North American Plugged '98 Tour
Toronto, ONT
July 25, 1998
Updated August 5, 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 Toronto, ONT on July 25, 1998 at the Molson Amphitheatre during the main North American leg of her Plugged '98 tour.  Set ListTori performed Take To The Sky and Landslide solo. Many thanks to Matt Page for being the first to send me this set list. (He actually called me on the phone from Toronto!) I would also like to thank Victoria Kloepfer and Paul Evans for emailing me the set list so fast! Precious Things 1st Encore: ReviewsThe most recently added reviews are first. From Matt PresidenteAugust 5, 1998 - I'm writing this now a week after tori's toronto show at the molson amphitheatre... I would have written it sooner, but I was away... this gave me a chance to listen to my boolteg over and over and really let the performance sink in. I flew all the way from vancouver to see this concert and it was my third tori concert (first on this new tour). Initially I was dissapointed, but the more I listen to the bootleg the more I realize how great it was and how much fun I had. We got the the theatre at about 1:00pm. there were already about 20 fans waiting outside at Ontario place, and they were setting up a strange gate for us to meet tori. I met the wonderful toriphile alaina in line totally by accident... we started talking and realized we knew each other from the internet and that was very cool... it made the time pass quickly. at about 3:45 tori's limo pulled up and the group of (now about) 120 fans rushed up to the gate. I was near the front but at the side. The limo pulled up and tori stepped out wearing a black shirt and black pants... she SERIOUSLY looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. I was like hyperventalating, and alaina was very comforting. Tori talked to alaina FIRST and signed her ltd. SATY single... then she looked right at me and I said "Hi Tori!" and she was like "hi there". her voice sounded low and husky, and it was obvious she wasn't feeling well. anyways, I handed her a letter I wrote for her (It just said thank you for playing sister janet for me last time, and explained my love for her music) and she signed my "Chorigirl" cd (it was the only one I had with me), and that was it. she spent 5 minutes TOTAL, with everyone, so I was very lucky to be one of the few people to get to chat with her one on one... she mentioned to a girl near me that she was having troubles breathing, and that she wasn't feeling well. I was worried that her performance would be bad, but it wasn't. As tori was going back to her limo some girl screamed out for YES ANASTASIA and tori simply said "I can't do that one" very humerously... then a guy said "tori, how about upside down" and tori says "I CAN do that one!" but she never wound up playing it in the end. Since the venue is outdoors we were able to hear the soundcheck... she played cornflake girl, a bit of iieee (she seemed to have some problems with this one - she didn't play it at all during the concert), little amsterdam, then bits and pieces of raspberry swirl, putting the damage on, pretty good year, cruel, and spark. her voice seemed poor - she did a lot of the higher parts on a lower octave, but this is only because she was saving her voice for the concert. I was really excited. So we went in at 7:00, and hour before the show, and I bought a t-shirt with tori's back on it and a tour program. We went to our seats and realized that they were not 5th row as I had expected, but rather FRONT row!!!! I couldn't belive it! We were at the side, and there were no first four rows, so we were RIGHT IN FRONT! It was unbelivable. we were facing tori's keyboard. So the devlins came on and they were pretty good, but I was really excited about tori... I had snuck in my recorder, and was worrying about flipping sides durring the show, cause it would be more obvious since I'm in front row. At 9:18 the lights went down. since the theatre is sort of outdoors the sun was just finishing it's descent and it made an eeerie glow. PRECIOUS THINGS: the band walked on stage, and matt started playing the familar drum beat to PT. I was just shaking... the band played about a one minute intro, and then she walked on stage. she was dressed in blue jeans with a sparkly dress over top... she looked really nice... she started the song by hitting some really low notes on the piano, then the high fast riff that starts the song. The audiance was going wild, but they weren't rude at all. they did NOT sing through the songs, or scream through them... but they were very energetic... it was perfect. The sound quality in such a big place was OK... not great, but not bad... precious things was awesome. I didn't excpect her to sing so well since she was sick and all, but seriously you couldn't tell. it was a perfect performance. durring the loud parts the lights would blare, and smoke would seep out of the sides of the stage... it was just incredible. the lights were almost blinding. since we were at the side of the stage our view of tori when she played the piano was sort of from the back... but that all changed later! :) LITTLE AMSTERDAM: I know she has done it a lot since, but at this point it was a suprise to hear it so early in the show! It was a really good second song. I love the way she did it on the DDI tour... this performance is WAY different than that... this is with the band, and sounds excatly like the album version but 10 times better! So funky! She started it solo, then the band came in loudly at "don't take me..." she did a lot of sexy low singing in between things... for instance she would go... "girl you've got to know these days (an octave lower than on the album... then in a really low voice...) hey, yeeeeas... mmm... na na na na na na..." it was awesome. the "round and around and around" part was extended and she experimented different octaves when she sang it... it was great! The lights were eeerie with spinning orange things filling the stage. CRUEL: I was so happy to hear this one next, cause I've heard it live before on bootlegs and it's incredible. This performance was good, but not as good as I've heard it... she didn't do as long of improv and her high vocals started off really low, then built up. it was cool. The bass was very intense, and we got a really good view of her when she played the keyboard. It was at this point in the concert where I noticed how good she was with the band... they are TOTALLY jamming at all the improvs and bridges... I noticed her hand movements... if she wanted to repeat a section one more time she would raise up one finger to matt... if she wanted it to end then she would raise up one hand and that would be the last bridge... it was really really cool. TEAR IN YOUR HAND: a big suprise... since caton got the acoustic I was totally expecting cornflake girl. before this she briefly introduced the band by saying "some of you may know my brothers on stage..." then right into the song after introducing each of them. as she started singing this song everyone raced to the front of the stage... so we did too! For the whole rest of the concert we were hanging off the front of the stage DEAD center! It was so awesome! I had such an amazing view of tori... I will never forget it. I foolishly left my program and t-shirt back at my seat though (when I went back to get it later, someone had spilt beer all over it and ruined my program, but the nice lady gave me a new one!) near the end of this song bubbles started coming down from the roof... it was neat. the sound was echoey cause we were so close that the speakers were literally behind us. at this point my bootleg gets a lot worse. CORNFLAKE GIRL: pretty cool with the band, but of course I prefer the way they did it on the last tour... she did a short solo intro "you bet your life it is" during this song she sang a lot of the high parts an octave lower which was cool... the best was the improvs near the end though... "Rabbit... where'd you put the keys girl... you know that you are in my life... you are always in my life... so get back here in my life... whered you put the keys girl." SPARK: I recognized the drum beat imideatly. It was a really nice performance... the chorus was sad and sweeping... the best was the loud bridge though. the lights went brighter than ever and being right up close I could totally feel the energy. it was intense. my one complaint was that the band DID overpower her a little bit durring this song. TAKE TO THE SKY: before this she simply said "secret time... here we go. some people have asked for this..." it was a great suprise. again she didn't do the bridge so it was very short, but awesome. a lot of people clapped along to the beat which was cool. it acutally didn't irritate me... tori got them to by banging on her piano with one hand and playing the bass with the other. it was a great performance. LANDSLIDE: by far the hilight of the evening for me. It totally took me by suprise. it was just tori right in front of me surrounded by only red lights, singing one of my very favorite songs... it was so beautiful and moving. she sang a longer performance of it cause she repeated the "mirror" verse twice. it got quite loud and intense during one of the choruses... you could tell that she really MEANS what she is singing even though it isn't her song. she was obviously singing it for a reason, cause I certaintly felt it. This was one of my all time favorite tori concert moments, up there with SISTER JANET in vancouver and DANIEL in montreal. PUTTING THE DAMAGE ON: prefaced by a beautiful piano solo. the band came in on the first chorus, and this song was more beautiful than I ever could have imaGINED... I was never too big on this song, but it was my third favorite from this concert. she sang the most beautiful harmony when she said "take it high... high... high..." it was awesome. the band didn't overpower it, they totally added to it perfectly. another nice suprise. CRUCIFY: a very angry, painful performance... it was incredible. I thought after hearing it on that ABC independance day thing that it wasn't that great with the band, but it was. she did a lot of beautiful improvs, and her wailing near the end was chilling. the best part was the bridge... she sang it once in a low octave and went "... I cry... I said I cry my sweet my sweetest thing..." then she did the bridge again up an octave... it was just beautiful. I was glad to hear this one in concert even though I know she does it often. RASPBERRY SWIRL: up until this point she was doing it mainly for encores, so I was suprised to hear it in the main set... but it was great! The lights were colorful bright and fast! This was my second favorite from the concert... it doesn't sound that cool on a bootleg, but you have to experience it! The whole crowd dancing, and tori up there playing both the keyboard and the piano... the drumming is really intense, and it just sounded great! her voice went all funky and insane durring the last verse and the band thought she had lost it cause steve gave her the weirdest look, but she was right on beat a minute later... the ending was superb with her repeating "swirl and swirl and swirl and swirl" it was quite a concert moment. She sang the tune a lot differently too... hard to explain, but effective. also a bit of improv "in the gar-in-in-the-gar-den-and-i did no ca-riem!" WAITRESS: lasted over 8 minutes... I just love the new version. again the band overpowered her quite a bit near the end jamming section, but she was still pretty loud. the coolest was the chorus... the band was so loud and the lights were so bright, but tori did NOT sing it high... she said "I belive in peace... I believe in peace" in a low sinister voice then screamed out "BITCH! I BELIVE IN PEACE! YEAH!" It was in-fucking-credible. another one of my favorites... and she looked so mean while she sang it... except for the "hang ten honey" part... she was having a lot of fun and smiling at steve cause he was dancing around and lipsyncing to her vocals... it was quite funny! she finished by breathing into the mic "wai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai ai tress" After this she left the stage, and I raced through the crowd to get my stuff then raced back in... I was about three people back, and realized that the view was just as good, and the sound was a little less echoey (when you are that close a few meters can make a big difference in sound quality) the band came back on stage; matt wearing a light up hat with stars, and they started playing for a few minutes then tori danced on to stage... FIRST (and only) ENCORE: SHE'S YOUR COCAINE: sublime... it was awesome... a fun song live... it is loud with the band... and very real... that's the only way I can describe it... it sounds SO much like old classic rock. it was great. the best part was the organ solo... so sweet, and she sung it so sincerely. then the band comes back in twice as loud for "SHE's YOUR COCAINE". the ending was cool cause instead of going "uh uh uh uh uh uh" tori went "sh sh sh sh sh she's you cocaine, sh sh sh sh sh..." and the very end was her going wild into the microphone, not unlike the end of raspberry swirl on the cd, but more intense. HORSES: the lights for this were so beautiful. disco balls swirling through the place. the new version is so incredible... I prefer the old one, but this one adds to it without loosing the dreamlike feel to the song. I excpected another encore yet, and didn't realize that it was going to be the last song, but it was perfect. This has always been one of my very favorite songs, and I loved it. the way she wails "tooooo" at the end sent shivers down my spine. after the song she got up and waved and walked to the front of the stage and touched our hands then she walked off. I waited for her to come back out, wondering what the last song would be since she had already played horses, and I was SO dissapointed when the lights came on and I realized that the concert was over. less than 80 minutes. it was a great show, but she was sick, and it's good that she managed to perform as well as she did... I'd rather have 80 great minutes, then two hours of her coughing and wheezing. We managed to see a copy of the original setlist... it was the same up until the encores... her original planned encores were as follows: encore one: encore two: I would have much prefered to hear sugar and baker baker but oh well. It was still a fantastic show... my least favorite of the three i've seen, but still fantastic. I have a nice bootleg of it too (the only one with really bad sound is tear in your hand cause I'm moving around a lot during it) and had a really nice day. I can't wait to see her in vancouver on sept 9th... I hope she has recovered, but it seems like she's already doing much better. A few general comments... she DIDN'T do IIEEE which really suprised me, and I really wanted to hear it... the two I wanted to hear and she didn't do were JACKIE'S STRENGTH and LIQUID DIAMONDS. oh well. she also only did *4* songs from the new album! I thought that was really cool and showed that she can still be popular without selling out. she played what she wanted to play, not what the record company would want her to play. there were only 14 songs, but she did do a few "rare" ones and it was cool. hilights (as I already mentioned): LANDSLIDE, RASPBERRY SWIRL, PUTTING THE DAMAGE ON, THE WAITRESS, SHE'S YOUR COCAINE. well that's all I can really think of now... am i dissapointed that I flew all the way from vancouver to see tori perform for 80 minutes (probably the shortest show of the whole tour)? no bloody way! :) she was awesome! From Atartalia (posted to the rec.music.tori-amos newsgroup)July 30, 1998 - This is not a review of the show but an observation that Atartalia made to the newsgroup that I think is worthwhile reading for anyone who wondered why the Canadian shows were so short: I've been following the threads on the Canada shows, and just wanted to add my observations/make a request. Earlier today, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a rehearsal for the Letterman show. Tori is indeed having some sort of trouble with her throat, and seemed to be in quite a bit of discomfort. After her third round through Jackie's Strength, she appeared to be in significant pain. One can only imagine what a hard time she's having getting through entire concerts. So my request is this: I know a lot of people have expressed disappointment in the shortness of these last couple of shows...but, singing when sick is really dangerous for the voice, and it was clear that she's trying very hard to get through these performances. So please please please, let's all be grateful for whatever she can manage in the upcoming shows (and it might not be a bad idea to put in a few good words with the faeries and any other powers that be on her behalf...) From Riyaz (posted to rec.music.tori-amos newsgroup)July 30, 1998 - First things first summary..great show, great sound, but too short and not enough Tori after months of waiting!!!! We were sitting 8th row centre but after several songs everyone just left their seats for the front...turned out well for us as we were standing 2nd row after that...did everyone see the "cow" boxers Tori put up on the Bosendorfer....??!!! From such a good vantage point...i could tell you that there was a lot of interaction between the bass player (Jon Evans?) and the drummer, whom I liked the most (love that shiny hat!!)....Caton was pulling back a lot of booze and fumbled with his pick (almost dropping it into the crowd at one point!!)...for Raspberry Swirl, Matt started off the bassline by hitting some instrument...it was hidden behind the Bosendorfer so it was hard to see but i'm guessing a drum machine... A lot of the show was sequenced...guitar on Spark, drum lines on Cruel... which is fair since it's hard to reproduce that studio edge but on the whole i was very impressed with sound, the clarity was super the only complaint Tori's voice a little low in the mix... Surprise song: Little Amsterdam... Best sounding song: Precious Things (i'm still humming this!!) Best reworked song: Horses Biggest crowd reaction: Cornflake Girl Not played: Black Dove, SATY, Northern Lad, quite a bit of the new album.... ...and of course, the biggest complaint of the show..only one encore!!!!!... we got seriously ripped off, i think, the show should have been at least half an hour longer than it was...(which was an hour and twenty minutes i think)...[Note From Mikewhy: Tori was ill and that is why the show was cut short. I am sorry you felt ripped off but that was not Tori's intention!] my girlfriend and i were quite sad when everything was over..what do you guys all think???...I'm thinking the only reason for it was that the whole crew had to trek to Montreal for a show the next day which is about 7 hours away by road...has anybody seen a correlation between length of shows and where Tori is playing the next day (sorry for the math!!!) ..we quite inadvertantly saw Tori signing some autographs by her truck on our way out (after moping around the Amphitheatre), I wish we had realised sooner that she was going to do that...anybody manage to meet with her at this time....???? From MiriamJuly 30, 1998 - I just thought that I would add my review. At 3:00 tori was interviewed at MuchMusic (it was a bit of a suprise appearence because they didn't really announce it) and i was inside the studio. I got to ask Tori a question on air. And after i got to give her a book and take a picture with her. To clear up any confusion, tori was sick. When she came into the studio Sook-yin (the VJ) told us that she sounded really awful and her throat was very sore. We suggested that she give her a fisherman's friends and tori said it helped. During the interview you could really tell she was under the weather because tori was talking very quietly and was unenergenic. We (there were three of us) got to talk to Joel who is an amazing guy. He asked us what our favourite song from BFP was and when we answered that we could never pick a favourite he asked us what song was about him. Of course i immediately answered Agent Orange. I don't think he knows that this is a very common piece of knowledge :) He went on to tell us what good buds him and tori are and that he loves touring with her but that she keeps him very busy. I asked Joel if there were going to be the meet and greets at MA and he said that this venue makes it really difficult to set one up but that they were going to try for one before the soundcheck but they probably wouldn't be able to do one after the show. After the interview finished they rushed tori out of much really quickly to go do the soundcheck. I heard Tori talking to a woman beside me saying how awful she felt. But meeting Tori was still amazing. Okay now onto the concert I'm not going to go through each song because other people have already done that. You could tell that her voice was strained on some notes and a few times it even cracked but tori gave a good performance. She really tried to bring the energy level up but it didn't work. The Molson Amphitheatre seats 16 000 people regularly but it was less than half full. I was in the 200 level and there were empty seats everywhere. The audience had absolutely no energy. The only time when tori looked happy playing when when the floor people got up and stood by the stage. I know the importance of no screaming at a Tori concert but sometimes cheers are needed to show her that the audience is still alive. I was at the Phoenix show and the MA show didn't even start to compare to it. The venue not the band took away all the intimacy that we are used to. Maybe this sounds overly negative but this is how i felt at the concert. In the LE video tori talks about when the audience has all of this energy that they project onto you what they really want to do is give it back to themselves. She talks about how it is a wheel that both the preformer and the audience contribute to. In this case the audience did not fulfill their duties even though she was doing her part. I'm not going to say that if she comes back to toronto and plays another amphitheatre I won't buy tickets because I will always buy tickets to see tori. I will just not be as excited. It was obvious that tori was not having the time of her life. These big venues de-humanize her and take away a lot of her originality that we are so used to. I hope this is just a stage and one day (sooner than later) Tori will move back to a smaller venue with or without the band. From Milica UzelacJuly 29, 1998 - everything else has been beautifully articulated about the artist who epitomizes beauty and strength except the shoes that she wore on our little saturday night date in toronto. tsk tsk. until now... simple black boots. squared toe. small heel. nice. not as extravagant as some shoes she's worn on prior occassions but i guess her blue sequins made up for it. now you know. From Ashley BurlingtonJuly 28, 1998 - The Devlins opened for Tori at 8:00 and played for a half hour. At around 9:00 a florescent "TORI" sign was waved around at the front of the stage, erupting cheers from the audience. The stage was black with a curtain infront of where the piano was to appear. With arms raised, The Goddess strolled onto the stage and sat down to play Precious Things. I didn't know what to expect from the band - there were three men, 2 playing guitars and one on drums. Tori went into Little Amsterdam in her black outfit which actually reminded me of "Mimi" from RENT since Tori's shoulders were showing. Next, she played my favourite song off Choirgirl, Cruel. During the song she switched back and forth from her Bosey to the keyboard. After, she proclaimed that it was "good to visit my Sisters Of The North". Charging into Tear In My Hand, the crowd swarmed the stage. Just to make the whole thing more magical, bubble fell from the rafters during Tear. At the end, she smiled and said "Just what I've always wanted - cow boxers!" Chanting "You bet your life it is, you bet your life it is - sure she'll come through?" she exploded into Cornflake Girl, which caused a huge excited explosion of cheers. Through Spark, Tori went back to the Cruel trick - switching back and forth between Bosey and keyboard. Take To The Sky she did solo, which was a nice break. Announcing that she was "asked to do the next sing" she performed a song I wasn't familiar with. I chalked it up to the fact that not all her material floats up this far from North Carolina. So if someone knows, I'd love to be enlightened! Next was Putting The Damage On with the band, which took me a few minutes to recognize. The guitarist on the left of the stage switched over to a chello but went back to the guitar for Crucify and Raspberry Swirl. Waitress was slowed down alot from it's usual format and had a lengthy introduction. Meeting at the centre of the stage, Tori and the band had a hug and left. I was worried she wouldn't do an Encore since it looked like she hadn't for a couple of the past few concerts, but they came back out and performed She's Your Cocaine and Horses. Horses was really different and once again, I barely recognized it. Also, when they came back out, the drummer was wearing glowing stars on a head band. Tori did some pretty funky arm waves during the concert, belted out lyrics while slamming one hand on the keyboard and the other on the Bosey, smiled, ran off the stage, thumped her hand against the side of the piano and was generally the Tori I remember from the Dew Drop Inn tour at Massey Hall. I didn't get a look at her shoes, so if anyone noticed them - what were they! I bought a Raspberry Swirl Girl t-shirt and the program. My friend was amazed at how much everyone got dressed up. Basically, it was an amazing concert and I'm so glad i got the tickets. From Andrea ChiversJuly 28, 1998 - Hi, I've never made any contribution to the Dent before, and I just wanted to give my review of the show. Well, me and my friend, Ashley, arrived at 3:00...I don't remember exactly when Tori came for the meet and greet, but I think it was around 4:00. Well, there were too many people for me to get close enough to get an autograph or talk to her, and I was disapointed. Just as she was getting back into her limo, one guy said, "Tori--Upside Down?" and she said, "I can do that!" I was really excited about that, but she didn't end up playing it. :( Me and Ashley sat around for the rest of the afternoon until 6:30, when they started seating people. While we were waiting, I heard Tori do some of her soundcheck...I heard bits of Pretty Good Year, Putting the Damage On, and a acapella(sp?) version of Cruel. Well, the Devlins came on at exactly 8:00, and they were alright. I was too excited to pay much attention...I looked at my program over and over during their set. At 9:15, Tori came on!! I love those apron things she has!! I was really excited when she played Little Amsterdam, because she hasn't played it on this tour yet. She didn't play Cornflake Girl at the last Toronto date, so I was really happy when she played it. I was REALLY happy when she played Take to the Sky, and everyone was clapping along...I didn't know Landslide, and I can hardly remember it. Raspberry Swirl was ultimately cool, with Matt doing that crazy stuff with the drums. ;) After Horses, when she left, I was expecting her to come back on, but the lights went on, so I was kinda disappointed...but later I learned she wasn't feeling very well, so I understand... The show ended at 10:45. When we walked out, we passed the small crowd of people waiting for her. Ashley's father wasn't picking us up until 11:30, so we went and stood with everyone. This time we were really close. Tori came on her bus, and I got really excited when the rest of the band came off too! I didn't know they came to the meet and greets too. Tori came over tothe general place where me and Ashley were, and after she signed the stuff for the people at the front, I shoved my Little Earthquakes cd book up infront of her, and she took it and signed it. I said "Thank you Tori!" and she looked at me in the eyes and gave me the most brilliant, angelic smile I have ever seen. Then she moved down the line. I started crying because I was so overwelmed that I finally got to sort of meet her...I wish I could have talked to her, and gotten a picture of the two of us, but maybe another time. :) Then Caton came over, and I got him to sign my book too. Someone asked him if he got to meet Dave Matthews as well, and he said yes. The girl asked if they got to jam, and he said no. :( Then Jon came over;signed some stuff, including my book. Matt was talking to some people way down the barriers, so we all started yelling, "MATT! MATT!" and so he came over. His pen wasn't really working, so my autograph is mostly a bunch of scribbles. Still, they're MATT scribbles. :) Tori got back on her bus, and we all yelled "BYE TORI!" I didn't sleep that night...I'm still floating on a cloud. From Matt PageJuly 27, 1998 - Matt told me on the phone that Tori must have not been feeling too well during this show. She sometimes avoided some of the really challenging notes (though she nailed the note at the end of Horses beautifully!) That may also explain the fact that show was rather short (14 songs) and only had one encore. The written set list had Baker Baker listed for a second encore (which never happened), and had Sugar and She's Your Cocaine listed for the first encore, in that order. From Julia K.July 27, 1998 - Well, I'm back from the show at the Molson amphitheatre. It was such a wonderful Tori experience, even better than the first one I went to. Here's how it went: My friends Katie and Erica and I got to the Molson amphitheater at around 11:00am and were the first ones there. The amphitheatre is connected to an amusement type place called Ontario Place which has water rides like pedal boats and stuff like that. We waited around for a while and the buses were already there. There were huge covered fences blocking us from the amphitheater and every once in a while Tori's crew would walk in and out. after sitting there for about an hour with no sign of Tori, we called the Edge 102 station (they had been giving away free soundcheck tickets all week but we never won) and they told us that if we came down to the station and harassed them enough they would give us some. So Erica and I headed off to the station with a cab while Katie stayed back to watch for Tori and we got there to find out the guy didn't have any of the tickets. We were so mad. There were some more Toriphiles now up by the information desk waiting for Tori also, so we joined them. From up there the view was perfect and we could see everything at the amphitheatre. at around 3:30 we headed over to the parking lot where Tori arrived in a black limo. She looked absolutely beautiful. We couldn't get up to the front of the barricades so I just passed up a poster for her to sign but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. i gave her a gift (lipgloss and flavoured lip balm) with a little letter asking her to play Cornflake Girl and that she should bring the guys out at the meet and greet after the show because we loved them. after that Tori went in to do soundcheck and we went up over to the information desk place again and heard her. She played Cornflake Girl, Little Amsterdam, iieee, Raspberry Swirl and Pretty Good Year. While we were up there we saw Mark walk by a few times. Then after the soundcheck we stayed up there still and saw the band walking around in the parking lot of the amphitheater, but we couldn't get over there because it was fenced up. We waved and they waved back. Then we looked over and Steve Caton was fishing in the lake! So we went over to the bridge and got a better look at him. he was saying "the secret to fishing is to get into every little nook and cranny". It was cute. at 6:30 they let us in to the amphitheatre and we got our Row 13 seats. The Devlins came on at 8 and they were good but i was so excited for Tori to come on I didn't really pay attention. At around 9:30 she took stage. She looked beautiful and she wore that sparkly apron type thing. The concert was great, but Tori was sick and she couldn't reach too many high notes so it was mostly her low voice. I can't remember the setlist right now, it's 2:30am, I'm sure someone else will have it though. The third song in people started running up to the stage and stood there for the rest of the concert leaning on the stage. We ran up and were first row but the stage was high and I had to stand on my tippy-toes for the rest of the concert. It was so good. the band totally rocked . The last song she played was Horses and we got up and left in the middle of it to run to the barricades for a chance to meet Tori. Katie talked to Joel earlier and he told her where to stand and that we should leave a bit early for a good chance to meet her. Joel was very happy this concert, good to see. We got to the barricades and were first row! Tori came out about half an hour later and headed over to us. Erica was first, then me, then Katie. She gave us all a hug and I asked her if she got my lipgloss and she nodded her head and gave a cute little smile and said "Yes!" She stood and talked for quite a while. Then the band came out for a meet and greet like I wrote in my letter! They're such a great group of guys. They each signed my Tori picture and we talked and laughed with them for about 15 mins. Matt was wearing some alien antenas on his head and we were asking him about them. He said that some guy gave them to him becuase he had some before but they fell off and he lost them. We also talked to Caton and Jon for a long time. Matt told us that Tori was sick tonight with a cold :( Then they left and we headed home. I got some great pictures of Tori and the band that I'll be sending you when I get them developed. There's even one of Caton licking Matt's face! All in all, i'd say the day rocked! From Patrick ChalmersJuly 27, 1998 - Your Tori site is the absolute best there is. I just had to say that. Anyway, me and my friends attended Tori's show at Molson Ampitheatre in Toronto, and it was amazing! She opened with Precious Things, which still leaves me in awe. She went into Little Amsterdam from there, and it was so good with the band! Halfway through the show, Tori fired up Tear in your Hand, and everyone in the theatre decided to run to the front of the stage from as far back as the 400 wing. Tori seemed elated that her fans were so eager to get close to her, but security was flipping out. I remained seated and enjoyed the song. But may I just say that my friend Simon, who loves Tori even more than me, bought her flowers and a Faerie doll, and was unable to give them to Tori because of Molson Ampitheatres fascist and very rude security. Tori's security said it was fine, but MA security flatly denied him. That was the only damper on the night. During Secret time, she did a good rendition of Take to the Sky and then covered Landslide, which moved me to tears. Tori's voice is so beautiful, and she sings that song so well. After that, she did Putting the Damage On, which completely knocked me out. For her encores, she did She's Your Cocaine and Horses, and giddily pranced offstage. The show was amazing, equally as good as the Club show she did at the Phoenix, which I also attended, except Tori was suffering from a cold, and only did the two songs for an encore and did not speak much during the show. I stood in line after the show, and Tori's bus pulled up to sign autographs. Everyone got crushed, but I managed to push to the front. I stuck my hand out and told Tori i loved her, and she took my hand gently and thanked me before climbing back on the bus. I had never met Tori, or even been so close to her before, and it completely made my night. From Avery Swartz (Gobo)July 27, 1998 - Just got home from the Tori concert at Molson Ampitheatre here in Toronto. The set list is as follows: SONGS FROM THE DEVLINS:
SONGS FROM TORI:
ENCORE: This was a fantastic show... some great old favorites. At one point someone threw a pair of cow-pattern boxer shorts onto the stage, and Tori picked them up, draped them over the side of her Bosey, and said something like, "Wow, I've always wanted a pair of cow-pattern boxer shorts!" I've never been to a Tori show before, and I now feel like if someone shot me right now, I'd die a happy chick. From BarbJuly 27, 1998 - Well..i hafta confess that was my first live tori experience and wow. was i blown away. i mean first she played precious things and that was just it i could have gone home after that :) but then she went into cruel which i love off the new album... but then when she played tear in your hand, which i didn't expect her to play at all..i didn't think it could get any better...and the liddo bubbles were just so perfect for the song.. All day i'd been secretly praying she'd play take to the sky but didn't think she would...and then she said "A lot of people have been asking me to play this one..." and away she went. i've never yelped so loud in my life :) The new verison of waitress...or i guess the added lyrics are amazing.. i was hoping she'd play it so i could hear them.. half the time i was oblivious to anything else but her...it's a shame i has to be over so soon. Oh my other surprise was Putting the Damage on...which i didn't expect her to play either :oP but was so glad she did. i don't think she could have picked a song i didn't want to hear :) all i can say was that it was an amazing show..she really knows how to take hold of an audience of our size..the ampitheatre is not a liddo place by any means... now all i can think is...when will she be back? From Katie GlandfieldJuly 27, 1998 - All in all it was a GREAT show...but VERY short...only one encore. But she ROCKED. I'm to excited still to say anymore.... From ElizabethJuly 27, 1998 - Last night, three friends and myself went to see Tori Amos at the Molson Amphitheatre here in Toronto, Canada. We started out with not so great seats, but ended up with 7th row thanks to some help from a scalper. We were incredibly excited as we had just payed an extra $25 per person plus the $45 cost of the original ticket. But, we figured if Tori was going to be as good as she was two years ago when we saw her play Massey Hall, we were sure it was worth it. Boy, were we surprised! The Devlins played a really great set. I'm thinking of picking "Waiting" up this coming week. The tension was mounting as the setup of Tori's things were taking an incredibly long time. The Devlins had finished at 8:40 (they began at 8PM) and it was now shortly before 9:30. Finally the lights went down, the curtain was dropped, and out came the band. I had forgotten Tori was touring with a band this Summer. So, the audience is going nuts and Tori comes out. She's dressed in a floor-length, sequined, open back, high-collared, royal blue ball gown (it was not an apron at all!) with a tight t-shirt and jeans underneath. She did her little two-handed wave to the crowd and joined the band at her piano for "Precious Things." During this song, three people had gone up to the front of the stage and began snapping pictures of Tori. Security didn't do a thing. "Fine" we all thought. After all, if she doesn't mind, then what harm is it doing? (Even though there is a strict rule of NO CAMERAS OR RECORDING DEVICES OF ANY KIND) Shortly after the three photo seekers left, some other people walked up and had taken their spots. A few more gathered, then it became a rush. People rushed the floor seats up to the stage. (Now, at this point, everyone had been sitting down enjoying Tori's music) but, Tori just looked down and smiled and waved at everyone. Again, security did nothing. The majority of us sitting down on the floor stayed in our seats hoping that security would make the people who had come down from the last rows of the floor, take their seats. No such luck. A few of the security guards made their way through the crowd, sending people back to their seats, but by the time they got from one end to the other, those same people rushed back up to the stage. This paragraph really has nothing to do with Tori's performance, but it IS what happened at one of her shows, and some reviews from Toronto were asked for. I was very impressed with "Raspberry Swirl" and all the lighting effects. The bubbles during "Spacedog" were a great effect, too. The concert seemed very short with no interaction with the audience at all. Other than Tori saying something along the lines of "It's always nice to visit with our sister of the North," that was about it. I was looking forward to her spending time with us like she did at Massey Hall and telling us her quirky little stories and "Tori"isms, if you will. She closed the show with "The Waitress," came down to the front of the stage to shake hands and accepted gifts. She then came back out to do ONE encore which included two songs. I cannot remember the first, but the last was "Horses." After "Horses" was finished, she came back down to the front of the stage to shake more hands and accept more gifts. She then ran off the stage and almost immediately, the lights came on. There was a weird pause and everyone sort of looked around and said, "Is that it?" I noticed from reading other Set Lists from the tour, that most consisted of at least two encores. Why, most of the shows were even longer in length than the one she did last night. People were disappointed because she didn't play such great songs like, "Hey Jupiter," "Me & A Gun" (which would have been killer), "Caught A Lite Sneeze" and the anticipated "Jackie's Strength." Hell, "Past The Mission" would have sufficed. I don't know if Tori will return to touring solo (which would amazing), but if she doesn't, she still puts on one hell of a show. The Molson Amphitheatre is a brand new venue down by Toronto' s waterfront. Beautiful view of the city skyline, the water and the amazing sunsets over Lake Ontario. It set the proverbial "stage" so to speak, for an evening of Tori and her piano. I guess last night it just wasn't meant to be. From Amy VanpattenJuly 27, 1998 - Let me first start off by saying that I love Tori no matter what, but this concert wasn't her greatest performance. She doesn't didn't seem completely into it. First off all she only performed for about one hour and fifteen minutes. It was so short and she only did one encore. She barely spoke to the audience at all and basically did no improvising (except on cornflake girl and waitress). I am wondering if she was sick or possibly pregnant?! again? She looked run down. It was unfortuanetly somewhat of a disappointment. Things that were good: I was sitting directly next to the sound station i.e. Mark Hawley. That was cool. The band was actually really good. I especially enjoyed Waitress and Rasperry Swirl. Well, sorry to give such a negative review!! From Jose EspinozaJuly 27, 1998 - I just got back from Tori's show at the Amphitheatre and I'm really tired, but I go ahead anyway. Here's the Set List right away: 1. Precious Things Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes I found this to be a very different concert from all the other times I've ever seen Tori. First off, I found the setting to be a little too much for Tori. The Amphitheatre can hold 16,500 people and I'm used to seeing Tori in a 1000 or less setting. I found that she somehow lost all the intimacy that we are so well accustomed to that I right away noticed "something" missing. Tori somehow got lost on stage EVEN with the 9ft Bosendorfer and band. Her voice was a little strained ( she told a few people beforehand ) and I noticed that she pulled it in a little for the whole night. I was very surprised to only hear four songs from "choirgirl" but completely ecstatic to hear Take To The Sky - (thank you Sabine for asking for it). I was also pleasantly surprised to see her do Raspberry Swirl live -very cool, but people were afraid to shake their groove things! A few of us did run up to the stage in order to be closer to her. I was closer to Caton and noticed that he enjoyed a bottle of white wine and a Coca Cola during the show and was generally in a good mood. He was actually dancing while he was playing. Overall the set list was very mellow. What I missed mostly from the show was the private time with Tori. She did do Take To The Sky and Landslide solo, but she didn't address us as she usually does and we didn't get any Tori Stories. Don't get me wrong though, I am grateful that she played the concert and she GAVE enough, I just wanted to feel a little less rushed through the show. Afterwards, she signed a few autographs and again she seemed a little reserved. She said a few words to a few people but mostly just signed autographs quietly among the madness that was surrounding her. Perhaps that's how she get a handle on situations when she's overwhelmed - to just remain calm and quiet. I had a good time and the crowd was very well behaved. None of the shouters or bullies that were around last time for Boys For Pele. If I can think a little more coherently I'll email you later today about how I want to finish this. I'm getting veddy sleepy, From Matthew SkillingsJuly 27, 1998 - This night was my first Tori show. And I will admit too being somewhat braced for finding that it's not all that others have said it was. I've spent a good long two years anticpating this, and well I'd grown a little jaded perhaps towards all the hype :) But that doesn't change that this concert was probably one of the most singularly defining moments in my life (Yes, I have already decided this is so.). And this is not too mention the day as a whole which was equally incredible. First I went to the meet and greet, I arrived at the venue maybe around 2:15. And there were already maybe 30 people there, after me and my group arrived the number probably didn't rise too much more than 50. When she arrived I was stuck behind a few people. This experience is so different from what I keep reading about in this reviews. The group was small in comparison, and nobody pushed or screamed. Especially shocking was that when people asked me if this was my first time and I nodded yes they would immediately give me more room, and make it easier for me too take pictures and other things. When Tori started making her way across the front of the baricade, at first I couldn't see her well. And my attempts too take some pictures went rather poorly. I wasn't feeling angry but perhaps a bit impatient. Then she started to work her way down towards where I was, and that's when it all changed for me. She just looked right at me while I was trying to snap away, and she gave me a big smile and waved right at me. I don't even know if I pressed the button at that moment, although I'm hoping that developing the film will show that I did. Then she took my copy of "choirgirl" from me, and signed it and passed it back. After that it was like just her presence was enough to make me happy. I keep thinking she said something to me when she took my insert to be signed, but it might of just been nothing. Either way I just watched and took further pictures for the remainder of the meet and greet. I always thought I'd die if I didn't get too talk to her or something like that. But instead I've found that I'm perfectly content with what I got out of it, which was mostly just the smile from my viewpoint. I don't think I could of been any happier. After the meet and greet me and my group just walked around for a bit. And we stumbled across something quite amazing. We found that unlike many of the indoor venues she's done in the past this one is open and it was possible to stand at the back fence, and listen to the sound check going on. And with the aid of a pair of binoculars we could sort of see things too. This was just a really neat extra that I had to throw in. I wonder how many people get the opportunity to spy on the soundcheck :) After this came the show of course. I'll admit some frustration at first.The Devlins were not a bad group, but not my cup of tea either, so it was a bit painful too have too sit through their set. Although I wasn't rude about it. In fact nobody seemed to be rude towards the Devlins. Not even a single "We want Tori!" from the back.. Then there was a long wait after the Devlins finished before Tori actually began. This was most frustrating for me. But after she started time just seemed to fly. I will not go into all the songs specifically, as I was just so totally blown away by the whole experience that no single song really mattered above all of the others to me. There was no screaming or any "We love you Tori." being screamed out at any part of the show. One of the personal high points for me was when she did Take to the Sky which has been for a very long time one of my most favorite of all the bsides. Also I think it was during Tear in Your Hand that the greater part of the audience on the main floor section, got up from their seats and ran up in front of the stage and started just sort of dancing around. They weren't noisy about it all actually. And I even got up myself, and allowed myself too be carried away just a bit, which is totally not me. I don't ever get moved to dance. I just got so totally caught up in it all. Usually this behaviour would probably annoy me too no end, but as is I just watched the remainder of the show standing, and I didn't really notice. I just went with it and found that I really enjoyed the way things just sort of naturally developed in this respect. This is without a doubt the most fun concert experience I've ever had. I used to wonder if there was something wrong with people who travelled all over and went to 20 shows each tour. Now I have too say that if I wasn't so damn broke all the time I would do the same thing at the blink of an eye. I don't think next time around one concert per tour is going to be good enough. On a side note, the merchandise from my viewpoint was way over priced. A regular t-shirt was $35. I've never been to a concert or heard of one where the t-shirts cost more than $20. And the programmes cost $20. This was the extent of my expenditure. But still quite a bit of money. for just a shirt and a programme. This I would say was the only sore point in the evening, and even then it wasn't a huge deal. I only mention it because I find it likely that the other Canadian shows will possibly have similiarly overpriced items at their stands as well. So just a warning to the people going to those shows. From FaithsingsJuly 27, 1998 - Ok I am in a daze! I was so blown away by the show I forgot to write down the set list in proper order but here's a list of a few songs: Precious Things (opened with) Horses (closed with) and Cruel, Tear In Your Hand, Cornflake Girl, Raspberry Swirl, Spark, Putting The Damage On, Little Amsterdam, Landslide, She's Your Cocaine, Take to the Sky and one other. ARGH! I just have to say this and it may piss people off, but Tori had on what I would describe as an unflattering outfit and she looked like she was tired. I heard someone say she was sick, but she didn't hold back at all to the fans. I'm from the States and have never been to the Molson Amphitheatre but the visuals were sweet!!! And it was so nice to see Tori interact with other musicians on stage feeding off each other's energy. Those die-hard friends of ATori's couldn't wait for the security to back off a bit so they could swarm the front of the stage and everyone was very well-mannered. Afterwards about 100 of us went around the side to see Tori off and she was so nice to stop and talk and sign autographs, etc. The security was completely unprepared for us and kept pushing us back, blah, blah, blah. It was magical! And I especially lucked out because I came to Toronto at the last minute and scored a $10 ticket from a scalper. Life is good!! Ooops I forgot a few things... She performed Crucify and the other song I don't know, but I think it was either Pretty Good Year or Honey. I REALLY wanted her to perform Liquid Diamonds and IIEEE but alas, she seemed to be going back to older recordings and I wondered if that had to do with her playing in "the Sister of the North" as she put it. And she only did one encore instead of two like at some other shows. From TrentJuly 27, 1998 - this was the best show i've seen so far...and the shortest. Tori looked very tired...at the m&g before the show she mentioned that her throat hurt. This is the set list as it was played:
Precious Things THE END!!! the set list that i got from the stage goes like this:
Precious so you can see the differences. Caton: got to talk to him while he fished (the ampitheatre was on the lake) got a toast while he played (he was chugging wine) he took my Sharpie pen (but I got the whole band and tori to sign my set list) he held my hand (because I was interested in his fishing...it was pretty cool) going to bed From Lina Correia (posted to the Precious-Things mailing list)July 27, 1998 - I wanted to write last night, but exhaustion after a Tori concert makes me sleepy. The concert was incredible, we had great seats, and it was so great to see her at the Molson Ampitheatre. I just love that place. I was so excited when I heard her playing Putting the Damage On during her soundcheck because I just loooove that song. You can imagine my elation when she played it last night. It was incredible. She was incredible. I loved Raspberry Swirl, finally got to get up and dance. Cool! I must say that the club tour was better for energy from the audience, but the set list was better this time around. It ended really early though which was very surprising. I would have loved to have seen her play a lot more. But, all in all it was another amazing experience with an incredible lady. It was also the first time I got to hear Landslide. Yeah! Well, that's it folks, just wanted to ramble on about my experience. From Cheryl MahoodJuly 27, 1998 - I'm sure this isn't in the exact order but it's close enough i'm sure, if someone else wants to correct me on the order of it all, go right ahead, but i know for sure these were the songs she sang: Precious Things Little Amsterdam Tear in Your Hand Cruel Spark Cornflake Girl The Waitress (solo)- Take To The Sky + Landslide Putting the Damage On Crucify Raspberry Swirl (encore)-She's Your Cocaine + Horses Review: After what seemed like forever Tori finally entered the stage (with me nearly in tears-ok, so i'm emotional.) She walked to the front of the stage wearing this long sparkly gown and bowed down to us before walking back to her piano where she said something along the lines about us being her "sisters of the north." She seemed to be in a really good mood. She then went into the set: Precious Things: totally hype. The band made it extra powerful, all together this song was amazing, a real good opener. Little Amsterdam: her voice was excellent on this one, and it was good to hear she was playing stuff from Boys for Pele. Tear in Your Hand: this song speaks for itself, she played it beautifully. Cruel: she made this song seem "witchy' which i liked, gave it a real nice touch. She drew out the last lines "im sure she'll make a few friendsssss" Spark: the audience liked this one, Tori played it amazingly, the "how many fates turn around in the overtime" part was excellent Cornflake Girl: the crowd really went for this one, which was surprising because the crowd was all together kind of lame, they didn't sing or dance or do much of anything at all, just kinda sat there. The Waitress: powerful as usual, Tori did this one great. Take to the Sky (solo): this song was amazing, she said she played this one because of all the requests she'd been getting for it. Landslide (solo): this song was emotional, she did it perfectly, her voice just ruled. During tihs song she kept smiling at the crowd which was a really nice "get to know the audience" gesture. Putting the Damage On: this song was my favourite out of all the ones she played, it was emotional and her voice was just perfect. Amazing. Once again i was happy that she played a song from Boys For Pele. Crucify: this was another crowd pleaser, everyone got into this one, she gave a lot into this song, kinda lost control and stuff which was good to see. Raspberry Swirl: the crowd just went totally nuts for this one, people started dancing and going mental, which was cool. Tori got right into this one too, she was having loads of fun. At this point she said bye to us and hugged the band and skipped off the stage all smiles....then the band ran back to their instruments and Tori came out and waved and smiled for a while then got right into: She's Your Cocaine (encore): the crowd seemed to like this one too. Horses (encore): This was the new version of it that i'd been hearing about, most people said they didn't like it, but i thought it was kind of cool. at that point she said good bye and shook some peoples hands in the front row and left. The only thing i was dissapointed with was that she didn't play Hey Jupiter and i was even more saddened to find out she played it the night before at the Detroit, MI show (sigh) can't have it all i guess. So there's my review, to sum it all up i'd say Tori was "perfection" but i think we already knew that one. bye for now, Bathory From AdamJuly 27, 1998 - Wow... My first time seeing Tori in concert was amazing to say the least. Here is the setlist as I remember it(may not be exactly in order). The approx. quotes are the only things I remember her saying. I was shocked when Tori and the band left the stage after the 1st encore and then the lights immediately came up and the stage crew came out and started to dismantle everything and there was no 2nd encore!?!?!??? What happened? Precious Things Putting the Damage On was so wonderful, the drums sound really good along with it. Tear in Your Hand, I love that song, it sounded just marvelous live; I wasn't in Toronto when she played that song, I was in an enchanting mysterious Tori world, where your completely enthralled and captivated by the music. Well I probably visited that world several times throughout the night but Tear in Your Hand was the most notable song of the evening. I had never heard Landslide before, it was beautiful, also a concert highlight. Precious Things made a great opener, very powerful, the band accentuated this song very nicely. Spark sounded even more captivating and mystical as it does on the album. Raspberry Swirl was awesome. Lots of energy, it was hard to restrain yourself from dancing like a fool to this one. Little Amsterdam, She's Your Cocaine, and The Waitress were probably the least palatable songs of the evening. I don't know, these songs never really did anything for me on the albums. Waitress was pretty long. So I would have preferred to have heard Caught a Lite Sneeze, Northern Lad, and Liquid Diamonds. Take to The Sky seemed almost boring compared to the studio version, I don't know why the band doesn't join her on this one. The audience clapped along. Horses sounded interesting, pretty different from the album version, I think I like it. From dki, the smiley oneJuly 27, 1998 - you probably got this already, but in case you don't have the order: precious things
secret time
putting the damage on
encore also of note: i my friends and i caught part of the soundcheck by getting on a roof in ontario place. among other things, we heard four different intros to putting the damage on, cruel a capella, a gorgeous intro and first verse of pretty good year, and snippets (no singing) from raspberry swirl, black-dove (january), and crucify. very cool stuff! i was also at the meet & greet and it was very calm, i was really proud that it wasn't crazy and everyone was really nice. i actually got to meet her and she signed my pic from detroit so i'm very very happy. :) From kelly matton (posted to various Tori mailing lists)July 27, 1998 - well i went to the concert last night and it was absolutely amazing. i don't really remember the exact order that she played things but here's what i remember. precious things i think that is it, but if i remember anymore i'll tell you. i found it a shorter set then last ones but anyways it was really good. after the concert we waited around and i got her autograph and got to hold her hand over top of people it was so good i cryed. i've wanted to just see her that close for awhile and finally but it doesn't seem like it really happend. ah i'm just in shock. anyways it was great!!!!!!! |
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