North American Plugged '98 Tour
Bethlehem, PA
November 23, 1998
Updated May 2, 2000
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North American Plugged '98 Tour
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Check Out The Reviews And Set Lists Page Tori performed in Bethlehem/Allentown, PA on November 23, 1998 at Stabler Arena at Lehigh University during the main North American leg of her Plugged '98 tour.  Set ListTori performed Hey Jupiter, Upside Down and Graveyard solo. Thanks to Richard Handal who phoned me with the set list, and Somatori and Remo Luca who emailed me the set list. Precious Things 1st Encore: 2nd Encore: Venue Photo Stabler Athletic & Convocation Center in the afternoon before the concert. (Thanks to Richard Handal for the photo.) |
ReviewsThe most recently added reviews are first. Just a reminder that just because I post these reviews , it does not necessarily mean that I agree with them. From manda cNovember 27, 1998 - i've been waiting so long for this show. i couldn't go to any philly shows this year on the regular or sneak, so this was special, considering it was the only plugged show i'd be able to go to, and probably for awhile, assuming she doesn't tour in 99 before the live album, the last time she'd be around. so i've been hyper and excited about this forever. i couldn't go to the m&g or the dinner, cause this was a school day and a work day for the woman (mrs. deihl) who took me and my friend, kristen. we got to the venue around 6:45, after getting almost lost. we stood outside for awhile, till after 7:30, and then the line started moving. mrs. deihl commented on how beefed up security was. i don't know how other shows have been, but it was crawling with police. people kept saying outside, no food, no drink, no camera, no audio or recording equipment, no mase, no knives, no guns. my friend kristen and i joked, no breathing. one girl's ride had left, and she had a camera, which they confiscated. very no nonense. we had floor seats, row 19, seats 8, 9, 10. we got escorted to our seats, and lord! the arena was so small (it looked later as if half had blocked off by the stage and crew area), and was perfect! the people behind us were kinda clueless, they thought Tori went to Juillard and was born Ellen Mary. And we talked to two nice women in the ladies room, who wanted to know what was up with the people with faery wings and faery halos. i explained the thing in the "thank you" section, and they're like, doh! there were also three kings there, who appearedto be making laps. sorry, two kings and a queen. one was a girl. :) i had sent beth a letter to give Tori for me, since she was going to the m&g. i remember she said she'd be wearing stonewashed jeans and had very long, red hair, tye dye top. well a woman walked past my room with her red hair tucked into a cloak, blocking view of the length. i realized it might be her, and shot a look back, and under the cloak were stone-washed jeans. i ran over, and she was talking to some people, so i waited (bet they thought i was nuts, like, who's this chick waiting here? go on by!), and was like, are you beth, i'm manda. she gave me a hug, and told me even though she didn't get to give Tori my letter, someone had at the m&g. whew! i thanked her over and over. i even had a letter for her, but i left it in my jacket at my seat. i was walking back, when she called me back, and then she introduced me to anthony ruiz. anthonywas gonna get me a ticket for the state college show, but i wasn't able to go, and had to cancel. he was really nice too, and he told me how the m&g went, and how everyone followed the number system, and it was really small. he said people were calmer cause they had to make sure it was okay, and no one waved them over. he also said rumor was something special was to happen tonight, and they might premeire mary with the band. this got me excited, cause i love mary. and then, to add to my excitement, he said they might play past the mission, which would be awesome, cause it was the first Tori song i ever heard. anthony and beth are so sweet and nice people! they are so friendly! unbelievable truth came out between 8:30-8:45. my friend hated the unbelievable truth, and i thought they were so-so. they played nine songs, which to be honest, all sounded the same. very male nasal-whine, and the lyrics, well just forget about understanding any of them. very few and far between did we. the reminded me of the counting crows (and i like some of their songs). so finally, Tori comes out at 9:23 (and i won a bet with kristen that she would come out before 9:30). from past reviews, this seemed later than usual. the lights went out, stage lights came on, band came out. caton, jon, and matt all looked really good and happy tonight. caton had on his cool hat. the crowd stood up went Tori came out, and the people in front of us were tall, like 6 ft (maybe not, but close!). i stood on my tiptoes, and could see finally. she was wearing a black off the shoulder leotard thing and black pants (maybe jeans). she looked perfect tonight, and this was like, wow! this woman i have been influenced by, admired her, and lived through her music was up there. it was surreal. i really couldn't get over this. very shock inducing. she went up to the front, and did the whole bow thing, and waves. Concert starts: precious things- which i was hoping for! it was fantastic. the whole song was so incredible, i will never be able to listen to the cd again the same way! she skipped one "sick" in the "can you believe him that sick" (i'm used to "sick sick". she kept singing "i wanna smash the faces of those christian boys, christian boys, smash those christian boys". the "so you can make me cum, it doesn't make you jesus" and "with their NINE-INCH nails and little facist panties tucked inside the heart of every nice grrrl" were amazing, and they wasn't a crotch grab, just kinda laying her one finger over her crotch. not as powerful as pics and footage i've seen. iiiee-i always loved this from the album, and this was no different. i felt close to tears, and she did the baby cradle motion. she had so much emotion in her voice, kinda what i call "crying over tears" where you cna hear the sadness behind each line. she sounded kinda mournful during"we scream in cathedrals". Past the mission-anthony was right! yeah! it wasn't too pumped up, which i was glad of. every word was understandable (some in iiiee and pt weren't), and she seemed to be having a great time. caton was doing something, i think he danced a bit. this song i almost started crying during, especially at the beginning ("i don't believe i went too far") and the chorus. they shone blue lights at the choruses i think. sugar-i've always liked this b-side, cause i can relate with the unrequinted love thing. her voice was so beautiful at this point, very breathy and light. it was so gorgeous with the band, especially the "he brings me sugar", like the most beautiful ever! hotel-this was never a favorite, and actually, i might skip this on the cd when it plays. but i loved it by the end because it was more alive than on the cd somehow. less electronic, more impact. caton seemed to enjoy this one, and even saw him grin and stick his tongue out a bit happily! bells for her-this song only recently have i really begun to love lots. i thought, oh my lord! this is wonderful! it was like walking on air, and i did get choked up during this. secret time: hey jupiter-she says: "this is our time, where the boys go do their thing, and we have some time", and she starts. i covered my mouth, in shock. i was hoping for mother or winter, but this, wow. i have always wanted to hear this in concert because it is so meaningful to me. i was sobbing silently, tears pouring down my cheeks. kristen thought i was ill, and very upset. no kristen, this song is genius. :) upside down-this has one of my favorite lines, "i'm okay when everything else is not okay". this one i dried my eyes, and was very happy. great choice, and she has having a ball. (band comes back, matt was bopping around) northern lad-wow! i wasn't expecting this, but was hoping for it. it was hey jupiter all over again, just more swaying and i stopped crying sooner. the "fucking cold" was very audible, and the people were loving the entire song. Cruel-i like this one. she had this thing going, looked as if she was portraying bondage or something, and was doing some butt-schimmying. what's that? :) i was definetely having a moment during this song (like beth's zone, just with me, lots of moments lasting from the momentshe entered to the last second of the last encore, grin). people were doing lots of hand dances, and caton and jon were jamming like crazy, dancing some for caton, hair flying for jon caught a lite sneeze-wow! this, i don't know if i anticipated it, or remembered to hope for it, but this was awesome. she improved hurt too! when that part came, you heard some claps and gasps. i'm glad i got the ddi boot this spring, it helped me realize what it was ("i hurt myself today"). sounded awesome, but really different without the harpsichord and all. people did hand motions for "boys on my left side, boys on my right side" waitress-i've never been sure of this one. i like it, then don't, oi. i was hoping for she's your cocaine, but i love the new improv! "hang ten honey i'll go where you go" was the best, and the "too many stars and not enough sky" was so awesome! like the place was flooded with magic and faery dust. it went on so long, i didn't want it to end! it lasted for (estimate) over 5 min., close to 7? i don't quite remember so here they wave, and Tori blows kisses. encore 1: cornflake girl- can we say wahoo! everything was awesome! sometimes words inaudible, but wow! now i was dancing, and so were most people. this is such a freakin cool beefed up version! this girl has been waiting so long to rock, now she's got her chance. raspberry swirl-yeah! i told kristen about this one, and she was like, cool! this song was made for this. the album version comes nowhere close. full of energy, spice, and she was wiggling on the bench, and caton, wow! that guy was going nuts dancing with a chesire cat grin! they wave bye bye. encore 2: graveyard-surprise! this is such a beautiful song! a great intro to... tear in your hand-i'd wanted to hear this, and given up. thanks Tori! lots of people "wave goodbye". you could understand every word, and the whole band was jamming and dancing, and jon! whew! someone give him a ponytail or something for encores! his hair was all in his face, and you can't exactly get it out when fingering a bass. she was so alive and aglow. she was so happy and (god i hate this word) giddy. Mary-wow. she said: "now we haven't done this girl with the band yet on tour, so we're gonna fuck up". needless to say, they didn't (as far as i and kristen could tell, kristen's like, "she never fucks up! why would she think that?"grin) she belted out "butterflies don't belong in nets", and all the phrasing was so fantastic! before she started this, some people started rushing the stage, and she leaned over to tell the security guards "don't worry, they always rush the stage". i didn't, mostly because now i had a better view. spark-i was so not expecting this! this was kristen's first Tori song, and she was like, yeah, and clawed my hand (she said she gripped, but i have the nail marks to prove it :) ). the "how many fates turn around in the overtime" part was repeated several times, slightly different than i thoughtit would be. i liked this version better, she was on fire she was so good! the rest aremy random observations on the show. caton brought out some red wine (i'm assuming it's wine) during the firstencore and sat it on his speaker. jon and caton were dancing and head banging during the encores. me thinks they love those best. :) before they came out for the encores, it sounded as if theroof was caving in. later i found out people were banging on their chairs. lots of screaming, and the guy behind me was a pill. he screamed, that's the piano! when he sat down, cause the ub gear was there, and when ub came out, screamed, you're not Tori! he also thought she was born ellen mary amos. glad his friends set him straight. there were three kings, who tried to give her their gifts unsuccesfully, and some faeries in attendance. the light show WAS fantastic, and during upside down, they shone many blue lights. i can't remember which song, maybe cruel, they had a rotating white light around Tori. very cool. during some songs, they'd spotlight Tori and caton. this was a fantastic show. we tried to go to the after m&g, but weren't sure where it was around the buses. when we found it, it was close to fifty people, and very nasty with pushing. we left then, but i didn't mind. Tori got my letter, and read it that night, and played both the songs the next night. that thrilled me, and i wished i coulda gone, but i'm okay with it. i was in awe and tears after, all smiles and tears. it was beyond my wildest dreams! i can't wait for the next tour, and regret i can't go to anymore shows. i'm still in a daze, three days later, and very happy. my mom said i walked in glowing, on cloud nine. i didn't stop talking about it yet. sigh. that was fantastic. From H. (Posted to the RDTDN mailing list)November 27, 1998 - I had intended to go earlier in the day, and enjoy a little leisure time on the lovely sylvan Lehigh campus. Being that I arrived in thick, boondockian blackness, I can only assume its loveliness. I came prepared with my "concert kit": oversized waist pack to hold my paraphernalia; notepad and pen, without which this account would not be possible; flashlight to assuage my fear of darkened arenas; magazine (SciAm that night), a little light reading for the downtime; binoculars, to actually see the performer if your seats are as bad as you think they are, or to see their nosehairs if your seats are much better than expected; box of Good'n'Plenty (filling snack, low cholesterol, pleasing colors); and a throwaway camera. The camera, however, I shifted to my jacket just before entering the arena. And bless my paranoia, because security was patting down the concertgoers, and sly dog that I am I managed to slip my camera in undetected. First thing I thought upon entering the arena was that this place was on fire. Turned out only to be the smoke machines working overtime. (Has anyone ever checked if that smoke violates federal emission standards?) After checking out the horribly overpriced concert shirts for a few minutes, I took my seat on the floor just as Unbelievable Truth came on stage. They performed "Shipbuilding", and that was the only song I recognized. At approximately 9:23pm, the curtain dropped and the band took the stage. A minute later Tori followed and launched into "Precious Things" amid thick billows of smoke. She wore what I would described in my fashion ignorant way as a black strapless short sleeve shirt (?) and black pants, and did this funky little combination thumbs up limbo dance. "iieee" showed that her voice was going to be in fine form that night - she hit all the high notes. She introduced the band, and did an excellent rendition of "Past The Mission" (the band didn't overpower her voice). Bathed in orange light, she followed with "Sugar" and a standout performance of "Hotel." After "Bells For Her," the band went offstage and Tori played "Hey Jupiter - Dakota version," and the crowd responded with the time-honored tradition of upraised lighters. "Upside Down" featured some interesting facial expressions, and substituted (perhaps significantly, probably not) 'You said' for 'I said' at various points in the song. The band slipped back onstage as Tori began "Northern Lad," which has a checkmark next to it in my notepad so it must have been pretty cool even though I don't remember exactly why. "Cruel," however, has a double checkmark in front of it, as deserves a rendition of that song that can most eloquently described as 'kickass." The crowd swayed to the sinuous beat, Tori stuck her ass out towards the crowd as she leaned over the microphone and held her hands crossed behind her back as if bound, and the song ended in crescendos of wailing. "Caught A Lite Sneeze" probably has a bunch of extra lyrics that I didn't remember in it, but the lines I remember were "You're full of shit. You never did. You never could." "The Waitress" ended the main set in an orgy of loudness that had me marveling that Tori didn't hyperventilate at the finish. Encore number one kicked off with "Cornflake Girl," heavy on the bass (like many of the band-version songs). Some elements of the crowd broke out into spontaneous vogueing (sp?). The dance party continued with "Raspberry Swirl," where Tori, facing the audience, spotlit, hands and legs outstretched playing both the piano and the keyboard, looked for all the world like an MC. Encore number two began with a short lullaby-ish intro that I didn't recognize, and segued into "Tear In Your Hand." Tori then announced that they were trying the next one out for the first time (and would therefore probably fuck it up), and played "Mary." After a bit of commotion on stage, where it appeared that Tori decided to add one more song to the set at the last minute, the disco balls went into full sparkle, appropriately enough for "Spark." The concert finally ended somewhere between 11:04 and 11:10pm. Goddamned good show. From Gruagach7@aol.comNovember 25, 1998 - OMIGAWD!!!! How do I even BEGIN to describe this concert?!?!?!?! This was basically State College times fifty. The set list was almost the same and that is my one and only problem with this concert. And that is exactly what is it...my problem. To cancel this out I must say this concert was so much more than State College that seeing her perform a lot of the same songs again wasn't a problem cause this time they were played louder, clearer, and better!! I have to compliment this crowd for their wild, fun, spontaneous energy. Their energy was what made the concert as great as it was and I thank all of them so much! I can only hope that Newark's (DE) crowd measures up to these people. They were great! So, anyway, I did the smart thing and skipped the Unbelievable Truth. We (my close friend, Wynia, my sister, Kristina, and I) didn't arrive until quarter of eight. As soon as I took my seat I knew this was going to be a great concert. You could all ready feel the anticipating readiness of the crowd and, what I really liked, was that the arena was so small that no matter where you sat you had a good view...okay, well, there might have been a few crappie seats but over-all I thought it was great that people with not-so-wonderful seats (like me!!) could see. I walked in there thinking I was going to be all the way back there and Tori would be one those ant-people you see when you're so far away from something (I had Section 3, Row E, Seats 3,4,5...I checked to see the seating chart on their web-site and that's the way they made it appear...) but, it turns out, I had such an awesome view...Tori was even life-size...in fact, the whole band was! So I was thrilled with the way things were turning out and I wasn't hiding it, either. People sitting near us probably thought the three of us were psychotic. For a moment, we probably were...who knows? So, anyway, back to the point....Tori came out at around 9:15 - 9:20...something like that. So the concert began... Out of the three concerts I've been to this Precious Things was the most powerful I have seen. Her "Giiiirrrrrlllllll" growl was so long...it must have went on for twenty or thirty seconds at least. Just incredible... After Precious Things she started playing iieee and my first thought was, "Not again!" However, by the time it was over I was so glad I was able to see this performed again. Unlike State College, I was able to see the stomach grabs during the "sac-sac sacrifice" parts. She didn't get drowned out again, like in State College, during the "arsonist" lines. The best part was the piano improv near the end. She also sang the, "I don't understand why you took my little girl!" line. It amazed me how Tori could turn this "rock" song into such an emotionally shaking experience. I guess you can't expect any less from Tori :-) She then introduced the band and, again, called Matt a creature. It was cute. She told us that she was going to perform a song tonight that she's never done before. I couldn't believe I was lucky enough to be there for a debut of something. Other than this, the beginning of secret time ("The boys go away for a little bit and I'm going to do some request form some girls I met earlier."), and near the end was the only time she really talked to us. She then started playing Past The Mission. I was happy that I was going to hear it again cause this is one of my favorite songs. The band gives it so much. Ten times better than Saturday. What else can I say? So, I was really hoping she'd play a different song than Saturday by this point and, yea!, I got my wish with an unbelievable version of Sugar. I had really wanted to hear this and I was jumping up and down in my seat. The orange lights fit perfectly with the song. The pussy boy line was great but, afterwards, she started singing, "MY GOD! What did they do to you? My sweet boy...what happened?" Again, she added this great emotion to this hard-beated song. Then the opening beats to Hotel came out and, for the second time, I thought, "Not again!" Only this time nothing proved me wrong. She put everything she had into it and it was definitely better than Saturday but once was enough for me. Bells For Her stopped by and what were my thoughts?? ìNot again!î How'd you guess? I got into more than I did Saturday cause the sound was more clear and accented. Her vocals were the most beautiful, I think, during Bells. ~*SECRET TIME*~ She briefly mentioned she was taking requests and went right into Hey Jupiter. This is another song I was hoping she'd play. It was almost comforting. During the song, I saw a few flickers of light on the opposite side of the arena and I had thought these were lighters (I found out later that these were actually lights on the bottom of steps) so I lit my lighter. People started lighting up everywhere and it was so beautiful. I'd like to think I started the whole lighter vigil but if I did or if I didn't I'll never know. Nonetheless, with her singing and the lighters burning it was emotional for a lot of people. I vaguely saw two people crying and I myself was getting teary-eyed. She then zoomed right into a so totally gorgeous performance of Upside Down. I felt so incredibly lucky to there cause I know she has only done it three or four times this tour. This song has always gotten me through bad times and when she started to play it all these memories started rushing back. A tear or two fell down my cheek. It was just so beautiful. *~BOYS COME BACK~* Well, somehow I just had this feeling she was going to be singing Northern Lad and I was right (she played it right after secret time Saturday, too). I'm glad I got to hear this again, though. It sounded almost exactly like the CD version. Afterwards, I hoped she was going to play another song I hadn't seen Saturday and, again, I got my wish. She did this way energetic version of Cruel. She did this little dance in the middle where she put her hands behind her back like she was handcuffedor something. This whole song really psyched the crowd up. So the band begins Caught a Light Sneeze and Tori was during some kind of dance move (she danced A LOT during this concert!) where she put her head in the lap and slowly rose. Chilling. I didn't know it was CALS until she started playing on the piano. I was so glad to hear this again cause I LOVE the improv where, near the end of the song, she sings, "You don't give a fuck! You never cared!! You don't care! You're full of SHIT! You're so full of SHIT!" It's so wild and crazy!! So, song #12 was coming and I was getting sad cause I didn't want this concert to end EVER!! All things end eventually, I guess. I get such a thrill out of the "Hang Ten" parts. The whole song was so perfect. It seemed to go on forever. She got drowned out near the end when everything goes nuts but I think going nuts means getting a little drowned out. This hyped us all up for the encores! *~Encore #1~* For some reason I had a feeling it was going to be the same as Saturday and that was fine by me. Well, it was...Cornflake Girl was just amazing. She came out dancing as usual and did a little jig around Caton. Then walked over to the piano and had a moment with John. It was great...They all seemed so together. Caton kept doing this little dance with his feet. I've gotta learn it!! He danced over to the piano and Tori and him played with each other's eyes a bit. It was so refreshing to see them all living in the moment! We all knew what was coming next and thank god this crowd was so much more energized than State College cause I couldn't stand watching Raspberry Swirl without getting up to dance. I didn't want to look stupid but, thankfully, everybody was dancing. Well, everybody except the people in my section but the three of us still got up and went wild. I don't understand how a person can just sit down and sit still through that song! ~*Encore #2*~ I wanted to hear Tear In Your Hand again and I knew I probably would since she seemed to repeating a lot of Saturday. Only this time she started out with the Graveyard solo which I really wanted to hear...she didn't do that Saturday, either. That led straight into TIYH and it meant and felt a lot more to me than Saturday. I'm glad I relived Tear! So I was praying she wasn't going to do Pandora cause I wasn't in the mood for that. I know that seems snobby but I just wanted to hear something different. I had forgotten all about that new song she said she was doing and she actually spoke before she started the next song...she told us that they had never done this before and if they fuck up they better do it now cause there isn't much time left. She also thanked the security guards for helping out. Then she started playing Mary with the band. I heard the song once or twice so hearing it live was great and I was so thrilled to be there for a Tori premiere! I was a little confused though. I thought she had played this on the tour all ready or was the new thing her adding the band in? I dunno...but whatever it was the song was awesome and I loved it! I thought it was over and I was getting my jacket, sadly, cause I DID NOT want this night to end! So, I noticed she hadn't left the stage yet and before I knew it the band was playing the music to Spark!! It was so nice to stay for one more song...especially Spark. I had wanted to hear this live so bad and was so disappointed when she didn't play it in Philly. And she didn't play it Saturday. So I finally got to hear it live! I taped her on Leo when she played Spark but I knew she could do better and part of the song was missing. Last night's Spark was exactly what I knew she could do and it was so wonderful. When she finished I knew it was impossible but they had the disco balls still going and I had hoped that Tori might come out and sing another song but she didn't. I just did not want the evening to end. Positively, one of the best days of my life! Well, hopefully, tomorrow in Newark I'll hear some new songs. I really want to hear Girl and am hoping that she plays that...I have a feeling she will. I dunno why I just do. I can only hope that the crowd there is as amazing as the Allentown crowd. Thank you all for making the concert such an amazing experience!! From Becky WallNovember 25, 1998 - I just want to say that I love every show, but as each one ends, I get closer and closer to my last one.. **sniff sniff** Well as I said in the post about PSU, I had decided Saturday to go to Bethlehem. After a 4 hour car ride (which should have only been 3 hours but we took back roads instead of main ones), we arrived in Bethlehem safe and sound. Our first task was to set out finding tickets. After much asking and pleeding, I finally ended up with a 16 row ticket (more on that later). The security guards were yelling the whole time about how they were going to search everyone and if they found a camera they would take it and there were just being generally awful. AT one point I heard them yell, "No guns, no knives..." What the hell did they think we were going to do anyway? Ugh. So I hung around outside catching up with some friends. I was VERY happy to be able to see the ever-friendly-ever personable-ever-wonderful Mr. Handal again. I had been upset because we had not had a chance to chat at PSU...So I made my way inside around 8:30 (I had had to miss the Unbelievable Truth to get a good ticket). I went down to the floor and found my seat. It was good, but I was hoping they would let us come up to the front because there were really wide isles. Well we walked around for a bit, hoping they wouldn't make us take our seats. Well they did (=P). But when the lights went out and the security guard turned his back, I made my way up to the front and joined my friend Melissa who I met in Indiana. Because everyone was standing, and they had let the first few rows up to the barricade, there was enough room for me in the fifth row. They were amazing seats. Honestly, I had trouble getting into the first few songs because I had just seen them at PSU (11 of the 18 songs she had played in PSU also). Of course, this is no fault of Tori's because the songs were amazing, just my own impatientness in wanting to hear a few new songs (Richard says I'm becoming jaded....=) I disagree.) But she did play Sugar, which I haven't heard since Phila, and it was damn powerful. So much more angry than I had heard it in the past. (I think someone already posted about the inprov line in it...). Ok...so if I couldn't get into the first few songs, let me just tell you that secret time pulled me in...I was along for the whole kit and kaboodle. She explained that she had gotten a few requests, and started playing Hey Jupiter. ***woah*** This song has a lot of personal meanings to me. I heard this one back in Phila, when I was there with someone who is very dear to my heart. When she began playing it again, it was as if I was reliving the Phila show moment all over again, but i was reliving it alone. It was very hard. I just started bawling...like full force. I've written in the past that I had had trouble crying during songs because they were so powerful, but this one got me. I couldn't control myself really. Then I turned around and saw all the lighters with the beautiful flames flowing through the air, and I started crying even harder because that was exactlly how it looked in Philadelphia. I had to sit down when the song ended because I couldn't support myself anymore. Wow. I was just shaking and crying the entire song...it was so incredible powerful...I can't even begin to explain how important that song was to me..wow. After that came upside down. I was happy that this showed up because my friend Aleric had been waiting for this....it was extremely good also (but I was still realing from Hey Jupiter). Northern Lad (which had also followed secret time in PSU), also kept me crying. I sat down for this one...and I could actually still see (God bless short people!). Caught a Lite Sneeze had the powerful inserted lines in it again (I swear Tori is possessed during it). Encores: Personally, I though that Raspberry Swirl was musically better than at PSU, but NO ONE WAS MOVING....Urgh. Melissa and I were dancing up a storm but a lot of other people just kind of stood there staring. How can you not move to htis song? It was great because at one point even Caton started jumping up and down and getting into the whole thing....I love dancing to that song. It is so much fun... Graveyard appeared for the encores and this was a great lead in to TIYH. TIYH is one of my personally favorites. Everyone waved to her as she sang, "Maye its time to wave goodbye now..." As a lot of other people had noted, she played Mary for the first time WITH the band this tour (she has played it before, just not with a band). It was really great, because before she played it, she said something like, "AT the end of the show, they can come foward, don't worry about it, they always do it" in reference to the security guards trying to keep the crowd back. So we leaped over chairs and ended up about two heads back. Then she played Mary, which was amazing with the band. The finally song was Spark, which I thought was kind of strange because It was a weird note to end on. I kept waiting to hear Muhammed My Friend...we were in BETHLEHEM for Chirsts sake (no pun intended). She even soundchecked the song. I thought she was going to close with it. Oh well... Afterwards the meet and greet was kind of crazy. I didn't even attempt to get up in there. Oh--someone posted about the PSU show that they were mad that the poeple in the fornt didn't move back to let others in, but Steve tells them not not. It is too dangerous to try to have the people in the front move back, so he specifically tells the poeple in the front that they can't go anywhere. It isn't their fault. Tori took a long time to come out. I don't think she came out till 12:30 (an hour and a half wait!). It was said that she had a long guest list though, so she had to see a lot of people inside. (Don't worry Marian and Phyliss, I will get your requests to her Wednesday...I promise) I eventually got home at 10:00 the next morning (ugh)...we stayed at a friends till 7am then drove home...classes were not so fun. It is so hard trying to follow shows when you have school... Well only one more show for me (unless some miracle happens and My French teacher decides to resheducle my final oral examen...). I hope Siren shows in Newark (NEWark Richard...not neWARK) new jersey.... Only a few more shows left now...sigh. Becky, the little raisongal of tori-gum fame. From Alaric SmithNovember 25, 1998 - Heya, this is my first ever review for the Dent, so, sorry if it sucks or something. Anyway, this was my fourth Tori show, and I have to say, it was my second-favorite. It wasn't quite as good as the Mt. Pleasant show, but it was damn close. ObNitpick: It was almost the same setlist as the State College show. But anyway, to truly understand what I and my friends went through for this show, I have to tell our story, before going into the review. I like to get everyone into the same mood I was in, so, just scroll down if you're in a hurry and just want my review. It all started on Saturday in State College. My girlfriend Crystal and I had arrived at about 8:30 AM there, and talked to a whole slew of cool people. Anyway, we met up with Becky and Phyllis there. Turns out Becky goes to PSU too. Anyway, after a large amount of scheming, plotting, and walking around with dark glasses on, we figured out a way to get to the Bethlehem show. YAY! Unfortunately, Phyllis had to go back to Virginia, so it was just me, Crystal and Becky. Or so we thought. Plotting a route to Bethlehem, we realized something; our route took us right past our friend Amy's house. So, after trying for 3 hours to get a hold of her, we added another person to the party. I'd had college board interviews earlier in the day, so we didn't get going until about 2:30. This was one of those drives where you wished the maps told you how incredibly heinous the roads are. Note to all reading this: NEVER drive PA highway 61 if you can help it. Well, the drive... We took a nice little jaunt through Amish country, and thankfully didn't get stuck behind any buggies like last time. :) Our #1 hoot of the day was seeing all these Amish on scooters. The hell? They're allowed to have scooters!? Well, if rollerblades are okay, I guess scooters'd have to be, too. After we exited Bassackwardsville, USA, as I like to call it, we went through a long string of little towns that all looked exactly alike. Being from Michigan, I noticed something interesting. Most Pennsylvanians don't have front yards! What's up with that? All these houses right butt-up next to the streets. After a hair-raising drive down the Schuylkill Expressway (AKA Sure-kill Expwy.) we finally arrived in Penn State's Schuylkill campus, which actually has less students than the amount of people who are in Crystal's bio class at main campus. Small-ass school. Anyway, we had told Amy to be ready ahead of time, but when we got to her dorm at 5:30, her roommates (who were EXTREMELY rude) told us she'd gone to the cafeteria for dinner. Collective "WHAT THE HELL!?" from me, Crystal, and Becky at this point. After looking for Amy for nearly 10 minutes, we found her, asking US where WE had been. ACK! After convincing Becky that performing an 81st trimester abortion on Amy was not the answer, we started off again, with Becky at the wheel, myself having been driven NUTS by that stewpid road ("My God, the car is singing Me and a Gun!"). We popped in Y Kant Tori Read, and laughed ourselves silly for a little while (like we needed to be any sillier). By this time, EVRYONE was pretty tired, and Tori-fixated. So much so that Crystal, upon seeing a sign that read "FORT MOTEL" Crystal said, sleepily, "Look guys, it's the Tori Motel!" After an uneventful rest of the drive, we finally got to Stabler arena,
where we immediately ran into the living avatar of 1982 (if you've seen
his clothes you know what I mean :), Josh, who told us that there had
actually been a pre-show meet-and-greet.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
Ah well, nothing we could've done about it anyway. After pulling
ourelves off the ground, we walked over to the ticket window in order to
see if there were any tickets available. There were, but there weren't
any good seats. So, we set off looking for scalpers. It was now 7 PM,
and there was a huge line stretching about halfway around the building.
Those of us waiting for scalpers wondered what the deal was, as the
doors weren't open yet, and the show was _not_ GA. A new friend we'd
just met, Jason, put it best; (sorry if I misquote) "People apparently
just like to be herded like cattle". Judging from the line, he was
absolutely right. Anyway, after talking to him for a little while, we
learned that he's a traveling poet. What a cool thing to do... Having no
money, I was unable to buy his book O'poems, which I regretted greatly;
I read a couple, and they were extremely good (sorry, I'm tired and
running out of good adjectives)... The foreword's even written by Tori!
I promised him I'd buy a copy in Grand Rapids, so it's all good.
Well, finally we got our tickets... Two together, and two seperate.
Crystal and I were off to the side, in the 6th row of the stands, about
50 feet from the stage. Really good seats. Becky got 5th row on the
floor, the lucky bum, and Amy got a seat in back, up on the risers.
<<<< The Unbelievable Truth was playing their opening song as we walked in.
They're starting to grow on me as the tour progresses. The amazing thing
was, tonight, they actually said something besides "Hi, we're the
Unbelievable Truth, and our album is available now." Damned if I can
remember anything they said, though. :\
Tori came on completely spontaneously at about 9:15, surprising
basically everyone. The curtain just dropped all of a sudden with no
prior warning, and voila, there she was, dressed in an all black outfit;
a low-cut t-shirt, and some bell-bottom pants. My personal song-by-song
breakdown of the show...
Precious Things: No matter how many times you hear it, this one's a
monster. It just grabs you by the tongue and drags you on a musical
roller-coaster ride from hell. Damn fine opener.
iieee: She does this one almost every night, and there's a reason why.
High energy, with, IMO, the best lighting of any of the songs. Tori
really gets into this song, especially the added verse at the end. This
one's been haunting me all year.
Past the Mission: Love it. The band adds to this song more than any of
the others, I think. Some of the folks I talked to think the Big
Surprise in Lansing's going to be Trent Reznor. Judging from that added
verse in CALS, my thought on that is "Not bloody likely!"
Sugar: I began laughing hysterically at this point. She doesn't play
this song often, but somehow, I've managed to hear it three times this
year! That's a good thing, because I absolutely adore this song, but
jeez... I'm starting to think she sends Steve into the audience looking
for me, and if he sees me, she plays Sugar. Okay, not really, but that's
what it seems like. I've also managed to hear Here, in my Head three
times... The streak for that one ended at this show.
Hotel: This song is immensely better live than on the album. Seems as
though it was written specifically to be performed live. All the
different sections come together in a way that they can't possibly do on
the album version.
Bells for Her: Crystal went nuts. This is her favorite song from UtP,
and she was singing along, doing hand motions, and everything. So was I,
to tell you the truth. No hairpie story tonight, though.
Hey Jupiter: My god! I heard the debut of this song in Detroit, and was
very happy to hear it again this one basically knocked me over and
pummeled me relentlessly, as if to say, "Cry, damn you, cry! You know
you wanna!" The crowd lit up as every smoker in attendance sparked up
their ligjhters and held them into the air, turning it into one big
late-night torch song. And just when I thought it couldn't possibly get
any more emotional...
Upside Down: The opening notes came, and I was just sort of... You know,
disbelieving for a second. Then she started singing and my jaw dropped
to the floor. The only thought running through my head at this point was
"SWEET MOTHER OF KLEE, TORI'S PLAYING _MY_ SONG!!!" Crystal swears I
stopped breathing for over a minute, and it's entirely possible, since
at the time, I was floating high enough to swing from the retired number
12 of Darek Queenan. I was too blown away to sing along. I wanted to,
but my lips wouldn't move. I just sat there, taking in the fact that my
song was being played. I didn't get to talk to Tori to ask her to play
it, so just let me say thank you from the bottom of my heart to whomever
requested it. You made my century.
Northern Lad: I love this song, but I was still going over and over in
my head
"ohmygodohmygodohmygodican'tbelieveitsheactuallyplayedupsidedown" over
and over. Funny thing, about three rows ahead of us, we saw a young girl
(maybe 10) with her father, who left right after the song. I was
thinking it was a "Oh, I don't want my daughter to hear the word fuck"
moment, and we were making fun of overprotective parents. But we got
foot-in-mouth disease when after the show we discovered that they were
the RAINN auction winners, and were just leaving to go backstage!
Cruel: Great live song, beautifully done tonight. Gotta love that
hands-behind-the-back dance Tori does.
Caught A Lite Sneeze: Heard this one at all four shows, and it gets
better every time. I never would've thought this song could work so well
on the piano.
The Waitress: Awwww... This marked the end of the show for Crystal and
me. I absolutely despised missing the encores, but hey, gotta meet Tori.
Anywhoo, as many people have said before, how will we ever listen to the
album version again? I've been walking around singing this all day;
stuck in my head like a steel pole it is. I've gotten at least three
weird looks from people who I just happened to pass on the street whilst
singing the "I believe in peace, bitch!" part. Though "I want to kill
this waitress" got me a couple of looks, too. During the "Hang ten"
section, everyone was making the hang-ten hand motion. FUN!!!
At that point, Crystal and I made our way to the back of the building.
We'd originally been in the third row of the meet-n-greet crowd, but the
girls ahead of us left when they learned it'd be a 90 minute wait. This
was good, because now we actually would get to talk to Tori, rather than
just hand her our gifts.
As the crowd started to grow, we got a report of what the encores had
consisted of. I've never heard Mary before, and I wish I could have
stayed for it, but hey. What surprised me the most was the fact that
Tori didn't play Muhammad My Friend! This was whispered through the
meet-n-greet crowd like a mantra. She sound-checked it! It was
Bethelehem! No one understood why, and no one thought to ask her the
reason when she came out.
The meet-and-greet crowd was AWFUL! We were in the second row, and I
could hardly breathe. I'm 6'4", so I was able to get a little bit of
fresh air. Poor little 5'2" Crystal was close to passing out. Every time
someone yelled out "Stop pushing!" The morons in the back just pushed
harder. Argh! People make me so mad sometimes. Viruses with shoes,
that's all the pushers are. We tried everything to get them to stop,
including singing really bad showtunes. Kudos to Kevin for that idea,
("Jellicle songs for jellicle cats...") but nothing worked.
Anyway, Tori finally came out, and I got my Hey Jupiter single signed.
Rock!!! Crystal got her LE booklet signed, too. We also managed to get
our gifts to Tori. I gave her "The Great Hunt", by Robert Jordan to keep
her occupied when the tour ends. I had a note in there asking her to
play Upside Down in Grand Rapids, and I said she didn't have to anymore
:). She said it was no problem, or something like that. Crystal, too
stunned to speak, gave Tori her gift, a picture, inspired by the costume
she wore for the Portland encore. She's really modest about her artwork,
but here it is anyway...
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4193/torilprdc.gif/ ... Tori loved
it, said it was "fantastic", and made leaopard noises. :)
Someone in the back yelled out "Tori, what's Maynard like?" and she
replied "Oh, I love Maynard, he's fantastic! He's hilarious... Wanna
hear a story"
Us: "YEAH!"
Tori: "You really wanna hear it?"
Us: "TELL US!"
Tori: "Okay, Maynard had these t-shirts made up for all his friends, and
I don't wear it, for obvious reasons, but it's really funny. You know
what it says?"
Us: "WHAT?"
Tori: "Okay, it says 'Free Frances Bean'".
Us: **Laughing our asses off**
Then someone asked her if she was the girl in Bethlehem, and she said
not for much longer because she was leaving that night. Other people
talked to her too, but they were too far away for me to catch what they
were saying.
Then we made our way back to the car, and I gave a ride to our two new
friends we met at the meet-n-greet, Eric and Allison (Big up, y'allz!).
They were ultra-cool, and gave us food, water, and duct tape in return
for the ride.
We dropped Amy off, and powenrapped at her place for a few hours, and
then headed back to PSU. Once there, we pulled up to Becky, dropped off
the curb, parked the soccer field, walked across the car, walked through
the elevator, took the door to the seventh floor, went into our
lightswitch, turned off the room, changed into our bed, crawled into my
sleeping clothes, closed my sleep, and went to eyes. At least, that's
how I remember it. November 25, 1998 - i hope it is not to late to send in a review! i needed to catch up on the sleep i missed last night. this was my first tori concert ever and it was just
so amazing and electrifing. i was so in shock that i was finally going to see
her perform. i asked the people next to me for a pen to write down the set
list but i was so mesmerized i completely forgot to after northern lad (plus
my friend lost the pen). i hope this won't be too long--i could blab all
night!! here's the set list which you probably have already and some
commenTORIES:
Precious things- i was so prepared for this one, needless to say i loved it.
i i e e e- just amazing especially when she play both keyboards at the same
time. she also extended it saying something how that was the longest they've
it on tour.
past the mission- beautiful, it was always a favorite of mine from UtP
Sugar- i didn't recognize this one at first! the beginning sounded so
familiarand every tori song was racing through my head until i heard "don't
say morning's come...."
Hotel- the live version i think is soooo much better than the album version
Bells for her- this was another one i wasn't sure of when she started playing
it.the band madde it quite interesting. also another fav. from UtP
Hey Jupiter- wow. absolutely beautiful. she mentioned that there were many
requests for that song.
Upside down- !!!!!!!!!. my favorite b-side!!!! i couldn't believe she played
it!! it was funny b/c i was listening to that in the car and telling my friend
how much i loved that song never even thinking she would play it!! that made
my night
Northern lad- all i could think of were the people who liked this song b/c
they played it on dawson's creek. it is the only song my friends know!! in a
way i guess its good b/c now they are starting to like some of her other
songs. needless to say i was totallly hypontized when the song was over.
Cruel- i love this live version. it looked like she was dancing at the
beginning and in the middle she got up from the piano bench and sorta leaned
into the microphone singing.
Caught a Lite Sneeze- i was so sure she wouldn't paly it b/c be played it at
state college. it sounded so cool with the piano. its my fav. from pele.
the waitress- this song was rockin!! they jammed on this song for sooo long
and it was so very awesome.
1st encore:
Cornflake girl- i was praying she'd play this. this is like my theme song. my
friend and i couldn't help but stand up and sing away.
Raspberry swirl- we were waiting all night for this!! the lightingwas so
cool and gave tons of effect. during this one we couldn't help but dance in
the little space we had!!
2nd encore:
Graveyard- i love this song. i wish it were longer. i think my friend was
trying to talk to me in this one cause during the applause she kept screamin
my name in my ear. (sorry mar!!!)
Tear in your hand- this song just makes me so happy and cheerful. i was
thrilled that they played it.
Mary- before she played this she told the security guards to let the fans come
up to the stge b/c we'll probably do it anyways. so of course my friend and i
sprinted to the front i have only heard bits and pieces of this song. tori
said it was the first time she was playing it with the band. very pretty song
Spark- oh yes the almighty spark. i was so surprised she was playing a fourth
song in the encore! my friend with her hidden disposable camera took so great
pics during this song. can't wait to get my hands on them!!
we were going to leave before the encores to get a good spot for the meet and
greet after the show, but she kept playing all these great songs. we were
hooked! i admire tori for being able to give it her all at her shows. they
are so energetic that the concert leaves with you. November 25, 1998 - I'd have to say that I liked the trend in Plugged '98; each show I saw was better than the last. Bethlehem was my third and--most likely--final show on
this tour, and it was a worthy last visit with Tori. The set list was great,
the venue was very nice, my seats were good, and the crowd was very nice.
The Unbelievable Truth are actually pretty good; those of you who have
expressed opinions otherwise, that's fine but let me tell you; they grow on
you. I really like a few of the songs, and the rest were at worst tolerable.
I'd even be tempted to pick up an album sometime...if I saw it cheap...
The set, of course, opened with Precious and closed with Waitress. That
structure to this tour is truly interesting...The same pre-recorded music
before every show, the same opening song, the same closing song, two songs of
"secret time" in between, and then two encores. As I said, though, this
lineup was particularly wonderful; it was great to hear Northern Lad, Bells
for Her, and Upside Down! The Hurt interlude in Caught a Lite Sneeze was
great, too: "I hurt myself today / I hurt myself today / You never did / You
never could / You're full of shit / You never would" The first encore rocked,
of course, but the second encore really blew me away. Graveyard was
beautiful, and lead so perfectly into Tear in Your Hand...and then Mary!!! I
know that she did it in August on this tour solo (and thank you, Danica, for
allowing me to hear it!!!), but this was, as she said, the first time she's
done it with the band. It's even better that way, if you ask me!!! And as
far as show closers go, Spark was about as great a surprise as I could have
asked for!!! As I believe was mentioned, it wasn't on the official setlist,
and I guess they sort of did it on their feet; at the beginning of the song,
one of the sound guys looped in a distorted sample of Tori saying something
along the lines of "You better believe it", and she shot him a really nasty
look, and the clip was NOT looped in again!
Before the show, I chatted up Mark Hawley for a few minutes again, and I guess
he said a few interesting things which I should pass along, as we were talking
about what's going on after the tour. I asked about the live / b-sides album
that's coming out, and he just basically reconfirmed what I already knew;
Christmas time of '99, it'll have a few new tracks on it, a bunch of live
cuts, a bunch of b-sides, and they're going to re-record a few of the old b-
sides. He also said that there is a lot of leftover footage from the Boys for
Pele album which never got used for anything, and so if they can get it
together, Mark says that we could expect to see a Dvd release from Tori
sometime within the next year as well. Needless to say, I was excited to hear
about both, and may I just reiterate what a nice guy Tori is married to!!!
So, that's the show...it was really great to see her again. As for the tour
over all, I still have my complaints; stories are rare, if at all, and I still
miss her piano by itself sometimes. The band is a neat addition, however,
Tori is looking stunning as ever these days, and I would gladly show up and
sit naked in the arctic to watch her read the phone book, so I doubt if I'll
ever see a BAD show!!! November 25, 1998 - OH MY GOSH.......It was a actually a year ago that my friend (ERIN M) got me into Tori (my God)!!!!!!!
She came out and just bowed to us...like we were the performers!!! There
were some awesome looikn people there...I saw someone from an interview from
MTV's ULTRASOUND!! When she started i didn't know how to react so i just
started screaming "OH MY GOD...SHE IS RIGHT THERE!!!!! We had floor
seats..actually all the seats were great. The beat for "Raspberry Swirl" was
much better than the beat on the CD...faster more dance-like....if u can
believe that!! At the end when she played "Mary" and "SPARK" she told the
securoty Gaurds to let the fans come up and like do whatever!!! That was
really nice of her to do that! At the ebd of "Spark" my friend and I ran as
fast as we could to the back of the building to see of we could get her
autograph, but did we...NO!!!! so many people were there and then we finally
got through all of the pushunbg and ew made it quite close but then she just
only like signed something.s..not alot!!!!! She was the best
ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mar ....... e-mail @ pink364134@aol.com with different kinds of info!
p.s i snuck my camera in and got pics....when i get them developed, if you'd
like i could download them 4 ya!!! November 25, 1998 - I would like to start out by saying that this was my 4th Tori show this year, and by far the best! My day started with class (at college) from 10-12. Well,
actually it was supposed to last till 12 but my professor let us out at 11
which was great cause I wanted to head right over to Stabler to meet Tori. (I
am a local). So I got there about 10 of 12, and was #10 in line. Tori
arrived about 4:15 ish, and Just like in Baltimore, I was right behind someone
up against the bars! That always happens. Anyhow, Tori arrived and I was so
excited to have my camara with me! I took about 15 pictures of her, including
one of her and I together. She signed my Under the Pink 8 x 10 picture and
asked my name so she could write "Rachael, Love Tori Amos". Well, that just
did it! It made my day right there! She is so short! I always thought she
would be taller, and when I first met her up close in Baltimore I was like
WOW! Anyhow, she signed everything, and then she went inside. How fortunate
that we got to meet her, since it is her last meet and greet of the year.
Thank GOd for nice weather!
Well, I went home, did some homework, and left about 8:15 Pm for the concert.
My friend Tonya and I arrived about 8:45, and proceeded to the front row!
YEAH! Tori came on about 9:20, and we rushed the stage as soon as the lights
dimmed. Being able to see her without any heads in front of your vision is the
altimate in concert experience! I have always been close, but not that close!
There were times when I swear she was looking at me, and John Caton! What a
flirt! I loved it! Every time we smiled, and waved to him, he would dance for
us! he's too cute! The whole band is cute, and what talent! I truly feel that
Tori's band is the most talented band out now! I mean Tori has always been in
my eyes the ultimate talent, but her band is Rad too! The crowd was much
better in Bethlehem. In Baltimore it sucked! The set list was Wonderful! I
almost fell over when she played Upside down! I am slighty obsessed with that
song! Anyhow, it is now Tuesday, 4pm, and Nothing can bring me off of this
high! Tori is so wonderful, and I am pleased at how my concert experience
ended for the year!
Just want to say Hello to all of the nice Toriphiles I met (The guy with the
dreads, and Josh with the checkered pants!) Everyone was very nice, orderly,
and an awesome crowd all together. I think Tori felt it too! After all, she
didn't want to stop playing, she threw in Spark at the last minute! Overall,
the best ever!
Set list! (which I was writing in pen on my hand!)
Precious things~ Always Awesome! Very energized!
Iieee~Very good
Past the Mission~I am not a huge fan of this song, but I was when she played
it! It was beautiful!
Sugar~ Hello, who doesn't love this! It was great too!
Hotel~Very good live. energy!
Bells for her~ Once again, not my fave, but it was spectacular!
hey Jupitor (solo)~ So beautiful. Tear jerker.
Upside Down (solo)~ LOVED IT! I was hopeing to her this!
Northern Lad~ This song always brings me chills, and to hear her live, hit
those high noted, just gave me chills all over!Excellent!
Cruel~ Very modern, very cool!
Caught a lite sneeze~ Loved it, especially the end whe she adds something like
"you never did, you never will, your full of shit!"
Waitress~ this is my song, and in concert it just kicks ass!
1st Encore:
Cornflake girl~ Classic! it was great!
Rasberry swirl~ couldn't stop Dancing!
2nd encore:
Graveyard~(solo) very sweet, and beautiful
Tear in your hand~ Classic! Love it when she plays this song!
Mary~ never heard before, and I loved it! What a way to hear a new song!
Spark~Energy at the end of the show! a great surprise! BEST SHOW EVER! November 25, 1998 - This was one of the best concerts of tOri in Pa...maybe it was the adrenaline rush i got, because i was driving in a place i have never been too....this
always makes my nerves esculate....when i found Stabler Arena I started to
build the excitement....I arrived at Stabler around 7:30 and that was perfect
timing because that's when they left everyone in...
So Unbelievable Truth were awesome...I am really beginning to like there
music...because I think once you listen to them a couple of times in concert
the music starts to sink in!!! If anyone knows the first song they played
please email.....I know they played Landslide (my favorite) and I think
another one they said was called Building....fantastic!! I was sooooo happy
no one screamed "get off the stage, we want tOri" i hate when fans do
that....
tOri came on with precious things..great of course!! She introduce her
"brothers" Steve Caton....and cuja...Matt Chamberlain.."he likes to hit
things"....of course the "wonderful Jon Evans"
For anyone seeing the future concerts.,.and i hope you do..watch JON EVANS
when they play Cruel!!!!!!! Holy fuck does he kill his guitar...i could not
take my eyes off of him (and not because he is hot..lol) Trust me and
watch....
Stabler Arena is one of the best places for tOri to have had a concert...the
lighting was ten times better than the ones in other arena's in pa...maybe it
was because I was stuck in the front row for general admission and i never
really got to absorb anything except other people smooshing me....but this
time i just absorbed everything...Stabler had an awesome echo...it was part of
the stereo equipment..and it made tOri's voice circle around the arena!!
I heard 'Mary'..during sound check at penn state...two girls and myself got
in early because of the raiin auction...we didn't know what the heck tOri was
playing...until last night I got a flashback when she played it....
Sugar and Caught a lite sneeze are AWESOME LIVE!!!!!!!!!! I hope they will
be on the live album...fantastic.....The crowd at Bethlehem was awesome...we
banged on the chairs for tOri to come back and do encores...... People were
dancing and having blast....
Thanks to Beth for sending me a ticket....best wishes to you and everyone
else, have a nice holiday, November 25, 1998 - Hello. This was my first ever tori show & i must say it was so great. Unbelievable Truth: they were all right. They played for too long, well that's
what i think. i was anticipating tori too much.
Our seats we're so great 2nd row yeah & when tori started i was 2nd row of
people near the barricades. whee ... it was so enjoyable
Precious Things- was so powerful
iieee- i was crying... "you took my baby" i thought it was cruel
at first
Past The Mission-- a great suprise
Sugar-- so great i was just thinking i would die if i heard this
& i did ... i went to tori heaven
Hotel-- very cool
Bells For Her-- i think it took everyone a while to figure this
out
Hey Jupiter (solo)-- fantastic
Upside Down (solo)-- i love this song but i didn't really want to
hear it
Northern Lad-- so great very sad
Cruel-- i really never liked this song but great live
Caught A Lite Sneeze-- not as good w/out harpsichord
The Waitress-- great very loud & great improvise.
1st Encore:
Cornflake Girl-- i had another spasm when i heard this one
Raspberry Swirl-- no one was dancing... i was suprised i like the
way it sounded
2nd Encore:
Graveyard (solo)-- i love this song very cute
Tear In Your Hand -- so great everyone started to sing along...
Mary- said it was 1st time on concert think w/ the band. huge
suprise... everyone was singing.tori thought she would screw up it was just
fine
Spark-- very nice, good end to a fantastic night
but i wanted to hear space dog but i didn't get to.... thank you I'm done no
meet & greet for me, had to go to silly school November 25, 1998 - My bestest friend kimby and i went to see the bethleham show last night. We have been to see tori six times and this was the 2nd best show we've
ever seen!! It was just wonderful. Getting to hear "Mary" was such a
treat b/c it's such an ultra rareity. Tori was so beautiful, and we all
know how much she loves playing at colleges.......
You guys have the set list, but i don't think that that even begins to
describe how great it was. We had 23rd row seats, but we ended up being
5 feet from Tori during "Mary"!!! This is proabably our last show for
this tour, but what a way to end an amazing tour. November 25, 1998 - ok.... so let me start off by saying,....AMAZING SHOW. I have been to many tori shows and granted, they all rocked but let me tell you this one was up
there. I might be saying this from a somwhat bias point of view because she
played the song i requested at the meet and greet (Upside Down) but still, all
in all, this show was great!
My friend and I arrived at the arena around 10:00 am. There were only a few
of us there so I managed to get number 4. We waited and waited, as usual, but
as soon as Tori arrived wearing her cute little black shoes (I took a picture
of just the shoews by the way, I think they had velcro on them!!!) and acting
all calm as soft-spoken as usual It was all worth it. Tori came out and I was
the second person she spoke to. I took a picture of her and my new friend that
I met at the show and then next was me. I gave her a gift and she thanked me
for it, and I also asked her to take a picture with her. She kindly accepted
and i got to put my arm around her as we took the picture. She patted my arm
as I asked her to play upside down and then she wrote it on her hand along
iwth around 5 other songs that people had asked her to play. She hung out with
all of us for a good 10 minutes or so and then she was off....What an amazing
meet and greet!!
so.. on to the show...
Basically I loved the set list. My favs were Precious things (as usual),
iiee, Upside Down !!!!!!!!!!( I can not tell you how happy i was when she
played this, I was hysterical!) Northen Lad (my friend Donna also requeetted
this song), Tear in your Hand (such a great song) and Mary (beautiful ,
beautiful, beautiful!!)
Since my friend and I had balconly seats , we were the only ones going crazy
dancing, everyone else was calm and collecte and sitting down . Regardless of
the dirty looks we recieved because we were so into the show, we still had a
great time. My favorite part of the show was duing the time when Tori said
something along the lines of "Security guards, don't worry, they always come
down to the front for the last song. During this momient everyone ran up
twords the stage, myself included, as donna and I leaped down the 5 foot drop
off between the floor seats and the bleacher seats. That was crazy but we
made it and got up really close to hear the last few songs.
Well... right now... i'm emotionally drained but i'm off to the Newark NJ show
next, and unfortunately I think that will be the last of the Tori shows for
me . Unfortuately, I can not make the last show but hopefully Tori will be
back in a few years, and as usual I will be there along with all her friends
and fans welcoming her back with open arms. November 25, 1998 - this show was amazing!
mostly because i was able to have great seats and i was able to see
her movements.
She played alot of songs i was hoping to hear her do.
PAST THE MISSION--i love the little music part where it sounds
medival flutish... hard to explain.
HOTEL my fave song from choirgirl....alot of people say this isnt
theor fave but it's mine and i love having the chance to hear it
live.
SUGAR the best performance of sugar i have ever heard and seen also
demonic.... what range she has!
UPSIDE DOWN this is also a fave of mine. i used to lock myse;f
in my room and listen to this over and over.
CRUEL first time i see the sacrifice pregnant belly movements.
awesome.
i hope delaware is this good.
it was finally great to see her on a night with no other
interferences. last time i saw her in july for the philly show she
was sick and before that when she would play upper darby i always
went on the night when it was shorter because she had 2 shows the
same night.
this was the best show i have seen her do.
she blows me away everytime.
mara
p.s security was tight as a diamond if anyone was lucky for a bootleg
let me know... orti4711@rowan.edu November 25, 1998 - Oh my gods. Hi. i havent written in a while i think, been so busy. I went to my first tori concert last night. oh, man, it was so beautiful. I didn't
happen to see any of the online toriphiles, but i met some interesting people
(tori concerts are a great place to do that) and damn it, it was absolutely
breathtaking. The opening band, unbelieveable truth kinda sucked, onl;y
becuse if guys are gonna play music it kinda has to be hardcore. Dont ask me
why. well, tori opened with precious things and closed with spark and damn
it, it was so great. Cruel fuckin rocked, it was so great.
to me, tori is devided into happy songs and crying songs. She played all
happy songs which left me feeling happy which pissed me off kuz i really like
her crying songs more, and so i didnt cry for hours like i would've if she'd
played different songs. So, that kinda pissed me off. I really wanted
leather, silent all these years, crucify, winter, china, playboy mommy, she's
your cocaine, but sadly no. she played iieee (sp?) and northern lad and hotel
and i forget what else. There were I think 3 encores. it was so great.
thank you for listening to my nothingness. just had to share. November 24, 1998 - The show was unbelievable, but the unbelievable truth just played to long on stage. It was a good band and all but totally unworthy of opening for Tori
and after the second song i had enough. The music was just perfect and I
think the really steadfast veterans had a good show. She did sugar which i
totally did not expect and made my friend almost pee in her pants. Tori
totally made my day even though if it was only two seconds by singing a bit
of hurt from NIN during CALS. My seats were incredible along with the fact
that the arena was really small made it an even more awestruck experience.
The only new song i noticed besides sugar that was new was Mary which i
think is a bside from the very rare single of China. Tori said "now this is
the first time we are going to do this so we are going to @#$% up." I can't
compare her disposition to other recent shows because this was my first of
seeing her ever but she seemed on the ball and ready to knock the crowd
dead. I saw no signs of the supposed Mr. puppet or its merchandise or her
tiger doll. The was an appearance by the Three Kings Of Tori who wore garb
like the Three Kings of the Orient bearing gifts for tori but they didn't
get a chance to give it to her and said they would probably do it in the
Delaware show. This was her first time in Bethlehem and everybody had a
great time November 24, 1998 - Richard called this a "swell" show. Tori came out with a really intense Precious Things. The concert started with a fast pace, but slowed a little as it progressed. Tori hit the stage at 9:23PM and left the stage at 11:07. The main set ended at 10:33. This show marks the first time Tori has ever performed Mary live with a band. Graveyard was not listed on the official/written set list. (It never is usually.) November 24, 1998 - Before I start my review, I have to pass on a message from Steve [one of Tori's bodyguards]. Don't expect any more pre show meet & greets. It doesn't matter if the show is general admission or not. We lucked out because it was unseasonably warm today. [Note From Mikewhy: It turns out Tori DID have a meet & greet the following day in Newark, DE. because the weather was once again warm.] I had such a blast today and am currently still basking in the
"just came back from a Tori show" glow. We arrived for the meet & greet
around two and the guy who gave Tori the KMart vest in Baltimore numbered
us. I don't think any more than a total of 50 people showed up and we
all followed the number system. It was great. We saw Caton walk in,
then Matt, then Jon (who waved to us!), and then Tori!! I was a bunch of
people back, so I didn't get to talk to Tori, but she did sign my God
single. We went to get a quick bite to eat and came back in time to hear
parts of the sound check (really well). We heard Hotel, iieee, and
Muhammad My Friend (which she didn't play during the show). And then we
were ushered away from the door. We must have looked so comical because
our ears were squished against the glass. Steve came out to talk to us
for a little bit. And the Unbelievable Truth was playing soccer out
front. It was so cool. Nobody bothered them or anything. I said "hi
Unbelievable Truth" as we walked by and a little later almost got hit in
the head with the ball. Tonight's crowd was soo much more polite for
their set and they seemed to be happier. I discovered the more I hear
them, the more I can distinguish songs -- they don't seem like one long
same song anymore. And Tori came out. Oh my god. I just can not
articulate my joy. She was just amazing. She wore slim grey pants and
her off the shoulders black top and her boots. No sparkly apron tonight.
The energy was simply amazing. And I was back far enough to enjoy the
lights and Tori's interaction with the guys (the previous two shows I had
been front and center). Really great seats. But there weren't really
any bad seats there, and the sound quality was amazing. I can't say
enough good things and I don't know where to begin. I love Sugar and
Cruel with the band. And Tori did her little butt dance during Cruel.
She actually did a lot of dancing tonight. She played Hey Jupiter and
Upside Down during solo time -- amazing, two of my favorite songs and
they always make me cry. Caught a Lite Sneeze has finally won me over
plugged. The first time I heard it, I missed the harpsichord. But, now
I just can't get enough of it. And she did Hurt towards the end of CALS.
What else? The first encore was exactly the same as State College (I am
so not complaining). Cornflake Girl and Raspberry Swirl. I couldn't
stop dancing! I was surprised at the multitude of people NOT on their
feet though! I mean come on! Second encore four songs!!! Which is
pretty cool because at the first show I went to she played one song in
the second encore, second show two, third show three, and fourth show
four And I don't think they were planning on playing Spark at the end
because Tori had a little huddle with the guys beforehand. After the
show, I pulled a cool Tori card the window of the arena. And my mom
asked the security guards if we could take the poster over the window, so
I grabbed a chair and my really tall friend (hi Megan!) got it down. So
she has it. Maybe I can talk her into joint custody of the poster...
Amazing, fabulous, incredibly fun show. I'm a little sad though because
it was probably my last this tour. Unless I can somehow convince my mom
to let me go to Newark. Here's hoping. As an after note, what happened
to Matt's deely-boppers??? Raspberry Swirl isn't the same without
them... Another thing. Tori said it was the first time they were playing Mary,
but I've sworn they have played it before on this tour. Mary was also
quite fabulous. It was the first time I heard it (so I think it was
Mary, but I could be wrong). November 24, 1998 - Just returned from the Bethlehem, PA show. All I can say is wow. I've been to my share of concerts from the Chicago Symphony to local garage bands but
this is one of the very few that will stay with me for a while I can tell. It
ranks up there with the Stones tour in '89 and the surprise Peter Gabriel show
here in Bethlehem a few years ago.
Favorite moments:
Solo Hey Jupiter almost brought me to tears.
End song "Mary" left me just plain speechless.
Such emotion in her...wow. The concert was almost a cathartic experience. I
feel drained but yet calm and ready to face tomorrow.
Also an apology,
To the nice High School girls I met at Denny's afterwards. It was nice
speaking with you about the show. Unfortunately the loud middle aged oafs at
the corner table had to ruin it by loudly asking across the restaurant after
you left the table but before you left the building if I had got your phone
number. The world is full of jerks and somehow I always end up apologizing
for their actions. I assure you that my intentions were merely to chat with
fellow Tori fans in the shared bond of friendship. All the best. November 24, 1998 - I'm just going to post the incredible setlist & a few quick comments, b/c it's 3:00am & I have to get up to go to Newark tomorrow.
Precious
I'm told the 1st encore was:
& The second encore was: I got to meet Tori after the show! =)
I'll post more later but now I have to get sleep. See you all in
Delaware! November 24, 1998 - stabler arena - lehigh university
precious things IT WAS A SPECTACULAR SHOW; bells for her, northern lad, and upside down
were three definite highlights. November 24, 1998 - wowowow. i just got back from my first Tori concert, and it was amazing. i will send my full review for the show later today (it's tuesday now, :) )
here's tonight's set list, complete:
Precious Things
Encore 1-
Encore 2- p.s. i met beth and anthony, and beth said Tori got my letter (grin). they're
sweeties! :) |
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