Tori performed in Toronto, Ontario on Friday, November 22, 2002 at the Sears Theatre at the Air Canada Centre. The show began at 7:30PM and Howie Day was the opening act.

Set List

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Cornflake Girl
Scarlet's Walk
Take To The Sky
Precious Things
Strange
Crucify
Wednesday

Band leaves

Cloud On My Tongue
Winter
Marianne

Band returns

Your Cloud
Concertina
Sweet Sangria
Lust
Hotel
I Can't See New York
Spring Haze

1st Encore
Pancake
Past The Mission
Horses

2nd Encore
Taxi Ride
Playboy Mommy

Reviews

For more reviews, please check out the Dent's Tour Reviews Forum. Please post your own review if you were there! The latest reviews are at the bottom of the page.

From Marla Tiara:

Marla was the first to email me the set list. She got it from her friend Deb who called her on the phone.

From Paul:

Wampum Prayer
(I also think this was pre-recorded)

A Sorta Fairytale
(Though I love the song, this version left much to be desired)

Cornflake Girl
(I was so happy to hear this...second time for me live, a lot like the plugged tour but not nearly as long)

Scarlet's Walk
(I soooooo didn't wanna hear this...and yet it's one of the songs that most resonated in me at the end of the night)

Take to the Sky
(First time live- I loved it. The funny thing is there was this almost tangible nervousness in the air with the whole 'should I clap or not' some did and some didn't.) I didn't clap cause people around me were whispering things about the "clappers" LOL

Precious Things
(I never tire of this girl, or of this version...definitely like the plugged tour...and 5 1/2 week tour.

Strange
(Though I kinda, sorta like the album version, I found the live version lacking any life whatsoever.

Crucify
(My opinion and mine alone I'm sure...she committed assault and battery to this classic. We were all clearly thrilled when she turned away from the wurly? and played her Bos...we applauded everytime she did. On the wurly it was like listening to someone you love being tortured...slowly.

Wednesday
(I worship this song...amazing live or recorded, how I wish it were longer:)

-Roadside Cafe-

Cloud on my tongue
(I freaked when I heard the opening notes to Cloud..a beauty)

Winter(I welled up to this...she still plays it with so much emotion..what a treat:)

Marianne
(At first I couldn't make out by the opening what this was...I thought siren and almost had a heart attack right there. Though it wasn't I was still thrilled to hear Marianne---my first time live. Lovely.)

Your Cloud (band is back)
(I still haven't gotten into this one yet?)

Concertina
(It sounded great--I love when she plays both at the same time:)

Sweet Sangria
(It sorta {believe it or not} wasn't as good as the studio version. IMho)

Lust (Loved it)

Hotel(AMAZING!!!!)

I can't see new york (I so expected it and built it up in my mind to the point that tori could never meet my expectations...nonetheless it was touching.)

spring haze (Verses great...the chorus sounded a little off.)

encore 1

Pancake(Great-another current fave, the audience received it quite well too.)

Past the Mission(What can I say, I felt blessed to the bone...one of my all time faves. This new version is really beautiful too.)

Horses(Just pure heaven...I felt like I got more than my share of Tori classics this evening..and this was a jazzy new version too. Kinda took me by surprise being that I'm used to her doing it solo..but the band gave it new life.)

encore 2

Taxi Ride( I so hoped she would play this, and just as I started to give up hope---Bang! The audience ate this song up. People dancing, singing along...celebrating life...very moving.

PLAYBOY MOMMY (w/band)(O.K. so knowing this was the end, and the fact that Playboy is one of my all time faves I had to let some emotion out...and did. I kinda sorta welled up here.

All in all it was a great evening. From her cute little dances, from calling us "heaven" from masturbating an imaginary dick when someone asked for a request...it was fun had by all.

To those who are still going--have a blast! To those who couldn't make it, well, what can I say at least you wont have the migraine I have...Merci:)

Added to Paul's review later...

I wrote a review for the Toronto show, not a very good one.

At the end I made sort of a slanderous remark about Howie days performance. Fast forward to 24 hours later and I now understand what he was doing (sorta...I guess) but from my perspective it looked as though he was lip syncing. Please offer my apology for the remark

I know I wasn't the only one who thought that because my two friends thought so too, as did a few people sitting around us. It was just odd to see someone picking his guitar strings in unison to a pre-recorded? version of his song perfectly...only to stop mid pick to take a sip of his drink...or singing a song then taking a step back and doing nothing while the voice and guitar continue...

Once again sorry if I've offended.

From Brandon (haloeighteen):

Just want to let you know that BUTTERFLY was on the official setlist. It was supposed to be the first solo song during the Roadside Cafe part. But alas it wasn't played.

and as a response to Paul's comment about Howie Day:

Howie Day was not lip synching or faking his guitar playing at all. I don't know where he's getting that idea from. Howie records everything he does live. He has a whole array of pedals at his feet, as I'm sure you know from the shows you saw on the tour already. He records phrases that he plays live and then plays those recorded versions back so he can layer everything/harmonize, etc.

To merely say "he was faking everything" is totally undermining the efforts made by Howie and the talent that he has.

From Robert Ballantyne:

Amos sticks to obscurities and few surprises

By Robert Ballantyne

What's that smell?

The strange aroma filling the Air Canada Centre before Tori Amos took the stage had the audience buzzing. No, it wasn't marijuana or body odour, but the unfamiliar scent of sage. The burning of dried sage (used by natives for purification and ceremonial uses) makes sense for Amos, considering she recently rediscovered her Cherokee roots while writing her latest album Scarlet's Walk.

Unfortunately, the concert was a disappointing one, as Amos relied heavily on obscure album tracks and b-sides to fill her set list. The band made each track sound robust, but after a while, the songs started to sound the same. Amos always started songs tinkling on her piano, and after a few bars, the drums and bass kicked in, and she coasted on her goosebump-inducing vocals.

Nonetheless, about 6,000 enraptured fans filled the less-than-intimate settings of the Air Canada Centre. Amos is an artist whose lush and poignant songs aren't meant for in arenas. It's tough to be intimate in a venue that allows patrons to fill up on pizza and beer or drink pop out of goalie-shaped refillable Maple Leaf cups.

Still, after a pre-recorded intro of "Wampum Prayer," Tori began the concert with a thrilling one-two punch with "A Sorta Fairytale" and "Cornflake
Girl." Tour favourites "Precious Things" and "Winter" made appearances, but it soon became a contest between fans who could guess which song she was starting to play. Fans started to applaud once she sang the first few verses, mostly out of recognition more than thrilled excitement.

It was a tricky set list to be sure and more variety would have helped welcome the non-converted. Even the encores were rather obscure, with Under the Pink's "Past the Mission" ringing most familiar.

However, Amos was far more successful than her opening act Howie Day, an acquired taste that many Amos fans rejected. Day is a typical singer-songwriter, but he uses a bizarre sampler and mixing system on the floor. On stage, he creates rhythms by hitting and strumming his guitar, then stepping on pedals to loop melodies and activate reverb effects on his vocals.

While he was clearly infatuated with this hi-tech gadget, he looked unintentionally like a lip synch act. Instead of witnessing a performance, it felt like we were watching someone playing a video game. Some members of the audience started to shout "Pussy!" and "Where's Tori?!" to a few laughs.

Two of Day's fans returned the jeers with a polite retort: "Not funny!"

No, not funny, but disappointing.

From Caroline (Amarillys):

I really really enjoyed the Toronto show! First, Howie Day was again amazing. I really dig that boy.

But was it just me or it was FREEZING COLD in the ACC? I kept my scarf during the whole show!

Here's some sort of song-by-song review. In bold are the songs I hadn't heard in Montreal.

Wampum Prayer. I decided it was probably a recording.

A Sorta Fairytale. As much as I love that song on the album, I really can't get into it live.

Cornflake Girl. Nice. I'm happy that they are able to pull it out without the guitar.

Scarlet's Walk . Woohoo! This is my second favourite from Scarlet so I was thrilled to hear it. It was beautiful.

Take to the Sky. It was good. But it's not a favourite of mine. People didn't seem to know whether they should clap or not!

Precious Things. As good as in Montreal.

Strange Gorgeous song! I liked it even more live than on the album.

Crucify.

Wednesday. The guy who does the weird "The eagle has to land" dance was in Toronto too!

-Roadside Cafe-
Improv: "Sometimes I whisper things to my friend Matty the drummer. We think we were twins in another life. We were together in a lady's tummy, making rythms. Sometimes I whisper things to my friend Matty the drummer"... Ok this is not exact, but it's what I remember. It was the cutest thing! I was smiling the whole time she was doing this...

Cloud on my tongue. A favourite of mine. It gave me shivers.

Winter. A crowd's favourite and a beautiful song.

Marianne. I so wasn't expecting it. It was great and very emotional.

Your Cloud. It's a nice song and I was happy to hear it but I don't know what else to say about it.

Concertina. Same as Your cloud.

Sweet Sangria. I had heard it in Montreal. It was nice to hear it again.

Lust. I so wanted to hear that song! I almost started to cry when I recognized the beats.

Hotel This song is probably in my top 5 of the best Tori songs. I had heard the mp3 of the Tempa show and I liked it so much. I was hoping for it in Montreal and didn't get to hear it so I was really happy to hear it in Toronto.

I can't see new york.

spring haze. I said in my Montreal review that I didn't like the live version much. Well for some reason, I really LOVED it in Toronto.

encore 1
Pancake. Nice song. And I was up front so I was very happy! Past the Mission. That song would have been amazing, but unfortunately, the girl behind me was singing so loud that I could barely hear Tori... Horses. Nicely done.

encore 2
Taxi Ride. That song simply rocked! I was happy to hear it again.

Playboy Mommy. That was a shock. I was so expecting Hey Jupiter right then. This song is beautiful and hearing her play it live definitely was one of the highlights of the show.

I enjoyed both of my shows, but I gotta say that I prefered Montreal's setlist. But hearing Scarlet's Walk, Lust, Hotel, Cloud on my Tongue, Marianne and Playboy Mommy made the Toronto show very special too.

From Tiffany:

First off, Howie Day was delicious. Very cool how he used his foot pedals and loops.

Wampum Prayer began as I was talking to the gang in front row and I scampered off to my seat. I had a decent view, slightly left so I saw Tori's profile mostly. But I could watch her play very clearly, which I love.

Then came A Sorta Fairytale, and it's not like the song is super meaningful to me, but I started to cry. Maybe it was finally seeing Tori on this tour, after everything in the last year. It was so beautiful, funked out and in a different key [than the album].

Cornflake Girl was fun, and even that made me cry at the "all the sweeteaze are gone". I started thinking of ... of everything all going wrong, and tears fell.

When Scarlet's Walk began, I whispered, "Is she trying to kill me?". I'd had it in my head all day, and now I was sobbing while mouthing along the words. There is just so much power in this song for me, this sense of everything being foresaken, of no longer being able to keep the sacred close. Loss. And a sad freedom found in a journey alone.

Take to the sky. I really wanted to hear this one. A fabulous rage venting song, and with the band it's much more tarty and power-filled. More of a determination to say, "fuck the world - I'll make it!".

Precious Things came next, which I recognized immediately. At this point, there was this brief moment of "holy shit, we're the second ones to get it!" followed by this cathartic wave of tears and anger. I kept thinking that the guys behind me must have thought me mad. But I just didn't care. Precious Things has always been really personal to me, concerning [my sexual assailants], particularly because they were all "good little Christian boys".

Strange is a song that has grown on me, and with all of the recent events, friends lost and friends found, it was soothing to me.

Crucify is always a good song, although after hearing it twice last tour in the slowed down version, I was a little wary when it began that way. But band accompaniment helped a lot.

Wednesday. Hmmm. I could have lived without it, but at least I got to "land the eagle".

Then it was time for Tori to spoil us with solo treats, and she pulled out some lovely choices: Cloud On My Tongue (which is really significant to me so, yeah, I cried again); Winter, which reminds me of [my friend] Leesh lately; and Marianne (ack! I so love this song!). Before Cloud on my Tongue, Tori did a cute improv about whispering to Matty, and how they think they were "brothers and sisters, not lovers", once together as twins in a tummy, telling secrets.

Tori did Your Cloud which is one of my least favourites off SW, although live it's alright. The cloud theme continued with Concertina, which I like well enough, but have heard live before. I started to worry that this show would become Toronto '01, where the set was amazing at first, then became disappointing at the end for me.

But then I heard the next song begin and knew it was Sweet Sangria, which rocks my world. Such a fun gorgeous song.

Insert set killer here: Lust. I really don't care for this song at all. But Tori made up for it with... Hotel. Choirgirl song at last! And one that I really enjoy, although I would rather have Black-Dove, which I have yet to hear live.

A moment I'd been waiting for: I Can't See New York. This song has been gut-wrenching from moment one for me. It rivals Carbon and Pancake for my favourite song off the new album and it's so sad and beautiful live. Very delicate and fragile-sounding vocals make it ever more emotional. I teared up but at least I didn't bawl as I feared I might. The cloud-like lighting behind her was, I believe, supposed to gently ripple, but it didn't the first time they used it.

The perfect next song, IMHO, would have been Not The Red Baron, but Tori went with an equally appropriate choice: Spring Haze! I never get to hear that song, so finally hearing it live was so delicious. Tori exited the stage, people rished the stage and the concert became a stand up show for the rest of the night.

First encore: Pancake!! Hell yeah! I danced and sang along and thoroughly enjoyed Tori and the way she sang the song - voice was dripping with venom. MMMMMM!

Past the Mission: I really adore this song and Ashley had requested it so I was happy she'd gotten her request :)

Horses: I really do prefer the band version of this song. It was haunting to me, and I cried throughout, particularly at the "threads that are golden don't break easily". Scratch the comment about band - I like the band lite version without Caton best.

Second encore began and when Jon and Matt began to play I knew she was doing Taxi Ride. I lost it. I cannot quite pinpoint precisely what about that song penetrates my heart so deeply, but I was floored. I truly was. I suddenly thought of the girls in the audience on Live in NY [video] and thought, "damn I'm a weeper tonight just like them!" :)

Last song: Playboy Mommy. Initially I was a little sad because I am just itching to hear the Dakota Hey Jupiter, but then I cried hysterically. I have heard a lot of bootlegs of Playboy Mommy, and have never really liked how Tori sings it live. Solo, band, all of them annoyed me. This version in Toronto was the Playboy Mommy I'd always wished for. A sucker punch to the gut, no question.

From the Toronto Sun

From ChartAttack.com

From the Toronto Globe and Mail

From the weekly publication Now