Set Lists/Reviews From The Benefit Concert For RAINN
January 23rd, 1997

Updated February 18, 1997

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):

Beauty Queen - Horses
Leather
Blood Roses
Little Amsterdam
Cornflake Girl
The Waitress
Little Earthquakes
Upside Down
Winter
Precious Things
Hurt/Caught a Lite Sneeze
Talula
Me and a Gun

Encore 1

Marianne
Silent All These Years

Encore 2

Muhammad My Friend
Pretty Good Year


Photos From The Show

Read About & See Photos From "Tori Amos Live From NY" - The Home Video Release Of The Entire RAINN Benefit Concert

Read About & See Photos From The Lifetime Airing Of The Concert.


RAINN Concert Reviews

  • A Review From Ari
  • A Review From Chris (silverfish)
  • A Review From Michele
  • A Review From Miguel Antonio Gonzalez
  • A Review From Joe (Felix) Bopp
  • A Review From Stephen Pielocik
  • A Review From Neshx@aol.com
  • A Review From KK
  • A Review From Terri
  • A Review From Jess
  • A Review From Jason
  • A Review From Rose Hill
  • A Review From Redsocks
  • A Review From MTV's Web Site
  • A Review From Romain Godbout
  • A Review From Richard Koppinger
  • A Review From SonicNet
  • A Review From Nanci
    From a personal email sent to me by Ari (hesser@is3.nyu.edu)

    Here's the setlist as played:

    Beauty Queen - Horses
    Leather
    Blood Roses
    Little Amsterdam
    Cornflake Girl
    The Waitress
    Little Earthquakes
    Upside Down
    Winter
    Precious Things
    Hurt - Caught a Lite Sneeze
    Talula
    Me and a Gun
    *****************************
    Encore 1
    *****************************
    Marianne !!!
    Silent All These Years
    *****************************
    Encore 2
    *****************************
    Muhammad My Friend
    Pretty Good Year

    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!!!


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    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!!


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    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
    blood roses
    leather
    little amsterdam
    cornflake girl
    the waitress
    little earthquakes
    upside down
    winter
    precious things
    some of nin's hurt
    caught a lite sneeze
    talula
    me and a gun
    marianne
    silent all these years
    muhammad my friend duet done with mynard from tool
    pretty good year

    i'd write more but i'm exaughsted! the show was incredible though!


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    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]


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    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
    Leather
    Blood Roses
    Little Amsterdam

    "Thanks for coming" & a little description of why we were there.

    Cornflake Girl
    The Waitress w/ an intro I'd not heard before
    Little Earthquakes
    Upside down
    Winter(So beautiful, I cried)
    Precious Things
    Caught A Light Sneeze w/ another intro I'd never heard, something about
    "I hurt myself today"
    Talula
    Me & A Gun(Spine-shaking)

    1st Encore

    Marianne, w/ a dedication to "One of the most magical people I've ever
    known, and she would have been here if she would have _been_
    here, if you know what I mean..."
    Silent All These Years

    2nd Encore(!!!!!)

    She & Maynard from Tool came out & did a duet on Mohammad My Friend
    The boy can sing!
    & she closed with Pretty Good Year.

    All in all, this was the best Tori show I've ever seen!


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    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
    - as she usually does

    BEAUTY QUEEN / HORSES
    - I thought it would take much longer for me to lose it, but I almost immidiately began to cry. I could not believe the power of her voice. It was unbelievably apparant that she's been resting. She sounded stronger than I've ever heard her.

    - 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
    - Slower and lighter than the original. The piano solo was done lightly, but otherwise pretty much the same as the album

    BLOOD ROSES
    - She was exceptional. My one complaint however, was that the piano was miced so well that when she got to the harpsichord on this song, it seemed awfully quiet. It didn't have that power that it should have. Turn it up a notch or two next time, sound guys!

    LITTLE AMSTERDAM
    - Great with Caton on electric! Some new lyrics at the end which I didn't catch

    CORNFLAKE GIRL
    - As she began her little dance by the piano bench, you could tell how much fun she was having. Then she let loose. She started dancing all over the stage as Caton kept repeating that beginning of the song. She was dancing for the cameras and came out to the audience and took flowers and kept dancing. She eventually made it back to the piano and began an exceptional version of the song. If nothing else, I hope Lifetime shows her dance at the beginning. At the end, she did something that really surprised me..she slammed (and I do mean SLAMMED) the Bosey.

    WAITRESS
    - She began with some completely unrecognizable lyrics and I thought she might be doing a new song. Then, "So I want to kill..."

    LITTLE EARTHQUAKES

    UPSIDE DOWN
    - A little surprised to hear this one. I don't think she did it much on the tour.

    WINTER
    - Very surprised, but very touched. Always a favorite that she doesn't do a whole lot lately.

    PRECIOUS THINGS
    - New lyrics "Wash me clean / Wash this thing, daddy"...after the "GRRRRRRL!", she sang parts of the chorus "These precious things...etc." in that low screaming voice. It was almost scary. Chills. Lots of chills went through the audience.

    excerpt from NIN's NURT
    right into CAUGHT A LITE SNEEZE
    - Intense banging on Bosey at the end...some percussion on herself

    TALULA (TORNADO VERSION)
    - I could have done without the prerecorded stuff, but it worked and it went over fine. It was really an intense and exciting performance of this one.

    ME AND A GUN
    - Audience behaved. Tori took it slow. Toward the end, she scared the crap out of the audience. She was singing very quietly, "and you're pushed..." and then almost screamed "FLAT ON YOUR STOMACH". A new twist to this song.

    **********************

    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
    - The piano solo section was exceptionally amazing.

    SILENT ALL THESE YEARS

    **********************

    2nd Encore:

    MUHAMMAD MY FRIEND (Duet w/ Maynard from Tool)
    - It was the most amazing duet I have ever seen. It was a real surprise and a real treat. The audience absolutely went nuts. It really worked, though. I hope Lifetime shows this one.

    PRETTY GOOD YEAR
    - I'm glad she ended with this one. I wish she had said something about Boys For Pele's birthday, though. I wonder how many people made the connection or if they just thought it was an odd song for her to end with.

    Every song had a new personality. Tori had new energy. She was at her absolute best.


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    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 whole night was like one big rush! I am sure someone already sent a set list, so I will just cover the highlights and talk about how *I* met *SARAH McLACHLAN!*

    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. ;)


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    From a personal email by KK (Kat154@aol.com)

    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.


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    From a personal email by Terri (ROBB.YUAN@worldnet.att.net)

    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.


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    From a posting to the rec.music.tori-amos newsgroup by Jess (Jessw@cris.com)

    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.


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    From an email sent to me by Jason (FlynDchmn@aol.com)

    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 ........) so i couldnt bare myself to ask her again, so me and my friends were thinking of ways to get the song across, and i just said.."what if i write it on my forehead?"...and Lisa said "YEAH!"...so she did...with a sharpie....and tori was being rushed in when she came...there were probably 100 people there before the show....and she almost missed me but then Dor (openthedor) pointed tori in my direction, and tori recognized me and said "Hi sweety-pie!"..but no mention of my forehead......i did get many compliments on it tho in hte theatre......so Willy Porter rocked!!!!!!!....and after him i did notice Sarah McLachlan was in the crowd in the VIP section, which was maybe 18th row or so in front...so i go to say hi when half the theatre does too..and right when im the next person to talk to her, security moves us all away....but i did see the set list in which Killing me Softly WAS the last song!!!! right after PGY....i wanted to hear it so badly!!!..but basically the show ROCKED!!! i was happy to see the Waitress again and Upside Down for the first time....i was a bit annoyed that when Tori was doing the Cornflake dance some girls decided that was the time to get up and give her stuff....it totally distracted me (and probably Tori too) from the dance....for the whole second encore the theatre was on its feet....it was awesome!!!!!..its a shame i got sick the next day....but i also heard that a new album might be in hte works sooner than we were led to believe too!


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    From a posting to the rec.music.tori-amos newsgroup by Rose Hill (thorned@srv.ic.net)

    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.


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    From a posting to the rec.music.tori-amos newsgroup by Redsocks (matthewb@li.net)

    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.


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    A Review Of The Rainn Concert That Appeared In The Reviews Section Of Mtv's Web Site By Debbie Stoller

    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....


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    From an email sent to me by Romain Godbout (romang@cycor.ca)

    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
    Leather
    Blood Roses
    Little Amsterdam
    Cornflake Girl
    The Waitress
    Little Earthquakes
    Upside Down
    Winter
    Precious Things
    Hurt/Caught a Lite Sneeze
    Talula
    Me and a Gun

    Encore 1
    Marianne
    Silent All These Years

    Encore 2
    Muhammad My Friend
    Pretty Good Year

    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?


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    From a review posted to the RDT mailing list by Richard Koppinger (rkoppinger@earthlink.net)


    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.


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    A Review Of The Rainn Concert That Appeared At The SonicNet Web Site by Nicole Blackman


    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.


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    From an email sent to me by Nanci (davemur@wam.umd.edu)

    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