North American Plugged '98 Tour
Tulsa, OK
October 6, 1998
Updated October 11, 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 Tulsa, OK on October 6, 1998 at the Brady Theatre during the main North American leg of her Plugged '98 tour.  Set ListTori performed Happy Phantom and Cooling solo. Thanks to Jonathan Lee for being the first person to email me the set list. Precious Things 1st Encore: 2nd Encore: |
ReviewsThe most recently added reviews are first. From Python KingOctober 11, 1998 - Not to be too overly dramatic, but the show in Tulsa was truly an epic story for Tori. There was no pre-show meet'n'greet to start off and we were all wondering why. Two friends of mine had passes to go to the soundcheck and meet Tori and they came out saying, "Uh-oh she's sick. She looks really tired and her voice is really raspy." So anyway, we were all a little worried but tthe show started pretty much on time. The Devlins played quite a short set for being their second to last show. And, in order to get the story in it's full effect, you must understand the Tulsa scene. The majority of people who go to shows go to get wasted and be loud. So the crowd's pretty much 80% drunken weirdos. And above all, she's feeling terrible. To the point where she left the stage for a good 1-2 minutes at the beginning of "The Waitress" and only played one song per encore. But I must say, despite all this, she preformed magically. She was in really good spirits and took the obvious illness with a grain of salt. And I can truly say, out of all the show's I've been to, Tulsa had the best versions of "Precious Things", "Raspberry Swirl", "Cornflake Girl", and "Spacedog". So, here's the setlist: ~precious things~ like i said, by far the best version i've seen on this tour. she did a full on crouch grap during the "grrrl". matt had his devil horns on. ~spacedog~ as i also said, wow, another shocker. surprisingly powerful. The techies raised Super Grover to the rafters during this one. ~i i e e e~ tori was on fire. i thought she was gonna blow the amps, the way her piano was banging. during the "sacrifice" part, instead of just grabbing her stomach she full on severed her stomach in half with the side of her arm. chilling. *tori introduces the boys* ~crucify~ i saw the heard the new version of this first at Norman and I really love it. no one recognized it at first until she started in on "every finger in the room" and everyone just screamed. it was a moment ;-) ~bells for her~ She now took a Tori moment and told the story of why she wrote this song and the girl she wrote this about. "If i were a man, i'd be fucking inside this woman right now." but this, i must say, is the first time i've heard this version and it is certainly bizarre and i don't know how much more i like it, but it really adds the to chorus. the drums, upright bass, ect. ~hotel~ Not as powerful as the album version until she gets to the "King Solomon's" part and then it's pure awe. *guys leave* ~happy phantom~ the moment before this song was definatley a show highlight TORI: I haven't done this song in awhile. . .so what's it like living in tulsa? CROWD: (in unison) IT SUCKS!!!! TORI: eh. GIRL IN CROWD: (muffled) This is my friend. It's her birthday. TORI: She's pregnant? GIRL: No, it's her birthday! TORI: (Sighing and laughing at the same time) Oh, It's her birthday (everyone laughs). . I'm not gonna go there. Um. some of you don't know this but I saw "Oklahoma" last night and I'm telling you that it was very radical. All those women talking about liberty and their bosoms and . . . . no sillicon (sp?) and I was totally impressed. That just doesn't happen anymore. So if anyone makes fun of you for being from Oklahoma, that was quite a radical thing, ya know, it got banned. GUY: What's it like living in England? TORI: What's it like living in England? It's interesting. Some days are better than others. I think if you like design and you know things like that, it's quite groovy on that level. But the people sometimes I swear I think they're mostly constipated. I don't know why everyone just all the time has to act like they don't give a fuck about everything. Eh, Ya know, they got great design. (Starts in on Happy Phantom) Despite the fact that the Tulsa audience is mostly morons, they were quite great during these little moments. Everyone pretty much sat silent while Tori gleefully rambled. ~cooling~ tori said she was supposed to play some other song, ("Silent All THese years" someone shouted, and tori just went "Eh, no.") but she said she had to be a little "sleazy" and play her favorite song. thankfullly, one of my favorites too. really lovely. *guys return* ~honey~ wow, the first time i've heard this on this tour. i think the drums were a little distracting, but tori and the boys nailed this one. ~cornflake girl~ tori started off spooing what looked like cough medicene into her mouth at this point and then just ended up facing the audience and literally chugging the bottle. she even started off playing with the spoon still hanging out of her mouth. ~spark~ i noticed her voice was really sore during this. she sang it an octave lower than usual. ~the waitress~ now was the scary part. tori left the stage while the band carried on without her for a good 1-2 minutes. everyone just sort of sat there a little awe struck. but she returned to the stage and just stared the audience dead on and said "I want to kill. . " and nailed the rest of it. encore1 it's impossible to ignore that this was the only song but wow, BY FAR, the best version I've ever heard of this, totally full blown. encore2 great closer. i'm really interested to see how she feels at tommorow's show. i didn't even bother with the after show meet'n'greet. total chaos, tons of people, tons of shoving so I just left. get well tori! From Tulsa WorldOctober 11, 1998 - A review of this show appeared in the October 8, 1998 edition of the Tulsa World newspaper. Thanks to Luke Buckman for alerting me to this. You can also read this review at the Tulsa World Online Web Site Brand new `Spark' The music of Tori
Amos was
enhanced and
transformed by
the support of a
full band during
her performance
at the Brady
Theater.
World Staff Photos
by Mike Simons
REVIEW
Full band support adds flavor to Tori Amos performance
Since her debut just seven years ago, Tori Amos has toured virtually alone --
holding her own at the helm of her Bosendorfer grand piano, tinkling and
pounding out her intricate, confessional tunes about sex, religion and all
neuroses in-between. She was a tiny woman at a large piano, and although
she could easily communicate the full sweep of her music all by her
lonesome, the transfer from the full-bore albums to the intimate chamber
performances sometimes seemed anemic.
What Amos really wants to do is raise hell. This time out, this daughter of a
Methodist minister sauntered onstage Tuesday night at the Brady Theater
not to a recording of "Son of a Preacher Man," as she did at her last Tulsa
show in November 1996, but to the pounding of drums, the grinding of an
affected bass guitar and the flash and huff of a smoke and light show. No
intimate recital tonight. Tori's gonna rock out.
Whether or not this was what fans were expecting, the new presentation
worked beautifully. Amid the flashy start, Amos launched into the two-fisted
hook of "Precious Things," a biting song with Sylvia Plath allusions and a
cutting put down ("So you can make me [orgasm] / That doesn't make you
Jesus") from her first album, "Little Earthquakes." Those all-important
lyrics were submerged in the increased onstage bustle, but while Tori's solo
piano presentation of this song two years earlier had utilized space to
heighten the song's drama, the full-band press unleashed its suppressed
swagger. It was the harbinger of a brassy evening to come.
The band dynamic enhanced and transformed many standards in the Amos
canon, particularly other songs from the first album. "Crucify" is already
equipped with a percussive groove, but the panoramic cross-currents of
drummer Matt Chamberlain's tom-toms pulled out three distinct
dimensions to the song, sharpening its already forceful stab at the culture of
guilt. The complicated patterns from bassist Jon Evans and unleashed
rifffing from longtime
Amos guitarist Steve
Caton (he looked so happy
to be rocking out instead
of adding mere flourishes
of atmosphere) gave new
voice to "Silent All These
Years" and added flavor to
"Raspberry Swirl."
The 90-minute show
crescendoed to a fever
pitch, too. Ending her set
with a hypnotic, throbbing
track from the latest
album, "From the Choirgirl
Hotel," Amos and band
quickly returned for a blast
of an encore -- a new song
featuring a pulsing
dancefloor rhythm track,
accented by a frenzied Chamberlain beating on a separate kit of higher
cymbals, bigger drums and computer pads. The light show went nuts --
pencil-thin spots whorling around the crowd and banks of floodlights
alternately baking the crowd in yellow heat -- and Amos went back and forth
between piano and synthesizer, shrieking and cooing.
The band did take five while Amos performed a couple of solo piano songs --
as well as a bit of chatting with the crowd, talking about the brave
statements of feminism in the musical "Oklahoma!" -- but the full-on
ensemble numbers were the lifeblood of the show. For Amos, bigger is
definitely better. From FioTo@aol.comOctober 11, 1998 - Well my moment finally came. First let me start off by saying this is more my story than a review. My friend (aukfaerie) won backstage passes to meet Tori. I was so excited I decided to write Tori a letter and give it to her at the show. I also went halloween shopping the night before and bought a head band with devil horns on it. I thought Tori might like the head band so I decided to give that to her also. So the night of the concert I got my picture taken with Tori, and she wore the devil horns in the picture which was really cool. I had her sign my Y Kant Tori Read cd, and a Little Earthquakes cd for a friend. I was on cloud 9 the rest of the night. The next thing I know when the band comes out Matt Chamberlain is wearing the horns that I had given Tori earlier. I kinda smiled to myself. The show was excellent. It was very loud because the Brady is such a small place. The set was excellent, Tori played Cooling, which was just as clear as it is on the cd. Most people didn't like the band there, but I have to say I loved it. Go see Tori if you've got the chance, definately a moving experience. From denielle aukermanOctober 11, 1998 - there are certain aspects about this show that made it both the best and worst show ive experienced so far (it was my 4th show).....first of all, for some reason (uknown) Tori did not do a meet and greet when she got there for soundcheck. Joel told us that she was going to do one after the show (and she did). i got there at 10am and was the 10th person numbered to meet her. it was a little disappointing, but im sure tori had good reason. im not complaining TOO much anyway, because i had won 2 backstage passes from the radio station, KMRX, and at around 6:00 me, my friend amber, and about 8 others were taken inside to meet her before the show. technically it wasnt a "backstage" pass....we were only taken in as far as the lobby area--and after about 35 excruciating minutes of standing there, they brought her out. the deal was that you and your friend will go up together and have a picture taken with a poloroid, which tori signs. when it was me and amber's turn, we went up to her, introduced ourselves, i gave her my "good faeries/bad faeries" book, which she seemed to enjoy, and opened the book and showed her the drawing of her that i made. she asked me if i did it, and was like: "wow, you even got my funny eye." (one of tori's eyes is slightly bigger than the other). then amber gave her the humorous letter that she wrote her (only wanting one thing--to make tori laugh). she also gave tori a red devil horn headband, which she wore for our picture. we were only supposed to have the pic signed, but tori offered to sign all of our other items too! she was so sweet :o) ! after the meeting they made us go back outside, where we found a *MASSIVE* line already formed. luckily some of my friends that got there with me early that morning were up in the front by the door and let me get in line with them. my tickets were general admission (like 700 other people there), so i was a bit scared of the possible stampede to come. when they finally tried to open the doors, they *couldnt* because there were so many people smashed up against it, and no one would back up! and once they finally got it open, geez, it was like squeezing an elephant through a mouse hole. there was a table set up on the right before you go into the main double doors where we had to give our tickets and get a pink wrist band for gen adm. i ran up to the front as quickly as i could, and managed to find a good spot about "2nd row center-ish". they made us sit down, which i really didnt mind, considering i would be standing with the heat and weight of 700 people for the next 3 hours. when the lights finally went out everyone scrambled up (surprisingly no one trampled my hand), and pressed forward...i felt so horrible because i couldnt stop myself from smashing the people in front of me up against the barrier. the crowd seemed more enthusiastic for the devlins show than ive seen them at all my previous shows...however there were a lot of rude girls that kept shouting for tori periodically. i was getting incredibly excited because i was the closest ive ever been, even though it was incredibly hot and uncomfortable. my feet kept going numb, and i couldnt really move them. once the devlins finished i had to explain to these over-excited girls next to me to "calm down, tori wont be on for another 30 to 45 minutes--they have to set up." it was so crazy because no one would sit down for the whole intermission. instead they slowly kept squeezing and pushing forward. every time i looked back to check on my friend, scott, he was further and further back. when the lights finally went out, i think i discovered a new meaning for "intimate contact". but i didnt stay focused on the discomfort too long because tori came out (in a T-shirt--no sparkly aprons this time) and crouched down at the edge of the stage right in front of us, as if she were charging from the raw energy of the crowd. and i noticed Matt was wearing amber's red horns!!! we were hoping that tori would, but somehow it seemed more fitting for matt. sorry, i cant remeber everything she said during this show, but here is the complete set list: precious things (i finally got to see the famous "crotch-grab" up close. lol) space dog (is it just me, or did she seem to mess up on the piano a little in this song? something sounded a little off....?) iieee crucify bells for her (she said something here about how guys think we talk or fight about them all the time but we dont...and that this song was for a girl she had fought with once ? and if she were a man she would "fucking be inside this woman right now." this song was the highlight for me! hotel (i didnt even realize she was playing this at first because some absolutely wacked-out woman kept causing a commotion by slowly pushing her way through (towards where i was standing), stating that she needed to get through because she's "from the Tulsa World." you could tell she was either crazy or drunk, so no one believed her, but nevertheless she slowly squeezed and stood RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. ugh. at least she was short. this was so distracting and disrespectful, i just couldnt believe it. people were getting really pissed off, and it was really hard to enjoy my first time hearing this song live. :o( secret time: happy phantom (she said something about people asking her to do these songs and she hadnt done this on in awhile) cooling!! (tori said she was changing the set list now because she just didnt want to do that one (i wonder which?)...and someone shouted out a request i couldnt hear, and she said something like "no, we're not doing that one, i want to do this one because it's my favorite" --it was so beautiful, i couldnt help but cry band: Honey cornflake girl (tori did her beautiful intro to this one again....something like "you bet your life it is, you swear to christ she is..." with piano alone spark (her voice & actions seemed a little bit tired here) waitress (once the band started playing, tori ran off the stage for a few minutes.....maybe she wasnt really feeling good? but she seemed alright when she came back out...) 1st encore: 2nd encore: Overall, tori put on another great show, despite the general admission non- sense, and a few really rude people. (but i tried my best to let a few really short girls in front of me so they could *sort of* see). i do have to say that on a couple songs, tori didnt seem quite so energetic. also i might mention she was drinking yellow gatoraide instead of evian, and she also had a bottle of some other stuff that she would sometimes eat/drink with a spoon. i cant remember when, but i know she talked about the musical "oklahoma" again for awhile and how radical it was for it's time...something about the women being bustier(??)...she said "it was banned, you know." but she did not play surry w/a fringe on top. there was another time when she asked the crowd what it's like to live in tulsa and everyone screamed, but i couldnt hear any answers. then some guy asked her what it's like to live in england, and she said something like "it's great if you're into design....but sometimes i think some of the people there are just constipated all the time" i think this was when she introduced the band. geez, i hope someone recorded this show! by the time i made it outside for the after-show meet & greet there were already about 100 people crowded in front of the barriers, so there was no chance for me. i didnt mind anyway--i already had my dose for the day. we waited close to an hour before she came out. i couldnt see anything at all, but i just needed some closure--it will probably be my last show for a very long time. some girl managed to get tori's gatoraide bottle signed. lol. when tori's bus finally drove away i was smiling, but with a single tear rolling down my cheek. From JohnOctober 11, 1998 - I go to the Brady about 2pm, waiting for the meet & greet before the show. I waited & waited for forever seemingly, then about 3:30, this guy moves all of us around the building and I think Great, it's gonna happen. Nope, he comes back within 5 minutes and tells us she won't be out. It's beyond their control. I was pretty bummed, but what the hell. It happens. So, I took off for the State Fair.... I went back to the Brady at 7:30, and went to get my T-shirt and such. Then I was walking down to my seat and it turned out I was on the first row. Talk about being excited. I thought I was 9 rows back, but my row was first row with seats. Anyhow, there was people milling around in front of the stage, but I figured they would sit down when the show started they would move. WRONG! All these people stayed and, of course, stood up. It wasn't that big of deal when the Delvins were on. But I was getting pissy thinking that I wouldn't able to see Tori at all. Anyhow, I tried to move to front of the standing crowd, just to see if I could, and I got stop because I didn't have an armband on. That's bullshit, considers the price difference in the admission prices. Anyhow, I'm not that bitter. I was too hyped to see Tori. She came on a bit around 9pm. I was blown away the whole show. I'm still reeling from the whole experience. Tori was seemingly in high spirits and looked like she had a lot of fun. But you couldn't always hear her vocals. I don't know if that was the Brady or just the soundman. It was kinda bad sometimes. I just noticed that she didn't really play anything from BfP. Anyhow, just thought I would pass this along. From lyndsey vandeventerOctober 11, 1998 - well...tori was definantly tired....more like exhausted.Her voice was getting really scratchy,but of course she still managed her usual angelicness.i was lucky enough to have been right along the baracade wall,(the 1st 700 tickets were general admission) and watched,with complete amazement as she tore into "little earthquakes" for the first song. as of that moment, i have never been able to get that close, at any of the 3 shows i've been to,and needless to say,it was amazing. She changed to original set list, and decided to play,"Cooling"....which is one of my favorites, and definantly, one that has alot of meaning to me. So when she was done,i yelled,"thank you so much tori", and she looked at me through the corner of her eye and grinned. i left really early,to wait for her her by the busses, and once again, was lucky enough to have gotten right upon the guardrail which got me the chance to meet her,give her a hug,thank her, and have her sign my favorite postcard from the english spark single. which was the most delightful moment that i never dreamed would actually happen. the crowd was alot alot more respectful and accomodating to each other than the crowd at the norman show, which in my opinion, had the worst,most inconsiderate,pushy, crowd...which seems to be becoming alot more common along with tori's growing popularity....i could go on forever, there just aren't words to describe....it was amazing.i also gave her my favorite book,"creative companion" by SARK...i signed it and all...and she thanked me, and said that she'd take good care of it.that was just a tiny sacrafice compared to what she has given me. i'm truly greateful.....it was amazing. From Jonathan LeeOctober 11, 1998 - Before I talk about the Tulsa show, I forgot to mention one detail about the Dallas show. The Starplex is outdoors and a couple of songs in she said her hair was blowing around and did someone have a bungie she could borrow and sh promised she'd give it back. I was too far away to see, but I'm sure a bunch of bungies went up on stage, and she had her hair in a pony tail for the rest of the show. It looked like she did try to return it at the end of the show. OK. Tulsa. Matt came out wearing devil-horns. Tori came out wearing a T-shirt (!!!) instrad of the usual sparkly thing. It had a cartoon character on it that I couldn't quite place, sort of a cross between Betty Boop and Betty Lou Who. She also had a bottle of green gatoraide, and at one point she bent over and came up with a spoon in her mouth so I think she was eating something. She said some stuff I couldn't quite catch between the hieverybodyhowareyoudoin and the band intro. I listened for the Band on the Run snippet ("...if I ever get out of here") in iieee, but it wasn't there. I still think I heard it the other night, though (??). Before Bells for her, she said that when girls fight it's not always about a guy and that guys think it's always about them but it's not. Then she said that the song was about this girl she fought with and "wherever she is, well, I know where she is and if I were a guy I'd be fucking inside her right now." She said someone asked to hear Happy Phantom and she hadn't played it in a while. Then she talked a bit about "Oklahoma" the musical/movie again. She mentioned how radical it was for the time, liberty in our bustier, no silicon then, things are different now, pisses her off. The she asked what it was like living in Tulsa. She seemed really laid back, both in her interaction with the crowd and to a certain extent in her playing. For example Precious Things & Spark didn't totally rock out the way they have been. When people screamed I love you's she blew kisses (the usual "yeah OK let's move on from that" type she does). Anyway, she didn't get any intelligible answer to her question, but someone asked her what it was like living in England. She said it had its good days and its bad days and if you like design it's great because they're great with design, but she doesn't understand why they all have to walk around like they don't give a fuck about anything (her words) and it's like they're all constipated. Then she said that she didn't want to do the next song she had planned and she was going to change it. Cooling is her favorite song right now and it was supposed to be on BFP and it was supposed to be on FtCGH but it wasn't on either. She was making a lot of gestures all through the show so I don't know if they were having mixing/equipment problems, and if that contributed to the 2 single song encores. you guys know it's hard to tell what the gestures mean sometimes. During Raspberry Swirl Matt was banging on an oil drum (a black metal one). Well, I can't remember anything else. Oh yeah, someone asked for the Gatoraide bottle after the show and a roadie gave it to her. Cool. It was a great show. From pamelia v.October 11, 1998 - hello! just got back from the Tori concert here in Tulsa. It's about 11:33--not too bad. and thank goodness it's here in tulsa...don't have to worry about driving 2 or more hours to get home;-) anyway, i was able to see the show with my younger sister and her 3 friends from college. too bad they have to drive back ;-( Hi, rita, jess, vivian, and stef!!! the show was very Good! but Tori sounded like she was sick; her voice didn't have the "power" or energy like the Norman show I saw earlier. The venue here is much smaller and more intimate than in Norman, but Tori just didn't sound as strong overall. I think they were having some technical problems also because they sounded "off" in some of the songs. i could be wrong;-) it could all be 'special effects'... so here's the setlist...it's not complete or anything. maybe someone already emailed you, but here's my thoughts as well: Precious Things---LOVE this song! very emotional and full of fire! and the drums just added more suspense and anticipation!!! Space Dog---second time hearing this live and it's an incredible song! very powerful! but i do miss the album version where towards the ends, there's like 3 or 4 Tori voices singing all at once!! i love it!!! iieee---this song has great tribal beats! makes me wanna move to it every time;-) and yes, 'why does there have to a sacrifice?"... i think she was a little off on this song, but they pulled through;-) crucify---this is one of my all time favorite, but the live version, to me, is not as emotional and powerful as the album or single version. i still love hearing it live though. BELLS for HER---yipeee!!! first time i heard this live! very intriguing!!! she gave a very interesting speech before this, but like always, i couldnt catch it...all i heard was "if i was a guy i'll fucking be inside her now."...something like that... solo--Happy Phantom---what a treat! it's good to hear this song again...and live!!! Tori sounded excellent on this song!!! love it!!! solo--COOLING---WoW!!! she actually played this song! i've been wanting to hear this live ever since i heard about it;-) emotional, expressive, and just awesome. Tori's voice was so passionate, clear, and sweet.... Honey---it's not one of my very favorite, but Tori just LOVES it and she sanged it so greatly!!! Cornflake Girl--she sanged something which i've never heard before going into this song. actually, i missed the little dance she did w/ it in 96 ;-( Spark---again, i think Tori was off and seemed to be losing her voice. it was still a good a good song ;-) Waitress---this new version just blows me away! matt chamberlain on the drums just blows me away, too! i've never experienced such fast and intense live music before in my entire life! this song is dark, mysterious, and full of life! I love it!!! Raspberry Swirl---this song is definitely for all those techno-loving people out there. another beautiful song and yes, this song's got rhytmn and beat!!! awesome! She's Your Cocaine---this is not one of my favortie either, but Tori gave a good performance and her voice was much better here;-) Anyhow, I love all those blinding lights! and I thank Tori for not leaving Tulsa out of this must-see tour!! I'm still disappointed she didn't sing "black dove" or "playboy mommy", but well, there's always next time. The people here were a bit more noisy and everybody was standing on the ground floor, but Tori was actually more Talkative than last time she was here. Well, guys enjoy the rest of the concerts and i'll be reading, too! Thanks for this great homepage, Mike!!! Plz, excuse all mistakes. From lyndseyOctober 11, 1998 - Precious Things
Happy Phantom-*solo*
Honey-*solo*
1st encore
2nd encore |
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