their music was getting really tedious towards the end. It was intermission time, and the lights were aglowing. Jane and I were yawning, getting the tired out before Tori came on. I start looking around the arena, studying people's faces, and clothes. Trying to sink in how diverse her fans were. Finally I get to the right side of the arena where some of the VIP seating is, and I see an old couple. Who else could it be?!? Dr.Edison, and Ms. Mary were there, so close to me. I felt honored to be in their presence. I quietly whispered to my friend, pointing them out. I didn't want the rest of the fans to hear, I didn't think it was right to start something. But, I wanted to pass them, to get a better look. As I was inching closer to their chairs, I flashed them a big, huge smile. I didn't want to bother them, or draw attention, but they knew I recognized them. Right as I turn back to my seats, the first notes of "Precious Things" were being played. I was jumping up and down, basking in Tori's beauty. Her fashion is to be prided on, she looked dashing. I couldn't help as to watch Mr. and Ms. Amos's reactions at some of Tori's more risque motions. (ie. NINE INCH NAILS ect... touching crotch).. To be honest, Dr. Edison didn't have much of an expression, but Ms.Mary was smiling. Although it seemed more of a look of pride in her daughter, and she by all means has that right. Tori was powerful, she was doing the boogie. She was belting those tunes out, and it was difficult not to get choked up. It was overwhelming, the whole idea of her being so close, performing. I would occasionally check with the parents, I couldn't help but wonder what they thought of it all. It just looked like they were on cloud nine, proud as any couple would be, to have a daughter who has done so much for so many people. "Winter" was especially sad.. But when she started the first notes of "Me and a Gun", I couldn't believe my ears. So I covered them. I turned to Dr.Edison and Ms.Mary. No smiles. I have the highest respect for her father. When I was younger, I phoned him twice, just to ask about Tori. He entertained my questions, acting as if it was no trouble. Telling me Tori appreciates all of her fans. Raving about her, as her should. This is the reason Tori is so dear to all. She is something real. Any other star, whether they are talented or not, you don't get this sort of relationship. We Toriphiles should feel honored we adore such a lady. A star who cares about her fans, and truly shows it. That's not something you can find anywhere. Overall, the day was worth all of its downfalls. Although I was disappointed that she hardly talked at all. She usually always has a short story. The cute ones only Tori could tell. But, her main priority, and job was providing rocking, quality music. And she did that without question. All of that and more. From Shannon (Posted to the Purple People mailing list, which is a local mailing list for Tori fans in the Washington D.C. area. This is posted with permission.)August 10, 1998 - oh my oh my oh my!! I dont know what to tell anyone who didnt think last nite was just wonderful.... i thought it was the most spectacular day ever! i have been planning for this for so long and it finally arrived and met and exceeded all of my expectations. Robbie and another friend stayed at my house friday nite and we intended to take the first metro into the city at 8:00. well...we had a little delay such as turning the alarm off when it went off and etc. so we didnt arrive until 10 but that was fine b/c we were still the first people there. then we met these other two really cool people who had drove down from new york to see her and the girl had this great long island accent (what can i say... i have a thing for accents... the lead singer of the devlins... mmm.... tasty) robbie and nina and i went to cvs to buy chalk to write on the sidewalk and then we went to starbucks and we stole the womens bathroom sign because nina wanted tori to sign it. we got the chalk and started to write on the sidewalk but the security guy came out and yelled so we stopped. then more and more people started to arrive and nina and i took it upon ourselves to start numbering people. so we did and there were like 80 people there for the meet and greet. while we were waiting we met some really cool people--brooke; i love your hair, stephanie; you are a great person in person too!, dan; you are so cool!! and i love your book! i had the topper trivia, remember?, and the girl from boston with the mango was really neat. so steve came out on his bike and started telling us if we didnt move he wouldnt even bother and he finally set the barracades up and motioned for us to come up and robbie and i were actually in the very front next to the bars! we were separated form nina and lauren but they were up front too. so were waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for like two hours and during this time were talking to steve about what theyre doing for thier two days off and what he would be doing if he wasnt doing this and if he ever got tired of it (he actually said he did but i dont think i would) and then the devlins showed up and everybody thought they were tori but they werent. then we could tell she was nearby because everybody got on their walkie talkies and then her sky blue tour bus magically appeared. then she got off the bus and everybody started saying "dont yell! dont scare her!" so everybody just kind of waved and said "hi tori". she looked so cute. she had this little black short sleeved shit on and this leather (or pleather i wasnt sure) kind of army green skirt with embroidered number and these mid calf black suede boots with a really chuncky square heel. so she started at the other end of the line and i was sooo excited. i was grabbling on to robbie and sort of shrieking/giggling into his shoulder and she kept getting closer and closer and robbie started shaking and he was so cute. then she got to him and he gave her the presents he had for her which were a boxing nun (that really did look like barbara bush) which she seemed to find humorous and a bubble blower for the part for the show that she drops bubbles. but she said she doesnt do that anymore because the bubbles make the pianos sick. and then i took a picture of them and she came to me!! she asked me my name and how i was doing and i said great and i asked her to play happy birthday for my friend but she said that probably wouldnt happen but she'd sign something for him so she wrote "Ed, Happy B Day (insert hand drawn heart) Tori Amos" and for me she wrote "Shannon (insert hand drawn heart) Tori Amos" and then i asked her if it would be okay if i gave her a hug and she said of course and grabbed me and gave me a huge hug (i was actually surprised by her strength because shes so little) and i just held onto her and said i love you so much and she said "thank you thats so nice" and then she had to move on to the next person and i tried to sort of move out of the way and she looked me right in the eyes and "dont move. i want you to stay right there." needless to say, i wasnt going anywhere. then robbie yelled "great shoes tori!" and she turned around and looked at him and winked and did this sexy little hip thing! she was so cute! then joel and steve took her away on a golf cart and the whole group broke up. we went to eat blah blah blah and came back to listen for the soundcheck. we heard her playing me and a gun but thought maybe she was just testing her voice. then they finally let us all in and the concert was amazing. she played northern lad and raspberry swirl and matt had on these little glowing horns for raspberry swirl and my little group got up and danced but i did notice that most of the people werent and the people on the sides definitly werent. and then that crazy girl ran up on stage and i think that really really did scare tori a lot. i was pissed off about that afterwards because that girl had no right to possibly throw tori completely off and she really broke the spell between tori and the audience. but it was still fantastic and i really like the fact that she has another little dance for iiiee like she used to do for cornflake girl. i also really like the new entrances to cornflake girl, waitress, winter and caught a lite sneeze. wow!! and then it was over. the lights came up and everyone was leaving and i thought wow ive met tori amos and i saw her again finally. it was just a magical nite. this was just so special a nite and i am going to be talking about this for years..... From phillip wentzAugust 10, 1998 - so i went to the show saturday night and was completely blown away...it was my first time seeing her live and i loved...it was one of the best shows i've been to in a while... she opened with a kickass version of 'precious things' but one the many highlights was the incredible remix of 'raspberry swirl', i had to get up and dance... i could not contain myself...i hope that version gets released...she also did a great job with 'me and a gun', it gave me goosebumps...and i couldn't believe this happened...when she came out for the first encore, a fan (female) jumped the railing and landedvery hard on stage to hug her...tori was ok with it...she motioned for security to stay back but they eventually carted her off...crazy... From meghanAugust 10, 1998 - wow! wow! wow! ME AND A GUN!!!! i was sooooo shocked when she started singing this! it was the very last song i expected for her to sing during "secret time". tori looked like she was about to cry. i think that this song had so much more of an effect after putting it to a rest for awhile. it was so emotional. i was in tears. there were a few innapropriate, annoying screams during the middle of it but not too much. well, me and a gun was the only surprise of the evening, but i think it was a big enough surprise to make up for there not being any other surprises! =) she opened with precious things, which was what i expected. it was beautiful and breathtaking. she then played cruel. i think she did a better version of cruel when i saw her at the 9:30 club, but it was still great. next was cornflake girl. she did the most beautiful intro to this. i don't know if she's been doing it at the other shows but it was great. i don't remember what she was saying, it was just her and the piano, i just remember her saying "you bet your life it is" and that is the only way i knew it was going to be cornflake girl. ok, well, i don't have much time and i can't quite remember the order of the rest of the show, so, i'll just give you some try and tell you some stuff really quickly- some girl jumped up on stage and gave tori flowers. she gave her a hug and then was quickly escorted offstage. tori said she was "back home" she still sounds a little sick. she sounded very nasel tonight. but there was soooo much energy at this show, it was awsome! i was in tears several times. i was sad when it was over. crucify was really great. the crowd was fairly well behaved, everybody sat down for most of the show which was great. not too much obnoxious screaming. it was a great show though. sometimes i really do miss just her and the piano though. oh, how could i forget! cornfalke girl, everytime i see it, it is sooo amazing to just watch her play, watch her fingers working! it was awsome! she was wearing a green sparkly thing over her black pants and shirt, it was pretty. but me and a gun was defenitely the highlight of the show for me. it was just beautiful. ok, i have to run now. gotta get to bed, leaving early tommorow morning for a camping trip! From ElyseAugust 10, 1998 - Elyse called me on the phone to tell me more about the South Park Kenny doll she gave to Tori. Kenny was again on stage tonight. Tori has 2 buses for her crew members. One of the buses has Kenny and the crew of the other bus is jealous of that fact! From jess/teleute0August 10, 1998 - saturday morning, marjorie (my best friend) and her parents and i drove up to maryland and met her brother at his apartment. he dropped us off at the MCI center around 1:30. marjorie and i walked around the center, which is HUGE, until we happened along 60 or so very nice tori fans, mostly DC goths and a few rmta-ers from all over the place. (rmta is the tori amos newsgroup on the 'net.) some girl decided that she would try to be the boss and give everyone a number on their hands. steve (tori's security person, perpetually grumpy) showed up around 2 and started setting up barricades. the girl who numbered us started hoarding us into a single file line according to number until the two guys next to me and i just burst through and everyone else followed in a big clump. i ended up near the right of the front, and i had a place right along the barricade. then we waited. i talked to steve for a while; he said tori would be there by 3:30, but since dor told me about all of this beforehand (thank god, i was one of the few that actually knew what was going on), i knew we had a while to go. tori showed up around 4:30. in the interim, i got to know some really wonderful goth folk. i guess that's what happens when you smush seventy five people into five square feet of room. anyway. tori showed up, and started at the people to my right. when she came to me, i reached out and gave her my presents (a book i made and a candle with special oils and herbs for strength). she asked me how i was doing, and i said ok and asked her how she was.. she said she was doing a lot better and was excited about the show. then she signed my 7" of china and i got my picture taken with her. i asked for doughnut song, and she wrote it on her hand and said she'd try. the people on both sides of me requested here. in my head.. it turns out we didn't hear either of them. then i felt like i was hogging tori, so i told her i'd see her in richmond and she passed to the next few people. after she passed, i called out that my friend dorothy said hello, and tori gave me a grin and wink. yay! i met tori. i was happy. and hungry. i showed marjorie around chinatown for a while and hung out in starbucks with some really neat net.goths. then marjorie and i headed back to the center and went inside. we listened to the soundcheck (precious things, iieee, spark.. i don't know what else there was) and then walked around with some of the goth kids we met. after a while, we found someone selling floor seats for face value, 13th row. we bought them. and coincidentally spent the next 3 hours trying to get rid of ours, which were actually good seats to begin with. i met someone who was going to try to boot the show, so i gave him my address and number, and i ended up exchanging e-mail addresses with tons of people. i don't remember who was who! we walked around the center for what seemed like forever trying to sell the goddamn tickets. we finally found two girls that took them. marjorie went back inside to cram herself into the lobby area with a few hundred tori fans, and i strolled around the front. i was planning to walk around the building to look for people i knew when i passed by this cute girl with rainbow hair. my first thought was that her hair looked like mine used to.. my second thought was that it was my friend audrey from california that i know online! we hugged and talked for a minute. i wish i had had a chance to hang out with her, but it was neat just seeing someone i know so well but never see. she's Beautiful! sheesh. finally, after we hung out with yet another group of goths (i have never seen so many -- and especially nice ones -- in one palce in my entire life), we went to go meet marjorie's brother so we could put our bookbags in his car. i ended up seeing mary claire, who i work with, and we talked for a while until marjorie's brother came. we entered back into the center and bought our tori stuff and found our seats, which were amazing and rocked my lame ass. twelve minutes before eight, i noticed how blurry the stage was. then i noticed that there weren't any glasses on my face. DER. i convinced the head of security to let me run four blocks to the car to get my glasses. he said if it took me longer than five minutes, i was out for the rest of the show. i am not a runner. especially not in big boots. but i made it right as the devlins started. they were ok. just like any other alternative rock band. quite blah. everything sounded the same. i just wanted to see tori. plus i was sweaty and tired. but i could see! after the devlins, i went to the soundboard and met marcel, the sound engineer. i asked about the encores, but he didn't know yet, so i came back ten minutes before tori was scheduled to go on. he told me the last two songs (jackie's strength and horses) so i could make up my mind if i wanted to run back to the stage door to meet tori again, and i convinced him to give me a setlist later. the show. was amazing. definitely the best show i've ever seen, by anyone, anywhere. tori stuck right to the original setlist, and played me and a gun for the first time this tour. she cried through most of it, and it was slower and more emotional than i've ever heard. she didn't play doughnut song, but maybe in richmond.. sugar was soooo incredible. i cried the whole time, and i have no idea why. it finally really touched me, and i figured out how it was relevant to all of these things that had been going on for the past few months with someone. anyway. so that was neat. every song was brilliant. i was, and am, completely blown away. tori choked up and cried throughout me & a gun; it was the slowest and most emotional version i've ever heard. the setlist was:
with band:
solo:
back with band:
encore one:
encore two: about 2/3 through the show, i went up to the very front and stood in front of the piano, about fifteen feet away from tori and pressed up against the stage. yay! the girl next to me was drunk and kept trying to jump on stage, so steve spent most of the time keeping her down. while he was trying to restrain her, another girl flew onto stage. tori motioned for security to stay offstage, and she hugged the girl and then had her escorted out. after the second to last song, i shoved my way through throngs of people and marcel gave me the setlist. i ran, once again, all the way around the building back to the press/stage entrance. there were five or six of us there, and i got right in the front. we waited about an hour.. at least two hundred people eventually showed up, and more barricades were added. after about 45 minutes, i started getting sick and passed out briefly for a few minutes. i had to shove people aside to leave the barricades and ended up throwing up. i hadn't eaten anything all day, and there was nothing in my blood besides caffeine, so my blood sugar dropped right after the adrenaline from the show dissappeared. eventually i got back to my spot; people were nice enough to let me back in and i'm so glad i went back! caton came out and i talked to him for ten minutes or so. we taught him to talk like a virginian. he told me he wanted to go fishing on the potomac river, and the girl next to me and him taught him that in virginia, it's just The Rivuh. i asked when he was going back to virginia, and he said he didn't know. i told him that i had seen the schedule and it said they'd be leaving at 2am.. he laughed and said that i knew more about what was going on than him and that he didn't care what time they left; tori could go to richmond but he'd be fishing in northern virginia. he signed my setlist and teased me about hassling marcel for it, and we talked about fishing and tori for a little while longer until he got back onto the bus. tori came out and walked straight to me, waving. :D during the show, and then, she was wearing black pants, a black t-shirt, and a green beaded and sequined dress/apron that was slit all the way up the sides. i asked her where she got "her green thing" and she said that she had a bunch of them custom made in london. she signed my setlist and i thanked her for singing me and a gun and told her that the show was, like always, beautiful. she got all teary. i asked her what she was going to do in richmond, and she said that she wasn't sure, it changed every time they went. i laughed and said she'd probably be sitting in the hotel eating good food, and joel started laughing. tori turned around and smiled at him, and he winked. i said that he was just laughing because he knew it was true, and tori grinned and said that she'd see me later. she moved on to the next person and left a few minutes later. i was lucky to get to spend so much time with her. and that was my day. :) From CLCMVAugust 10, 1998 - Wow!!! I didn't write down the setlist because I was just too overwhelmed and shaking the whole time, but this was such a special show. Near the beginning, Tori said, "You could say I've come home" and bowed to us. Also, she sang "Me And A Gun" for the very first time on this tour, to my knowledge. She opened with "Precious Things" - I had tear literally dripping down my face this was such a moving opening. Then came "Cruel", followed by "Cornflake Girl" with piano and vocal improvisation at the beginning (I cried some more during this one, and I'm not a crier). The lasers and colored lights were impressive. I know she also sang: "Spark", "iieee" (adding, "You took my little girl" to the ending), "The Waitress" with the "Hang Ten" lyric - this song lasted forever!, "Northern Lad", "Winter" and "Me And A Gun" (!!!) during our "secret time", "Sugar", "Raspberry Swirl", "Caught A Lite Sneeze", "She's Your Cocaine" and "Crucify" as the first encore, and "Jackie's Strength" and "Horses" (with the band and the disco balls) as the last encore. She hit some very high notes, and seemed so ON tonight... She wore something green, but my seat was too far back to see what it was (most likely a sparkly apron). Adjectives to describe the show elude me... It was a great, great, GREAT experience and I love her very much :) From Justin JohnAugust 10, 1998 - I thought I'd tell you a little about what happened at the show. I went to the meet and greet, but I didn't get to meet her because I was too far back. I was only close enough to get her to sign something. After that I hung around the MCI Center for awhile and from inside I could hear part of her soundcheck which included Iieee, Spark, Winter, and Me and a Gun. Finally, the show came and I was astonished to find that my seats were a lot closer than I thought they'd be. I was to the side of the actual part of the arena (not on the floor), but only about 3 rows back from the stage. Tori's voice has definitely recovered! Tori performed practically every song I wanted to hear, but of course not all. Precious Things and Cruel were as awesome as ever! I was so happy when she started Cornflake Girl because I had wanted to hear it with the band. Northern Lad was so beautiful and sounded lovely. I had also wanted to hear Caught a Lite Sneeze with the band and it was just fabulous. I love seeing Iieee live because of the long piano part when the song would normally end on the CD. For her quiet time she performed Winter which was out of this world and Me and a Gun, which was so moving and emotional. Sugar was just awesome with a band, very different, but very good. Spark was great and Raspberry Swirl got the whole place moving to the beat. Waitress was the best. For the her first encore she performed She's Your Cocaine, which definitely kicked some arse, and Crucify, which I was so pleased to hear done live for the first time. The second encore was Jackie's Strength, which was so beautiful. I love to echo effect during the chorus. And she closed the show with Horses which was just great! After the show I went back to try to get close enough to meet her and somehow got to almost the front of the guard rails, but I had leave a couple minutes before midnight to catch the metro (I caught the last one at the last minute), so I wasn't too happy about leaving. I guess I'll just have to try harder the next time I see her (possibly in New Orleans). Hope you enjoy this little review of Tori's concert. From Richard Handal (posted to various Tori mailing lists)August 10, 1998 - Well, that was disorienting, to say the least. Some of us after the show were left wondering aloud, "What was *that*?" Tori never caught a wave at this show, and had only fitful moments of inspiration. Her mind was clearly on something other than the show, but she turned in a professional performance. Other than several instances where it was apparent that she was still not quite 100% again health-wise and didn't have the vocal stuff to do what she wanted, I'm sure that to most people, it was a fine show. I was way towards the rear of the house in a box so I was pretty well separated from the overall mood of the crowd, but my trusted friends who were in front assured me that the audience was DEAD, and that one guy even MADE A CELLULAR PHONE CALL DURING ME AND A GUN! No depths to the lack of respect and cluelessness which inspire some people toward such achievement, apparently. A real "full moon show," indeed. It kinda reminded me of the May 22, 1998 Glasgow show in which she clearly had other personal things on her mind, except that show was also marred by extremely low energy on her part, to which the rest of the band followed in kind, leading the entire proceedings into a downward spiral. Thankfully, it wasn't like that last night. I was actually fairly concerned for her at the Glasgow show. But by the next show two days later she was fine. (The *audience* was dead then, but she was fine.) Anyhow, I expect her to bounce back by the next show Tuesday in Richmond. Two days off will be good for her physical health, although I have to say, two days off with the family could very well end up causing even more things to be on her mind other than the music. Lets hope not. I prefer to hope it will tend to make her crave the sanctuary of the music even more. I know that by then *I* will. From mattAugust 10, 1998 - now before i happily state how amazing the concert was i must add as a side note that i sat in on the sound check and was able to meet and talk to tori AND get my picture taken with her and she signed it.....she is so unbelievably wonderful to talk to it was amazing...i won the VIP tickets from WHFS which is always up on tori and her concerts....i cannot begin to say how awesome it was.... she played Winter and Cooling(!!) for us in the soundcheck by herself, explaining to us as she talked with the engineers...it was so cool, we sat right in the front rows!! another main point i have to make...i havent checked all the other set lists but i believe she played me and a gun for the first time this tour!!! it was so startling....but beautiful... there was also a kick ass version of sugar with the band.... ....oh and her parents were there!! they were sitting in amongst the people but they had toris body guard with them... my friend got her moms autograph well, i will let someone else go through the set list but i had to tell you the main points From Hailey (posted to ToriNews mailing list)August 10, 1998 - Well the DC show was amazing! SHE DID ME AND A GUN!!!!!!!!! setlist: *Precious Things Right at the beginning of the 2nd encore, a girl actually jumped up on stage and hugged Tori before the security got to her! The show was just amazing..... From Bob Moyer (Posted to precious-things mailing list)August 10, 1998 - Bob is talking about the fact that someone actually jumped opn the stage toward the end of the show: I thought this was pretty scary. It turned out fine, but has very bad-precedent-setting potential. Earlier this summer, I wrote an argument about what's appropriate, defending some yelling and screaming during a concert. I thought the girl leaping for the stage was way over the line. Can you imagine what must have been running through the mind of her head of security (Joel?)? From DanimalAugust 10, 1998 - The Devlins were actually really amusing. The girl behind me was ready to throw her panties on stage. I felt bad for them so i clapped as much as i could. As far as major concert events, Me and a Gun came out of nowhere. It's just such a private song, ya know? I just wanted to be like, "Ok, Tori, we'll leave and when you're done singing this, we'll come back." It was perfect except for this jackass in the back who started like laughing. It's ok cuz he'll rot in hell. Everything else was pretty standard from what i heard. It was my first tori show and i was just blown away. "Look at all the pretty lights!!" Anyway, that's my two cents. Very fun indeed. From Robbie HeacockAugust 10, 1998 - just got back from mci center!!! tori was amazing!!! absolutely phenomenal!! I'll give you a review tomorrow... but b4 bed... here's the setlist!!! also I got the soundcheck setlist as well!! Soundcheck: Show:
secret time:
Sugar
1rst Encore:
2nd Encore: Both (sndchk and show) were excellent... i only heard the soundcheck... and it may not be complete... but I have most of it... (Cooling is beautiful live!!)Well... I'll give you the whole scoop tomorrow!! oh, BTW... I MET TORI AT THE MEET AND GREET!!!!! I'm sooooooooooooooo happy!! She was wonderful and I'll tell you everything tomorrow. Now I'm exhausted!!! Night! From Brooke SummersAugust 10, 1998 - Brooke placed a review of the show on her web page Wow... that's the only thing that comes to mind when I think of last night's concert...Wow.
It all started at the meet and greet, where I was lucky enough to be at
the front... Tori came at 4:45pm, dressed in the same cool outfit from
Conan O Brien and looking kind of tired and sick... which scared me.
But she smiled and was the same, great tori, making a funny face and
saying hello to my squished boyfriend. When it was my turn, I said my
hellos and asked her if she's feeling better, and tori said "I'm getting
there dear". Though it was a good response, it still left me kind of
uneasy about the concert.
But boy was I wrong! This concert had to be the BEST of the whole tour,
or at least by the set list it does... She opened with Precious Things
and the electricity was amazing! She was so fiery and passionate, she
left me shaken and sobbing by the first song! And every song was as
intense as the last, Cruel, then Cornflake Girl, Iieee *my personal
favorite*, she even did Northern Lad and Me and a Gun *I believe this is
the first time she's done this song since RAINN*.... The whole concert
was unbelievable, with Tori having more energy than jolt cola. It was
great! She did She's Your Cocaine as the first encore, Horses, and
CRUCIFY to end the show!!! It was great! :) I will definitely NEVER
forget this concert! I only look forward to Landmark on tuesday! From JennieAugust 10, 1998 - I love Tori the show in DC was wonderful and great as allways from suprising us with the first song of the show being Precious Things to the last song of the second encore Horses. One of the greatest parts for me was when she sent the band away and started talking about her secret time while talking she was playing with her left hand. She then looked at her hand and looked then back to the audience and said "well i haven't heared that one in a while she continued to play the until the song Winter came which was beautiful. Then she followed Winter with Me and a gun which was very moving. It was a great show. From BessAugust 10, 1998 - I just got back from Tori's DC show and it was amazing. I can't give you a setlist because I didn't write it down, but she did play an AMAZING rendition of "Sugar"; I'll tell you that much. I was kind of disappointed that she
didn't mention anything about growing up in the DC area / performing at local
piano bars, but whatever.
From JoeyAugust 10, 1998 - Well to start, this was my seventh show... We missed the meet and greet before the show, and after the show, we were all lined up at the baracade, all ready to speak to my goddess. She came out about 12:15, and for the first time in all my seven shows, she didn't stay out very long, not long enough to talk to at least 10 people, then she was wisked away by her guard. I was a little dissapointed, but the only thing that was keeping me from getting upset was that i am going to see Tori two other times this week. So we got in the car, and just happened to be behind the tour bus.. It was going the same way we were! Then we saw it stop at the Four Seasons hotel... I had reservations of chasing her, but as she got out of the bus, there were at least 20 fans surrounding her already. so i went to join in too, but tori didn't really talk to anyone..... She had a look on her face that said "enough is enough".... About the show... It was odd that Tori hardly talked at all, the only thing she said the entire night was "hi guys, doing well i hope? I guess you could say, i'm home", then of course "the guys are gone, this is our private time",, that's all!!! I love it when she babbles or tells stories.... oh well... The high points of the show were Sugar, Winter and Me And A Gun (private time), and Northern Lad... During "Iieee", she was doing a very interesting improv... singing "i know you understand the way i feel, you dont' understand, i know you understand the way i feel,,, my little girl..." During "Precious Things" she rubbed herself pretty hard during " of every nice girl..." that was pretty cool. Above all, the show was fantastic!!! It was great to see tori again... I"m glad she's feeling better although she did sound a tiny, tiny bit nasal.. but as the night went on it got better... you can tell when a singer is singing nasal if she sounds twangy... And my two cents... I think songs like "Cornflake Girl" and "Caught A Lite Sneeze", are WAY better with just Caton and Tori. I dont' know... can't quite put my finger on it, but with the full band, it loses something, like maybe it's so close to the oringinal version that it becomes bland live... or something... but "Sugar", "Precious Things", and "Crucify", are AWESOME with the band.... From Richard HandalAugust 10, 1998 - Richard kindly called me after the show on the phone to give me the set list and a few details. Tori took to the stage at 9:25PM and the show ended at 11:06. The main set ended at 10:41. The whole show seemed "dark" in some ways. Precious Things was very elongated, expecially during the "wash me clean" part. Cruel gave him some major chills, though he still noticed that Tori was still having a few vocal problems. When Tori began "iieee" she was leaning back and almost almost lying horizontal on the piano bench. "Me and a Gun" was intense and very focused. There was alot of vocal soaring during "Raspberry Swirl." Jon Evans and Steve Caton were really playing and wailing instumentally at the beginning of "She's Your Cocaine." When Tori joined them they jammed for a while before Tori started to sing. |
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