Set Lists/Reviews From The Benefit Concert For RAINN
January 23rd, 1997
Updated February 18, 1997
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Set Lists/Reviews From The Benefit Concert For RAINN
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Take Me To The Concert Reviews! On Thursday, January 23rd, 1997 at The Theater At Madison Square Garden in New York City, Tori performed a benefit concert for RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. This was the last live show that Tori will do for a while, so it was extra special. The show lasted about an hour and a half and took place between 9:30PM and 11:00PM EST Thursday. The set list was (and the songs in boldface are the one's that were shown on the Lifetime special that aired the following day):
Photos From The ShowRead About & See Photos From The Lifetime Airing Of The Concert. RAINN Concert Reviews
From a personal email sent to me by Ari (hesser@is3.nyu.edu)
Here's the setlist as played: Beauty Queen - Horses now, I heard rumors on the line waiting for her to come out that they were supposed to do Killing Me Softly as the last song - Caton & Tori, tpgether. Caton confirmed this, actually, but they were running late for some reason - something about taping the thing or whatever. Now, Caton said to me that he HASN'T started recording his album, and that he thinks - this is what he feels, just, you know, a gut feeling, nothing confirmed, that they're going to start the fourth album recordings in the summer, so we just might be getting a new album BEFORE 1999... at least that's what Caton says. I am Ari, from Israel, if you might recall, and I saw Tori coming in from the soundcheck and introduced myself to her and just before Cornflake Girl she said that she knows that the party was over and that she was "pushing it" (not a direct quote - this is the spirit of what she was saying) by doing another one, but that she knows and thanks people who came in from Boston, and Philadelphia (I think), and ISRAEL!!! She remembered!!! I got SO excited... Anyway, the concert was FABULOUS and if you want to post this short review I'm giving you before going to BED that's fine. Good night, and, well, keep up the good work!!!
From a personal email sent to me by Chris (silverfish) (ccs1157@is4.nyu.edu)
I just got back from the RAINN benefit at MSG, and thought I'd send on the setlist and a few thoughts about it. Let me just say from the start what an amazing show it was. Tori was in top form. She looked incredible, and sounded her absolute best. The show also had a number of surprises. Here's how it went: Willy Porter opened, and ended with improving a really cool song about the last time he was at the Garden. It was definitely entertaining. Then, after about 1/2 an hour, the lights went back down and Tori came out to her usual Dew Drop Inn entrance music, Son of a Preacher Man. She was wearing some sort of a black leotard or something with an orange dress-like wrap thing over it. She looked great. She sat down and started to pound out those familiar strains leading up to the single repeated note of BEAUTY QUEEN/HORSES. Her voice sounded crisp and energetic, and she made some great hand motions during Beauty Queen. Then came: LEATHER--always a crowd pleaser BLOOD ROSES--as up as it has ever been LITTLE AMSTERDAM--the "playing that organ" part was extremely fierce this time CORNFLAKE GIRL--she did the dance, although not as long as I've seen it before, but definitely great. Also, she inserted many different names into this song, singing "I know you're with me" THE WAITRESS--This song was a great surprise. She began it with a bunch of improv stuff, which almost started to sound like Twinkle at one point. The last chorus of "I believe in peace" was especially powerful. LITTLE EARTHQUAKES--The girl behind me screamed her way through this one. It was good though. UPSIDE DOWN--I was so glad to finally hear this one in concert. WINTER--This was the most emotional rendition of this song I have ever heard. I swear that Tori started to cry towards the end. You could see tears in her eyes, and her voice was wavering. I had never really been affected by this song until tonight. PRECIOUS THINGS--complete with the grrrrrrl and the gutteral growling at the end HURT/CAUGHT A LITE SNEEZE--I really like the addition of a few lines from Hurt before this song. She also sang something like "I hurt myself sweet boy, and I'm sure, I'm sure..." The Girl Zone part between the piano and the harpsichord was different than I'd ever seen it too. Not as long as other times, but she seemed to move her head back and forth away from the mic a few times. TALULA--It rocks. We all know that. ME AND A GUN--A very respectful audience. And yes, she yelled the word FLAT. MARIANNE--She prefaced this one by talking a little about Marianne and how magical she was. SILENT ALL THESE YEARS--What can I say? Beautiful. Then came a big surprise. For the second encore, Tori brought out Maynard, the lead singer of Tool to sing MUHAMMAD MY FRIEND with her!! I think it's probably the first time she's ever sung a duet at one of her shows, right? And you know what? It was great! Their voices worked so well together. I am praying that someone taped this show just so that I can get a copy of this. Afterward, Maynard left the stage, and Tori closed the show with PRETTY GOOD YEAR. All in all, the show was just amazing. I can't believe how intense and inspired and energetic Tori was. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to be there! Of course, it just makes it even harder to deal with the fact that we may have to wait 2 years for anything else like it. Anyway, the meet and greet after the show was extremely short. It was freezing cold out. Tori only stopped for a couple of minutes for a few pictures and to accept a couple of gifts. She looked happy though, and resisted being shoved into the waiting limo for as long as she could. Ok Mike, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm so tired and I have to get up for work tomorrow, but God what a great night! I hope Lifetime airs a significant part of the show tomorrow. How was what they aired on the web? Once again, thanks so much for maintaining such an incredible webpage!!
From a personal email sent to me by Michele (icicle@sprynet.com)
i just got back! it was really great and i did get to meet tori!!! it was kinda quick but i did get my picture! i wish i got to talk more but there were a lot of us there. i'm lucky i got to meet her at all. here's what she played: beauty queen/horses i'd write more but i'm exaughsted! the show was incredible though!
From a posting to the Precious Things mailing list by Miguel Antonio Gonzalez (speedygo@mindspring.com)
WONDERFUL CONCERT!!! Shows what a little rest can do for a performance. Wish Tori was this good at the MTV Unplugged taping. Lots of LE stuff (including Upside Down). She played for around 1 hour 45 minutes or so, can't imagine which songs Lifetime will have to cut for the broadcast (reminder: Friday, 9:00 PM EST). Jewel list: despite a rumor posted earlier today, Jewel and Natalie Merchant did not show up. The lead singer of Tool sang Mohmamad, My Friend during the second encore. FTE list: causing a ruckus in the first section by autograph seekers: none other than Ms. Sarah McLachlan. That's my 2 cents, time to sit back and look at other opinions. If you need help, or would like to help, please call RAINN: 1-800-656-HOPE To order a T-shirt toll free by phone: 1-800-656-HOPE extension 2 [$25/per shirt, $3.82 shipping, sales tax in DC, CA, NJ & NY]
From a personal email by Joe (Felix) Bopp (felix@viconet.com)
Here's the setlist. Not much time now, so details later! She came out & just played a few bars, recognizable as Little Earthquakes. Beauty Queen/Horses "Thanks for coming" & a little description of why we were there. Cornflake Girl 1st Encore Marianne, w/ a dedication to "One of the most magical people I've ever 2nd Encore(!!!!!) She & Maynard from Tool came out & did a duet on Mohammad My Friend All in all, this was the best Tori show I've ever seen!
From a personal email by Stephen Pielocik (musikae@earthlink.net)
Sorry I didn't post this past night, but I was just absolutely exhausted by the time I got back to Philadelphia. First things first, Tori was at her absolute best last night. It was absolutely amazing to see how much good a little time off did her. She had so much energy and her voice sounded wonderful. She fed off the energy of the audience who could not have been more excited, but was exceptionally (for a Tori crowd) well behaved. Willy Porter entertained the crowd for a while and we all got used to the ideas of cameras floating around everywhere. Then it was time...she entered to "Son of a Preacher Man" as usual. Little did we know that this would not be just any Tori concert. I brought my demons, and we were in for a treat. She entered with lots of horribly cute waves to the audience. (These ended up continuing throughout the show and even in the middle of some songs). BRIEF PIANO IMPROV BEAUTY QUEEN / HORSES - She told us that the first time she sang this next song, she sang it to a man who was in the audience that night. LEATHER BLOOD ROSES LITTLE AMSTERDAM CORNFLAKE GIRL WAITRESS LITTLE EARTHQUAKES UPSIDE DOWN WINTER PRECIOUS THINGS excerpt from NIN's NURT TALULA (TORNADO VERSION) ME AND A GUN ********************** 1st Encore: She told us that the next song was about someone who might have been there at the concert, but was not with us anymore. She told us that sometimes she is visited by this person and she thinks she does come to some of the shows to visit Tori. MARIANNE SILENT ALL THESE YEARS ********************** 2nd Encore: MUHAMMAD MY FRIEND (Duet w/ Maynard from Tool) PRETTY GOOD YEAR Every song had a new personality. Tori had new energy. She was at her absolute best.
From a personal email by Neshx@aol.com (Neshx@aol.com)
Hi there! Here is a review of the RAINN concert that I went to last night.
The show started right on time with Willy Porter. He is such a funny guy..
he joked around with the audience and spoke to us a lot, which was really
nice. I definately can't wait until his CD comes out.
Tori came on at about 9:15, and started with BQ and Horses, of course. She
next did Leather, and told us about how the person who saw her on the first
time she had played that song was in the audience. Later on, she thanked
everyone for coming... it seems that people flew in from as far as Israel to
see the show!
One of the coolest parts of the show was when she did Caught a Lite Sneeze..
she surprised everyone when she sang NIN's "Hurt" as an intro! (a capella) It
was *so* beautiful.. I hope Lifetime airs it!
And the *hugest* surprise was when Tori came out on her second encore... with
the lead singer from TOOL! They did a *beautiful* version of "Muhommad my
Friend." According to Tori, she calls that guy (forgot his name) whenever
she can't sleep, and he sings her lullabies. ;) Aww... In any case, after
that, they kissed and he left. At that point, everyone had charged the
stage, and everyone was standing just watching.... it was almost magical,
really. There was so much power and emotion in the room. She closed with
"Pretty Good Year," which to me symbolized this whole year since BfP came
out, and the DDI tour... the whole deal. I thought it was *very* fitting. :)
It was the perfect concert. Luckily, the crowd was very respectful too..
not too many "screamers."
*NOW*... my little story of meeting Sarah. I had no idea that they were
friends.. I knew they met at the KROQ concert, and Sarah talked about how
beautiful Tori was and that she hoped she came with the Lilith Fair tour, but
I had no idea that she would attend Tori's concert! Our seats were on the
right side near the door to get backstage.. everyone was near the stage
taking pictures, etc. My friend and I walked towards the stage, and all of a
sudden, Jed pulls at my shirt, and screams, "Ganesh, look!" I look up.. and
*RIGHT* in front of me was Sarah! (my 2nd favorite!) It all happened so
quickly.. at first, I was like, "No, it's not her..." and then when I
realized it was, I started screaming at my friend to take pictures. ;) There
wasn't even a crowd around her.. she was talking to two guys. They were
about to go backstage, and started going through the door and up the steps,
so I quickly yelled "I LOVE YOU, SARAH!" She turned around, with this happy
look on her face, and SMILED at me! This is something I will *never* forget.
But it didn't end there... ;) By some wierd mistakes, we ended up going
through the exit where Tori was to leave. (tons of fans were waiting.)
ANyways, we got ourselves a great spot, and then Caton came out! He was
chit chatting with some people, and I went up to him and asked him for a
picture, and he said, "Sure! No problem!" (I know it isn't a Tori pic, but
if you would like me to scan it, I will. ;) )
We couldn't wait for Tori cause we had to catch our train, but it was
allright.. the night we had waited for for a month and a half had came, and
*nothing* would ruin it. ;) Mike: Tori was so excellent yesterday. Surprisingly, Ticketmaster blessed
me with second row seats! I don't even remember hearing Preacher Man
because I was so taken by how close she was. Anyway, she sounded great and
put on a tremendous show. Winter is one of the songs that affects me the
most, but this was an incredibly moving version -- I do think she was crying
by the end. That led into Precious Things where she added some new lyrics
that also had a strong impact. I see that others noticed that she yelled the
word "FLAT" in MAAG -- it actually startled me and made me jump. The
audience was quite respectful. Sarah McClachlan seemed very friendly to the
zillions of people that ran up to her between Willie's set and Tori. The
Cornflake Girl dance was adorable. It's good to see Tori enjoying herself.
I know I did. Before I get to the concert, I should write about the meet and greet before
hand. My sister and I arrived at the theater at about 3 o'clock. We had no
idea where to go, but then we stumbled on a crowd of people and by the time
you see 3 or 4 people with peroxide orange hair, you know you're in the
right place. So we stood there for a while, mingling with fellow Toriphiles,
who as you know are usually VERY nice. And we were blessed with wonderful
weather, about 55 degrees or so, which you know, is considerably better than
NEGATIVE 55. And it didn't rain as predicted.
After about a million people passing by asked me,"who are you
waiting for?" to which I answered to perplexed faces, "Tori Amos" and a
succession of Limos at whose passing everyone's heart skipped a beat We
waited till about 3:50 or 4:00 when she finally arrived. She got out a black
limo and walked to other side of the barricades and started talking,
hugging, etc people. I stood up on the barricade and screamed out, "Tori, I
have a poster for you" or something equally stupid to which she replied,"Ok,
Joel's going to come get everything later." Then, my sister(who's is only
10) and I made our way to the front of the barricade. Tori started talking
to my Cathy, "Hi, what's your name? Hi Cathy. You play piano" (because my
sister was holding the UTP sheet music) And my sister nodded and Tori made a
thumbs up. Then, in my infinite stupidity, I introduced myself as, "Hi, I'm
her sister" I didn't say, "hi my name is Terri." or "hi, nice to meet you"
but whatever. Then I said, "Can I give you my poster" She said absolutely
and then I shook her hand. Looking back, I should have asked for a hug, but
oh well.
I was going camera happy and I'll get my pictures, probably by next week
: ) And it was cool because they allowed cameras in the theater, so before
the show, I went up to the stage and took pictures of the absolutely
stunning 9'6" imperial grand black Bosendorfer and the harpsichord.
On to the show
Willy Porter played 6 or 7 songs including some really witty improvs. At one
point he took a Wisconsin jersey from someone in the crowd and put it on. he
thanked Tori and all the crew for being great. He's a talented, funny guy.
As the melodic tune of Son of a Preacherman arose from the speakers the
crowd screamed in uncontrolled anticipation. She drifted onto the stage,
which was drowned in an illuminous blue light; she made her way to the
threshold of the Bosendorfer, ascended into the world of creation and with
the magic of music beckoned us to follow. we did
She started we a short improv, which led into the ritual BQ/Horses which was
absolutely beautiful
LEATHER-which I've never heard live. Before she played she said, and this IS
paraphrased, mind you "The funny thing is that the first person I sang this
to is here tonight" and some other stuff, Sorry
BLOOD ROSES-she put the headphones on and made the star trek hand signal. A
very moving song
LITTLE AMSTERDAM- after this song, a lot of studio executives in Armani
suits got up and left which was extremely rude.
Then she said, " Hi everybody. This wonderful person is Caton. I
just want to say thanks to everyone for coming. I know we have a lot of
people from all over." Israel, chicago and blah, you know the rest, they
aired what she said on Lifetime last night.
Which went straight into a smashing CORNFLAKE GIRL The energy transfered in
that dance is unbelievable.
Wow, and the shocker of the night, she played WAITRESS in it's entirety with
the added lyrics "Don't think you don't know that I know. I'm closer than
going off(?) What's on the other side" or something to that effect. I wish
that Lifetime had aired this.
LITTLE EARTHQUAKES-which I've heard at every show but never bores me
UPSIDE DOWN-fantastic live
WINTER-so sad and beautiful : (
PRECIOUS THINGS
HURT/CAUGHT A LITE SNEEZE
TALULA-was absolutely great. The back up track really addds the effect. Wow,
energy pouring from every orifice of the theater
ME AND A GUN-the crowd was the most polite I've seen yet. A bit of heckling
in the beginning, but it eventually got so quiet you could literally hear a
pin drop and NO that's not a clichee : )
Encore #1
MARIANNE-first she said, "This is for somebody who is the most magical
person I've ever known. She's not here, well, she would be with us, IF she
was still WITH us, but she's not. I think she visits me from wherever people
go when they leave the planet. I don't know where they go."
SATY
Encore #2
She came out with another guy, who for a second I thought was Michael Stipe
because of the shaved head, but wishful thinking. She introduced him
as,"This is one of my dearest friends. This is Manard from Tool. Then they
did a wonderful duet of MUHAMMAD MY FRIEND. I'm glad they aired this on
Lifetime, it was one of my highlights.
The closing song was PRETTY GOOD YEAR
The show was just great, great, great. A bit of a little earthquakes fest
with 7 songs from that period. The energy vibes from the audience were just
fantastic and that's the reason the show was so good, because afterall the
crowd is what makes or breaks a show. This is a long post with concert details down aways...
Caught the plane from Seattle at 12:55am this (Thurs) morning. Changed planes in Dallas and arrived LGA about noon est. As many of you know, I just
decided to go just ver a week ago and didn't have a ticket. Well, I got
to my hotel about 1, caught a few hours sleep, and headed over to
Madison Square Garden to see about tickets and see who was hanging
around.
Got to the ticket window and asked for a ticket. My ticket person said
to the next one, "Aren't we sold out?" The next lady said there were a
few. My ticket person checked her computer and offered me seat d-8
WWWWOOOOOOWWWWWW Fourth row, just left of center.
Go me dance certainly in order. No Ticketbastard charge or scalper
making a profit off RAINN or Tori.
Then I went around back and probably just missed TORI. Saw some other
fans coming away with cameras being put away. Still haven't seen Joanne
(Hi Joanne) or any other RMTA'ers but I'll continue looking.
Now the concert:
Got to MSG (the venue, not the food additive:-)about 7. Waited around
outside for about a half hour-still no familiar faces-and decided to go
in. Ran into Joel (Security Joel) on the way to my seat. Told him
about my oddessy from Seattle and asked him to wish Tori well for me.
Got to my seat-remember I said fourth row WRONG-they had removed the
first three rows to extend the stage Front row left aisle!!!!!!! Met a
couple of guys from S Carolina that had seen Tori about 10 times this
tour and another couple of folks that had 23 shows apiece. WOW. Sarah
McLaughlin was in the audience and one of the SC guys got her autograph
on his ticket envelope. Kinda very cursive with a peace sign at the
end.
Next surprise Willy Porter (Go Cheeseheads) He did a neat loose show
including some new tunes from his next album and a song about ice
fishing. He appologised for the ratty shirt he was wearing considering
the ticket prices :-) A guy three seats down had a Wisconsen football
jersey on and gave it to Willy to wear. The audience was appreciative
unlike the earlier DDI MSG tour. He was on for about 40 min. They
video taped Willy's performance. If anyone has a tape of this or other
Willy performances, please E-Mail me.
About 9:15 the house lights went down and Tori came on (to son of a
preacher man). She looked great - as you will see on Lifetime
tomorrow. She had a black body suit with black ankle boots and an
orange and brown dress? Shift? (I'll let the less fashon challenged
describe it better) Kinda Halloween colors. Standard arraingement of
Bosey and harpsichord. The Leslie cabinet was prominant to the left
rear of the harpsichord.
BQ/Horses-The audience went wild. Tori was in fine voice and on this
and the other songs of the night very facially animated. Seemed longer
than usual with many of the notes prolonged. about 8-8.5 min
Leather-"The person that I sang this song to for the very first time I
played it is here tonight and I haven't sung it to him since almost that
night... So.. Hah." Again the tempo seemed slightly slower than normal.
Very emotional. about 5 min
Blood Roses (Harpsichord)-Very beautiful. In the row I was in the
harpsichord seemed louder than normal but very clear. When she sang the
line "I think you're a queer" a number of people replied "I am" Tori
was really wailin by the end of the song. about 4 min
Little Amsterdam-Very powerful. [Caton fashon report-he looked great.
No hat, hair done nicely, brown sports jacket, black T shirt and
slacks.] By this time the audience had settled down and there was very
little noise during the songs from here to the last encore. The way
Tori sang variations on the melody some of the time made it even more
forceful.
Tori then said Hi Everybody and introduced Caton. She thanked everyone
for coming and said that this is like when you've left the party and
then come back again, and people say didn't you leave already (Audience
response-STAY). Then thanked people who have been to so many shows and
have come so far including SEATTLE, Chicago by bus, and Israel.
CFG-Great dance before the song-sure hope they show that on Lifetime but
prolly they won't. Maybe a benefit concert video??? Tori and Caton
really rocked on this one.
Audience was really into it as usual.
Waitress-With musical intro-I was just bowled over by the inclusion of
this one. Caton coaxed some neat sounds from his guitar in spots that
really set it off. Bet this one doesn't make Lifetime-Hope for concert
video folks.
Little Earthquakes-powerful but somewhat standard version of this. Good
candidate for Lifetime. Tori was really into it with somewhat raspy
tones at the proper points.
Upside Down-Great rare B side. Strong performance rich voice tones.
Winter-Great-much power on piano and pauses for dramatic effect. As
before, Tori seemed to be taking her time during the song extending
words, etc.
Precious Things-Great performance Alternately strong and then breathy.
20 Second GIRRRRRRLLLLLL.
CALS-With musical intro-First time I've heard her do the intro. She and
Caton combined to make this great.
Talula-Tornado mix with great work by Caton-there was a camera close to
him through the song. If this shows we'll have some good footage of
him.
MAAG-Audience was respecful and by the end of the first few lines
completely quiet(Yay)
First Encore
Marianne-"This is for somebody who was one of the most magical people I
ever knew. She would have been here if she could have been here.
Sometimes I think she comes and visits me wherever peole go when they
leave this planet. I don't know where they go but sometimes I feel
her." Powerful as you might expect.
SATY-Again she took her time. Slightly slower tempo with dramatic
pauses.
Second Encore
Muhammad My Friend-Tori came on with Maynard from Tool and introduced
him as one of her favorite friends. She said she calls him when she's
feeling terrible and he sings her lullabyes. Then they sang a duet on
the song. Neat. Bet Lifetime doesn't go for this either(but I hope
they do) We really need a full video of the concert.
PGY-Maynard went off and Caton came on. For these two songs we had
finally rushed the stage and the audience was just wound-I think we all
realized this was the last time we might see Tori for some time and
really wanted to be in it at the end. Poor guys with the cameras in the
aisles were trapped by the crowd. No sight of the harmonium. Show
ended at almost 11:15
What a show!! Glad I went.(DUH) After the show I searched for familiar
faces but still found no one. Sorry I missed you all-next ToriCon. So
I decided to do my duty to the group and contribute my humble review of
the show. Please excuse my gramatical and spelling errors-it's been a
long day. First off...i went with 4 others to MSG..i myself from San Diego...and this
was my 10th Tori show...and i was determined to say "hi" to her when she came
to do the soundcheck.....so i waited outside...met some new people who are
really cool....and i had asked tori maybe three times on the dew drop inn
tour to play Flying Dutchman...(it was suposedly on the set list in both Las
Vegas and Boulder, which are shows i saw, but she didnt play them
.... Home and groggy, all night on the train, my child unable to sleep.
Exhaustion coupled with blisters, but we got to see alot of NYC.
Jean,Stephanie and I got to the meet and greet. A cool security guard
type was updating us on when Tori was coming, and even gave us brochures
for RAINN. She ended up going to a different entrance and we had to haul
ass to see her. People were jammed against the barriers screaming her
name, as always she was curteous and not really listening to her body
goon, who had all kinds of shitty comments to us "ears with feet", I
thought his job was to protect her, not dole out sarcasm, or maybe thats
just a bonus. Anyways, I called Tori over and gave her the book that
Karen and Michael sent along, she asked about Karen, and gave me a hug,
she remembered me from the Michigan show, and I gave her the book I had
brought. I told her "Thank you!" and she moved on. Jean and Stephanie
got to meet her as well, both got hugs, but I will let Jean tell the
story if she desires.
Everyone was being pretty cool, respectful, not grabbing at her etc. It
wasn't that cold out, and we were all on the Tori high. I had just about
enough of bodyguardboys attitude toward us fan types and I yelled out
something at him, now, I didn't even think about what I said, it just
really got to me the way he was treating folks closer to the stage door,
they just wanted a few seconds of her time, I have come to the conclusion
that she gets alot of the meet and greets as do we all. It's a semi
mutual thing, ya know? Thou shall not stomp all over my fellow Toriphiles
and get away with it. I'm an Aries, it happens, no one else had to
listen to my rant.
The concert was great, aren't they all? Mohammed was so excellent, I
didn't know how Tori would do with a duet, she has such a lone presence.
But they wailed, it was awesome! SATY moved me to tears, the rush of
emotions evoked was unparalled to any other concert experience.
I am still feeling raw and exposed, I am going to take a long hot shower
and sleep for 10 years or so, then I'll be back. OK, now that the official stuff is out of the way, time to ramble on about how
my day went So ....
I got to the Garden around 2:00, but it didn't occur to me to go around back
until almost 3:30. When I finally got to the stage door, Jose and Joanne had
staked out some prime guardrail space, so I slipped in with them. We waited
there for a little, talking to the other people. One person said she used to
read RMTA, but she stopped because "it started to get away from Tori." I
don't know what she meant by that ;)
About ten to four, Joel stepped out into the middle of the walkway and
announced, "We're running late, we need to get her inside, so no autographs."
A couple of minutes later, the limo pulls up and she gets out and starts
working the fence lines. Two things struck me: one was the intensity of the
fans' emotional reaction, more than just the rock-star thing, but on a very
deeply personal level; the other was her ability to focus on the person she's
with and block out everything else (people screaming, cameras clicking, Joel
saying "Let's go", etc). Jose got a picture with her, right before Joel said
"No pictures!", then she looked me square in the eye, and I realized that
instant I had nothing to say to her.
Tori: "Hi."
Me: "Hi. How are you?"
Tori: "Fine. How are you?"
Me: "OK."
[she held out her hand, I took it; I leaned over and kissed her]
Tori: "Nice meeting you."
Me: "Nice meeting you."
(Eat your heart out, Moliere ;) )
Then it was on to Joanne, who gave her caramel apples (but no banana bread).
It was kinda funny watching the stuff get passed around - the fan would hand
it to Tori, Tori would hand it to Joel, Joel would hand it to one of three
guys who were trailing behind, totally loaded down with armfuls of offerings.
She finally went inside around 4:30. "OK, now what?" There was a TGI
Friday's a block away, so we went there. I will refrain from commenting on
that part of the day until the others have a chance to give their side. Trust
me, you'd rather hear it from them.
Our seats were kinda bad, but they could have been worse. We were towards the
back of the room, but pretty close to the center. The big camera crane over
on the right was a bit distracting, even though it never blocked our view.
Questionable Decison Department: the crowd was predominantly teenagers, yet
the Garden had four bars open - and *no* T-shirt stands. You read that right.
Of course, I would have liked a special sold-at-the-show-only shirt, but not
even the standard one was offered. What a missed opportunity.
Willy Porter opened. He did a song about ice-fishing that was kinda funny.
And he did "I Want You Back".
Jose had two words for Tori's dress: "Wilma Flintstone".
All during the show, people would go up to the front and throw flowers or
whatever on stage. At the beginning of "Upside Down", Joanne got up, walked
down to the front row, took something out of her pocket, tossed it, and walked
back. At first I thought, "I wonder what that was?" Then the sickening
realization came to me. Afterwards I said, "Please tell me you didn't ...."
She said, "I did." Look at the tracking shots during "Talula", and you will
see in front of Caton's monitor a genuine official ToriCon '96 "Stuff IS the
issue" condom. *shakes head*
The girl next to me was considerably happier to see Maynard than I was (when
he came out, I was like "Who's that?"), which she showed by screaming in my
ear the whole time he was on. The crowd behavior in general was about the
same as has been discussed throughout the tour.
Walking out after the show, we saw a guy handing out RAINN flyers. Jose and I
stopped to get one, and when we looked up Joanne was gone. We looked around
for a few minutes, then waited in the main lobby, then waited out front,
before finally going around back to find her once again in a prime guardrail
position. It was 11:20, my next train was at 12:15, so I decided to wait
until midnight. Caton came out around 11:30 and stayed out there for a *long*
time, signing autographs, posing for pictures, talking about this and that.
Nice guy. Anyway, she hadn't appeared by midnight, so I gave up and went
home. Reviewer Debbie Stoller reviewed the RAINN concert for the MTV web site. I personally am tired of reviews that refer to Tori as a weird chick and suggest that only young people can get anything out of her music. This reviewer acknowledges and is impressed by her loyal audience, though she also seems to be trivializing Tori as well. Perhaps I am mistaken....
NOTE FROM MIKEWHY: I totally agree with Romain's comments below about the screaming at concerts! In the streets, there is a unique odour of burnt salt grains, those that stick to the
tasty giant pretzels sold on every corner and the smell of roasted sugar coated almonds
tickles my nostrils. Hundreds and hundreds of people, black, white and every other
colour and language in between flow incessantly through the intersection of 7th and
34th, across the speeding waves of yellow cabs, numerous stretch limos, Mercedes,
Jaguars and destroyed washed-green Cadillacs and once-in-a-past-lifetime space blue
Chevrolets. I can feel the subway train grumbling under my toes through the pavement as
fire trucks sirens totally blow my ears out. Policemen are smiling, itinerant vendors
are yelling their merchandise, and an old sidewalk woman sits on a cardboard box between
33rd and 34th, protecting herself from the cold as she hides under a plastic blue tarp.
All I see from her is her shivering hand hanging out of this half-human tent, and I hear
her voice begging for money, a coffee or a bite to eat. A strong wind carries along,
with the grey city sand, lost cardboard pieces, emptied McDonald's fries cups and
cheeseless hamburger papers. A vague odour of rubber hangs over the streets and comes
through, with the Manhattan invisible cloud of dust that glues itself to my eyes, my
hair, into my ears and my mouth. Elegant and beautiful tall and thin women, mostly
dressed in chic black dresses and designer coats, walk by, in a hurry, and enter Macy's
on 34th or Sacks on 5th Avenue. None of these beings looks at anyone. Except the
beggars. Everyone seems totally alone in the middle of this human tide. Children are
surprisingly totally absent from the streets. However, five impressive black teenagers
are rapping their bodies and hearts out at the pounding sound of a huge ghetto blaster
on the corner of Broadway and 34th, and while some watch this improvised show, a sixth
one checks if there is a cop in sight. An old white bearded man is sleeping in a
building corner, his head against the cement wall, wrapped in a couple of dirty, ripped
and ruined army blankets. I walk back to Madison Square Garden, observing this human
jungle in full motion, absurd and insolite, but still fascinating. On the Square, by the
artist's entrance, a group of sympathetic shivering Toriphiles are awaiting joyfully
their beloved musician in the cool January weather. It is almost 4 o'clock now. No
doubt. This is definitely New York City.
I feel good inside seeing Tori's name flashing on MSG huge lighted sign. She is worth
every single letter written of it. And I know that she will be here soon. I know it for
sure. I can feel it now. Finally. This has been quite a journey, coming here from a
distance. So what. Once more, I will have the immense pleasure to see her. And this will
be her very last concert for quite a while. It's like, the party was over and... she
decided to come back, for one last dance with us. Because this feels so good. Sweet
Tori. We all love her so much for this. Tasting her wonderful magic once more. Mikewhy
isn't here. That's too bad. I have a thought for him and what he is missing. It's 4:10.
Joel-the-bodyguard has been walking up and down the human EWF alley for the last 10
minutes, repeating to us that Tori would not sign any autographs. We are about a hundred
people or so lining up along the two fences. But suddenly, a modest limo pulls along the
sidewalk. Joel opens the door, and Tori comes out. She smiles to all of us. She is
radiant. So beautiful, as always. Everybody cheers her name loudly. NYC passers-by
wonder what the fuss is all about and do not even slow down their pace. Tori goes
directly to the right side of the group, behind the fence (of course, I'm on the left).
Hugs, warm embraces, conversationsČ and smile exchanges. Pure joy. Joel looks a bit
worried because she is standing outside the fences. Tori goes on and she does almost
everyone, going from one side of the alley to the other. EWF are very polite
and disciplined. Cameras are flashing all over our Tori. She is wearing a very simple
beige winter coat that has a huge cap hanging on her back. And a scarf. She looks rested
and in very good shape. And she takes the time. Much time. She stays with us for almost
half an hour. And when she finally reaches the girls in front of me, she looks up,
straight into my eyes. Tori's look is so intense, she is so present to everyone, as if
she was there only for each one of us, one by one. Her eyes are the colour of rain,
halfway between grey and green, with a deep transparency. She looks right at you,
straight into your eyes. I smile at her and say: "Hi Tori" and wave to her. She smiles
back and answers: "Hi, I'm so glad you came". As if she had known me forever. And she
goes on, hugging all the girls in the first row, listening to everyone of them,
generously giving them her intense magic. Wonderful healing Tori. You are always there
for everyone.
At 8:05, inside the MSG Theatre, the TV cameras are ready. A long camera pole is hanging
like a giant spider on a stick over the heads of the people on the right side of the
theatre and at times goes down so low that it seems to block their view. I am really
glad to be seated on the other side. Willie Porter comes on stage. People are still
walking in and out of the rows, talking, laughing, eating, drinking. Strange
concert habits , I think to myself... Anyway, he plays his guitar masterfully, but
personally, I dislike his voice and his songs do not appeal to me. But the crowd seems
to appreciate. This crowd is older than at the two other concerts I attended during the
Dew Drop Inn Tour this summer in Williamsport, PA and Davenport, IA. A lot more 30 years
old and a good group of fourtiesh. I've even seen greyish heads. People are also more
dressed up compared to this summer. Is it NYC or the January weather? Well, a few guys
are wearing shorts... why not? After all, this is much warmer than home North. I see
very few Tori T-Shirts. I'm wearing my blue one with Tori feeding the piglet on the
back, but I seem to be a rare breed. At 8:45, Willies Porter calls it a night and we go
on for the longest recess... At 9:10, the speakers announce that Tori is about to come
on stage. At 9:15, the lights go down and Tori walks in, wearing black and red shoes, a
black leotard over which she has wrapped herself in an orange very light cool
semi-dress. Her hair is loose. She waves her cute Tori wave to the cheering crowd. She
is beautiful. She has so much energy that she lets out a lot of aggressiveness during
the first three/four songs. Well you already know what she sang, but here it is again:
Beauty Queen/Horses Encore 1 Encore 2 Tori's performance was fantastic. Cornflake Girl, Little Earthquakes, Precious Things.
She seemed very moved and sad during Winter, one of my favourites. Me and a Gun was
again very moving, as always, but the occasion conveyed to it a special reach that I
believe went to everyone's heart. It could be felt across the audience. There's nothing
else to say. This was a long, delightful and tasteful, great, unforgettable Tori moment.
You had to be there.
In closing, I have a few word to say about the crowd. I will be brief, but blunt. Maybe
you won't like this. IMHO, I don't mind people screaming between songs and expressing
their appreciation in this way. That OK with me. It's one form of expression. But
screaming and yelling when Tori is playing has two important consequences : firstly, it
is impossible to hear her beautiful music, voice and lyrics and secondly, it is awfully
rude to her - not to mention fans trying to reach to her and give her flowers and stuff
when she was dancing close to the edge of the stage - it did ruin her concentration,
believe me, her dance performance was much better at the two other concerts that I have
attended. I also do not understand why people have to walk in and out constantly all
through the concert, and eat, drink, talk and smoke. Yes, you read it well, smoke. A few
rows behind me, someone was puffing a coffin nail. Why did you come to this concert in
the first place if you are not listening to her? That is worse than being rude.
I stayed in NYC, enjoying Manhattan until Sunday when I headed back home in P.E.I.,
Canada, with a copy of the seven concert songs that were aired on Lifetime. Renting a
VCR in Manhattan and finding the right channel for Lifetime on the antique busted TV
that laid in my room, half past away, in this semi-vandalized Howard Johnson joint where
I chased the cockroaches overnight was quite an adventure in itself.
But what wouldn't I do for Tori?
I read this review in the RDT mailing list and was really touched by it. It is so long I have placed it on its own page! Worth the read.
Nicole Blackman reviewed the RAINN Concert for the SonicNet Web Site. This review, entitled "Heavy is the Head That Wears Faerie Dust", mainly irritates me, but also has some positive comments.
I wanted to tell you I love your site. It's really
wonderful. I also wanted to share a great experience I had before the
Jan 23rd benifit show. I was waiting outside along with many other
Tori fans and I got to tell Tori that I loved her {I do wish I could
have
come up with something more but she was standing right infront of me
and I felt like I was gonna pass out any second so I'm grateful that I
could even remember how to talk!!} Then I asked her for a hug and the
next thing I knew her arms were around me and mine were around her.
I still find it hard to believe that it really happended. My boyfriend
got pictures of it so when ever I start doubting it and thinking it
was all a dream I can look at them and know it really happened. I read
most of the reviews from that show and they all bring back memories of
a wonderful night. When she played Little Earthquakes, Upsidedown and
Winter it touched me so much and it sounded so beautiful that I cried. |
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Please give me feedback, comments, or suggestions about my site. Email me (Michael Whitehead) at mikewhy@iglou.com |