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Tori performed in Columbus, OH on Saturday, November 23, 2002 at the Palace Theatre. The show began at 8:00PM and Howie Day was the opening act.
Set List
Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Little Earthquakes
Pancake
Space Dog
Sweet Sangria
Sugar
Black-Dove (January)
Wednesday
Band leaves
China
Never Seen Blue
Twinkle
Band returns
Honey
Cornflake Girl
Don't Make Me Come To Vegas
Amber Waves
Precious Things
I Can't See New York
Spring Haze
1st Encore
Taxi Ride
Take To The Sky
Horses
2nd Encore
Tear In Your Hand
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 Mikewhy:
We had a really nice day in Columbus. We were shocked at the cold weather. Our first shows of the tour were in Florida where it was quite warm. Today it was cloudy and quite cold in Columbus, with a bitter wind that blew all day. I drove to Columbus from Louisville with my girlfriend Amanda and our friend Carolyn. We arrived at the meet & greet where we chatted with people and fought to stay warm. We did warm up in our car listening to Tori's live CD 101.1 broadcast on the radio, where there was an interview with Tori and she performed Crazy, Pancake, and Mrs. Jesus. It was like a small preview of the show that night! We were worried that a nearby Ohio State football game would get in our way, but it did not. But the entire city was obsessed with this game, where Ohio State defeated Michigan. In fact, even Tori referred to it during the show.
I met so many readers of the Dent at the Palace who walked up to me and introduced themselves! It was so fun to meet all of you. It really made the day special for Amanda and myself. We saw many old friends and likely made some new ones. Seeing all these people makes the tour so wonderful!
The show itself was extremely good. It began at 9:07PM. I am not sure what time it ended, but I think it was around 11:10. Tori got off to a really strong start, although toward the end she seemed to lose some energy and even cut the second encore to one song. (She was supposed to do one more song, Virginia, but decided not to according to the written set list.) But that did not really hurt the quality of the show. This show had some great debut songs (Space Dog and Never Seen Blue). We found out later that Tori had planned to perform Cooling instead of Never Seen Blue, which was another spontaneous change to her set list.
The improvs she did tonight were the best I have witnessed this tour. The first one was before Sugar. She sang several beautiful verses with lyrics like, "Sometimes I think of you, let you in, But you're not on this Earth. You are not on this Earth but I let you in." It seemed so heartfelt and made me think of people I know who have passed away, such as Heidi Joy Denney and my friend Stacey Russell from 4 years ago. It was one of the most emotional and tender improvs I have witnessed. I have to wonder what made Tori sing that...
Her other remarkable improv was before China as the Roadside Cafe sign was being lowered. She sang something like, "You are a winner, I am not a beginner...I'm a winner...I have a little sign that lights up sometimes...You can be a winner with me." The sign did light up during this, and the crowd loved it. My lyrics are way off and do not do this fun improv justice. Does anyone know the exact lyrics?
Earlier, before Pancake, Tori said, "This is the town of the victor," referring to the football game. Then she said, "We will be in Detroit tomorrow...We'll make it good for them too."
I love Take To The Sky on this tour. It has great rhythm and an extended ending that is really cool. The only painful thing was the god-awful clapping that always takes place during this song. It gives the songs a Hee Haw atmosphere that is soooo wrong....
During Honey, Jon played the upright bass. This was the first time I saw her play Taxi Ride and I enjoyed it far more than I thought it would. It really jammed! Precious Things was also extremely intense, and the crowd adored it.
If I had any criticism it would be the usual one... Tori needs to talk to us more. We all hang on her every word, and I don't think anyone would complain if she chatted more often. But the music is so expressive, I guess she wants it to speak to us for the most part.
We had a great time in Columbus and are now on our way to Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is so nice to be on the road with Tori again!
From Lily Matini:
Howie Day
missed names of most songs
Brace Yourself
song that broke into lyric cover/improv "Love is a temple, love the higher mind," from the U2 song, "one love"
said he would feel like one of the muppets if he was sitting in one of the overlooking balcony box seats, i screamed out the muppet names, "Statler and Waldorf"
Tori Amos
Wampum Prayer - swirly red disc lights
A Sorta Fairytale
Little Earthquakes
"hey guys, how's it going? great to be back in the house of the Victor this evening, i don't know, we'll try to do it good for you tonight, and if not, we'll do it good for them tomorrow night too, the Brotherhood didn't do so well today"
Pancake
Space Dog
Sweet Sangria
Improv: "Sometimes I think of you, Sometimes I let you paint me, sometimes i let you win, but you are not on this earth, my friend, sometimes I think of you, sometimes I let you paint me blue, but you are not on this earth, my friend, but sometimes I think of you and sometimes I let you live"
Sugar (and hammers he, used, one on me *she hits the piano*)
hugs knees on piano stool before next stong
Black Dove (belts out TX, like she means to tour there next leg)
hand motion with palms back to back moving downwards, like reverse prayer, rad
Wednesday (badass solo drum intro)
Roadside Cafe
Improv? "You are a winner, I'm not a beginner, Maybe I begin at 6 am, you tell me we're just friends, maybe you're a beginner, but i have a little sign, it turns on sometimes, you see, you can be a winner tomorrow with me"
China (pointed to soundboard then to her left ear to check on sound or something after song ended)
Never Seen Blue
Twinkle
band returns
Honey (Jon on upright bass, badass)
Cornflake Girl (Jon slides slap bass, awesome)
Don't Make Me Come to Vegas
Amber Waves
Precious Things (let them bleed lyrics, really belted and passionate)
I Can't See NY (electric white light spirals)
Spring Haze
Encore Part 1:
Taxi Ride - Tori walks back on dancing
Take to the Sky - so rad, repeats 1st verse and "Take it to" at the end
Horses
Encore Part 2:
Tear in Your Hand
From Amanda Morris:
These have been the closest balcony seats I have ever sat in! It hung out way over the floor and we could see Tori really well! I was shocked and pleased.
The usual Wampum Prayer with the curtain. The curtain rose up this time though, instead of fell at the end.
a sorta fairytale - was similar to the first three shows I saw. Really beautiful. She was wearing her same big flowy dress shirt. It was white with gray leaf sploches on it. She had on a gray shirt underneath. Cutoff jeans, red fishnets, and black tall boots that came up just below her knee. She looked beautiful.
Little Earthquakes - I noticed the piano on this one immediately! I love this song. They highlight of this song for me tonight was the "give me life, give me pain..." at the end. I love how she holds the notes long here.
She then talked about being in the town of the victor (refering to the big football game there between Ohio and Michigan state). She said she would be in Michigan the next night, but that she would give them a good show too.
Pancake - She did some cute dancing at this one and she completely stood for the first part on the whirly. Later, on the whirly, she stood and put her foot on the bench as well.
Space Dog - A debut! I love this one. I did take a large notice of the guitar being missing, but it was still great. I think I like it with the band better than solo (and that is rare for me). I like that quiet/loud fluctuations of the song with both the instrumentation and Tori's voice.
Sweet Sangria - same as the first three shows I saw. This song keeps growing on me more and more.
Then she did on of the most beautiful improvs I have ever heard. It was really long, so in fact, that I began to think of it as a full song for a bit. She repeated "sometimes I" a lot at the beginning. Saying "sometimes, I let you in, sometimes, I paint you in. You are not on this earth, but sometimes I let you in" (That is all I can remember.) It was so beautiful. Had it lasted longer, a tear or two may have fallen from my eyes. This improv immediately made the night for me. I began to think of a few people when this song played. My friend Alisha's friend Lisa who had just passed away recently, Michael's friend Stacey who was a tori fan that passed away four years ago, whom I would love to have met. And Nic's friend Heidi, who was also a Tori fan and who passed away two days before the show. Heidi also lived in Columbus, and Michael spoke of her on the Dent before we left for the show. All those connections during this song were all just so strong.
Sugar - probably one of the best I have heard. Her mood seemed really up on this one. She did quite a bit of banging on the piano and hitting some long, high notes.
Black Dove - one of my favorites from Choirgirl. I enjoy it with the band more than I thought I would. (though I still like it solo a bit better).
Wednesday - drums are a dead give-away to this song. It is so high in energy.
The band left and Tori started in on a fun little improv about being a winner and not being a beginner, and here comes her little sign and it lights up sometimes. The improv had a bar-type feel and sound to me.
China - It was so beautiful. It seemed extra long to me, but it seemed to have more power and emotion than usual.
Never Seen Blue - what made her play this instead of Cooling, I do now know, but I love this somewhat rare song. She started "some boy you are.....some boy you are...some boy you are" pausing a good length between each line like she had forgotten the rest, but after the third time or so, she played the whole thing beautifully.
Twinkle - This one sounded so sweet.
Honey - hearing the piano at the beginning, I thought it was Little Earthquakes again! But as soon as Tori started the lyrics, I recognized Honey immediately. Jon was on the upright bass for this one. Closest Tori has ever had to having strings on stage, and it really added so much to the song.
Cornflake Girl - So happy to hear! It had been so long. I love watching her piano playing on this. She seemed quite playful in my eyes! There was quite a difference without the guitar though. I kept expecting it and it was never there.
Don't Make Me Come To Vegas - similar to the first three shows I saw. It was kind of fun to hear.
Amber Waves - had trouble identifying this until the lyrics started. I really like this one live.
Precious Things - oh so glad to hear this! During this song, I could tell she was not quite as "up" as she was for Sugar, but she still gave it a great performance. A short "grrrrrrrrl", but I still love her running her hands up her body like that. It just looks so free.
I Can't See New York - this song is so beautiful. I can't see me ever getting tired of it. I will look forward to it at every show I am at.
Spring Haze - my favorite from Venus and it is wonderful with the band.
Taxi Ride - I really wanted to hear this. It was so much better live than I thought it would be. Throughly enjoyable!
Take to the Sky - Still loving this with the band! I especially love her extended "take to" at the end.
Horses -Yay! My favorite from Pele! It was much tamer than the Plugged '98 version, but I loved it so much.
Tear In Your Hand - same as the first three shows I saw. The band does add more depth and volume to the song!
She did skip the last encore song which was supposed to be Virginia, which I would have loved to have heard again. But I guess she was tired.
The crowd seemed to behave quite well, I thought, from my point of view anyway. Overall, an amazing show full of songs that I had wanted to see for the first time this tour and songs that I loved seeing again.
From Ryan O'Neil:
I just read your review of the Columbus show and got chills when you mentioned Tori's improv before Sugar... , "Sometimes I think of you, let you in, But you're not on this Earth. You are not on this Earth but I let you in." I can shed some light on your question as to what made Tori sing that with such an overwhelming intensity. The afternoon of the show I was given the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session with Tori. There were only about 10 people present and we each got to ask Tori one question. My question was about Kevin Acoin. I asked Tori how his death has effected her work, this tour, this album (in particular the song "Taxi Ride" which has become Kevin's song ) and most importantly her life and relationships. While I do not want to give the specifics of her response I can tell you it was very very emotional. When she sang that intro to Sugar I knew it was a tribute to Kevin.
From Tiffany:
Wampum Prayer: Honestly, what can one say about a recording?
A Sorta Fairytale: This version sounded more funked out. Maybe it was because of the screwy bass in the Air Canada Centre.
Little Earthquakes: I could have lived without this one, but it was a good performance. The "Give me life" part was moving as always.
Pancake: Again! Ra! This night's version was more lowered in key vocally, almost scratchy sinister vocals. Tori rolled her hips at the "benzodiazepine" part, and the crowd lapped it up.
Space Dog: When this began, I was in a state of disbelief. Utter and total surprise and shock. I love this song. What a delicious treat - made up for Little Earthquakes.
Sweet Sangria: Another repeat, but I didn't mind. The Toronto rendition was more tight in terms of transition from Wurly to piano, so this version was good but fell short.
Tori them improved about how "sometimes you paint me blue" but "you're not here now". For a moment I got my hopes up for Spark but instead we got...
Sugar: I knew I'd hear this at least once on this tour! I can never ever grow tired of this song. Never. And she knows it, it seems *LOL*
Black-Dove. FINALLY! I love this song so very much, and I have longed to hear it live. Beautiful, delicate singing leading to a power-house outburst at "But I have to get to Texas."
Wednesday: You know, maybe it's the "eagle has to land" gag, or maybe it's the lack of lead guitar. Or maybe it's the extra drum intro before verses. But whatever it is, I enjoy this song live.
As the Roadside Cafe sign descended, Tori began an improv about winners. The day of the show, the state football teams of Ohio and Michigan had played and Ohio won. She sang about how she wasn't a "beginner" and "have a little sign/it lights up sometimes" and "you can be a winner tomorrow with me". The grin was fabulous - she had this flirty grin and I cracked up.
China: Why must this song follow me? UGH!!! Almost fell asleep.
Never Seen Blue: So gorgeous and beautiful... too bad so many drunken assholes now needing to piss got up and down during it. *insert me stabbing people here*
Twinkle: 3/6 shows I've ever seen. The same day as China. Let's just say the solo section was ruined for me.
Honey: With Jon on the upright bass and Tori in perfect form... Helped to quickly erase the memory of Twinkle. This song is just wonderful no matter how she does it. I can't say enough about Jon's bass work - it makes the song.
Cornflake Girl: This version had less improving than Toronto's version but it was still good. I just would have rather heard another song.
Don't Make Me Come to Vegas: This song is a really good one on the CD, but somehow, I found the live version boring. It just doesn't have the same catchy hook to my ears. Although I enjoyed the way Tori sang "over my dead body".
Amber Waves: I'm really sick of this song at the moment. It's most likely because I initially liked it a lot when we first got ahold of the 6 track promo. To make things worse, I kept getting blinded by the amber-orange lighting.
Precious Things: Again! I'm sure not complaining. While in Toronto this song was this cathartic release, in Columbus it became a rage against the world for me.
Very nice.
I Can't See New York: While Toronto's version was sad, it remained truer to the album version's disbelief and defiant tone ("what do you mean?"). The Columbus rendition was a goodbye, a sad quiet version that sounded as if Tori were in tears, choking the words out. Haunting, like echoes of the dead....
Spring Haze: Gorgeous version, but again, I wanted to scream "Not the Red Baron!". :) Both would work well in tandem with ICSNY. damn it!!
At the end of the song, I joined the throng rushing the stage. I ended up ~ 5th row in the aisle, with a decent view. Tori came back out to crazy applause...
Taxi Ride: Knew it immediately. I sang along and danced, watching two friends standing in front of me hug and sway along... It's almost odd that a song about "Just another dead fag" can unite a crowd to a unified swaying and dancing. Almost.
Take to the Sky: I am really loving this song live. Plus Ty has never heard it live before and it's her favourite, so I was so happy she did it again.
Horses: Another song that I am enjoying on this tour a lot. I think the only improvement would be adding upright bass to it.
Tear in Your Hand: Once again, no Hey Jupiter. This song is really nice with band accompaniment. One fun thing: someone yelled Myra after "time to wave goodbye now" and normally Tori goes "hey!" then continues with "caught a ride...". Well this time, she gave a weird look towards the person who said Myra then went "Huh!" almost like "as IF!". Hello people, she changed her name. Do you think you're winning favour with her calling her that? Assholes.
From Jim Mathers:
Invasion of the Toriphiles
On November 23 I made my trek to Columbus, OH for the Tori concert. Columbus has been a part of my life since College days. Jean and I both attended Capital University in Columbus. The last time I was in downtown Columbus, Eisenhower was President. Columbus is a rather interesting place. It is the State capital of Ohio and the home of Ohio State University. The whole city has a one-tract mind, Ohio State football. On this Saturday undefeated Ohio State was playing Michigan. During the afternoon, the downtown looked like a scene from the movie "On the Beach" where the entire humans race was in the final stages of dying off. There was simply no one to be seen.
However, downtown in its defenseless state was undergoing another phenomena. In the movie "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" aliens replaced human bodies with alien duplicates. Since 1992, a strange phenomenon has taken place in the world where innocent people's brains are being altered. Toriphiles look normal to the untrained eye but phases such as "quickest girl in the frying pan" sends them into ecstasy. They have an uncontrolled desire gather every year or two to pay homage to their leader and their driving force is a short red hair lady named Tori Amos. Their messenger is Mike Way. They gather at a multitude of locations around the world. Each of these places undergoes the infamous "Invasion of the Toriphiles".
I arrived behind the Palace Theater around 2 PM and about 100 Toriphiles were present. The Toriphile invasion was in full swing. Tori was about to appear on a local radio station to promote her album and concert. I, as many other Toriphiles, live in isolation and frustration, meeting with another Toriphile is a rare occasion. Surrounded by Toriphiles was heaven on earth. I meet a pretty lady from Indiana whose son was going to Pittsburgh to College. There was the engineer from Detroit who designs car interiors. There was the couple from Ottawa, Canada. There were the two girls from Dayton, OH and the excited young man from Fox Chapel, PA. As is the usual custom at these concerts, only a few people actually got to meet Tori when she arrived. Many were passing items up to the front row for her to sign. The girl next to me broke into tears when her poster came back with Tori's autograph. For one brief moment in time, this girl suddenly was taken out to the faceless masses and the center of Tori's attention. Tori was no longer just a voice on CD but a real person interacting with her. This is what each of the people standing there was praying for but Tori only has so much time and was off to inside the theater in a few minutes.
The concert started at 8 PM and the doors opened at 7 PM. Before the show I met Richard and Melissa Caldwell. They were the editors of the RDT Fanzine. This was an excellent publication that really defined the Toriphile community. For four years they held a Torifest in Columbus. These gatherings were the high points of my life. I wish Missy and Richard the best of luck and I hope the Toriphile community appreciates what they have done for us.
The concert stared at 8:00 PM and Tori was out by 8:40 PM. This is much sooner than in her previous tours. She never let up to 11:15 PM. Ten years of my life came past me. These concerts are intense moments in my life. In the deluxe version of Scarlet's Walk, we are provided with a map of Tori journeys. Maps are not just pieces of paper, but blueprints of the emotions we experienced at specific locations. Three years ago I had a visit from a special girl from England. When Tori sang "Never Seen Blue" during the concert, I had an intense memory of driving back from DC to Greensburg with her. We stopped at a Circuit City and she recommended a Tori B-Side CD. We played it on the way home. So intense was my image of Route 30 near Bedford, PA, I broke into tears.
The band minus the guitar complimented Tori very well. In previous tours the guitar dominated the band and Tori's keyboard became a rhythm section. I had forgotten my earplugs and ran off to the mall before the concert trying to find a pair. The clerk at the cosmetic department of a department store gave me some cotton balls. I was in a panic that they would blast my ears out again this time if I did not have ear protection. As it turned out the sound level was quick conformable and I did not need them. There was no hissing of the amplifiers or any grand illusions of area rock. There was one young lady standing in the center section most of the concert grabbing the person in front of her. I suspect this was the drunk Virginia talked about in her post. The drunk moved and after a while and after some voices, moved again. Also, there is one problem with these 2 hour continuous sessions, there was a continuous flow of young ladies dashing past me to the washrooms. They had this look of panic on their faces. All in all, I enjoyed the concert and the day to no end. Thank you Tori.
When we left the theater, downtown was empty, but a few minutes later around midnight riots broke out somewhere downtown and buildings were burned down. This was the result of the after game celebration.
On Sunday I journeyed back to Greensburg. As a final jester to Columbus, I paid honor to the proletariat and had lunch at White Castle knowing full well that whatever my wife had for supper that night had to be better. Scarlet's Walk was back in the radio and on the trip home I returned into the strange world Tori has created for us.
Have to End.
From the November 25, 2002 edition of the Ohio State University newspaper The Lantern
From the Columbus Dispatch
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