Tori performed in London, U.K. on Thursday, January 16, 2003 at the Carling Apollo Hammersmith. The opening act was Howie Day.

Set List

Thanks to Gemma Watt, Rachel King and Lucy Bennett... (and the rest of the mob, you know who you are!) for emailing The Dent this set list! Thanks also to Matt Page!

Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
Sugar
Sweet Sangria
Lust
Cornflake Girl
Pancake
Crucify
Wednesday

Band leaves

Jackie's Strength
Cooling
Carbon

Band returns

1st Encore

Taxi Ride
Past The Mission

2nd Encore

Talula
Hey Jupiter

Reviews

The latest reviews are at the bottom of this page. For more reviews, please check out the Dent's Tour Reviews Forum. (I will eventually move the forum reviews to this web page as well.) Please post your own review if you were at this show!

From Steven Veritas:

I just returned home following the first London show, and I have to say that it was one of the best concerts ever! I requested The Cure's 'Lovesong' at the meet and great and she said she might play it tomorrow. I have to say, that compared to Wolverhampton, the show did not start too well. The audience were still getting seated and were much quieter that the Wolverhampton crowd and there is nothing worse than a whole row of people standing up to let someone through!! After the standard intro, 'Sugar' was amazing and sent chills down my spine. 'Cornflake Girl' was full of adrenaline and I had to hold back the tears!! And 'Jackie's Strenght' managed to stop the couple in front of me from chatting and was joint highlight for me. (Though, once again I must stress that quite a few people were getting up to go to the toilet or whatever, mostly at the end of songs, but it was really annoying and a little rude.) Following the stunning 'Cooling' and 'Carbon', the band returned and the set was quite mellow until 'Precious Things' and from there onwards the set was extremely intense! Following 'Iieee', when Tori left the stage it felt like I was having my heart torn out, but I knew she would be back and the encore was very special. 'Taxi Ride' was delicious, but 'Past The Mission' is an old favourite for a lot of people and most the audience stood for this. 'Talula' and 'Hey Jupiter' was the perfect way to end such a stunning show. I could not have asked for more. The meet and great was great and she stayed for about 10 minutes, chatting, posing for photos and answering questions. She also chatted during the show, particulary a story about tash which had the audience laughing. I met some really fantastic people too, I recognised nearly every early arriver from previous shows. I can't believe Lucy beat me to the setlist!!! (Which is correct!).

I will see everyone at the show tomorrow!

From Laura (North London):

I was at the London 16th gig and it rocked. I've waited 8 - 9 years to see her and finally got the opportunity so I was really excited! She didn't disappoint! I was really pleased she played Sugar! Best of all though was the solo "Roadside Cafe" section she did with Jackie's Strength and Cooling back-to-back - she sounds so perfect, looks perfect and is touring with a toddler - is she superwoman?!? If I could have changed anything I would have turned the bass down slightly, got Tori to tell more of her witty stories and play Caught a Light Sneeze &/ or Marianne. But overall it was great - the new album is the best so far I reckon and she really did it justice. Precious Things really got the crowd going and the Pele songs in the second encore were really well received. I could have sat and listened to her for another 2 hours - it was just as if she had invited us there personally - live in her living room. Beautiful! Her, her music, her stories - the whole thing was a dream.

From Matt Page:

I just looked at the Dent to catch up on all the new US dates and noticed you wanted verification of the London set list. What you have posted IS correct and in the exact order she played them tonight. The show was lovely, Tori seemed in good spirits. She paused after Lust to say she got a letter from someone which said "Welcome Home" which made her cry. She said something along the lines of, although most Londonites might think this place is shit, she has fond memories. She mentioned this place called The Mean Fiddler. Also she told a story about Tash and her pre-show potty break with mommy. She asked Tash what kind of show it should be tonight. Tash said "a pink show... a blue show... an orange show... a black show." Tori replied "what will it be?" and Tash said "a Tash rainbow show" which I found very cute. It is nice that Tori shares these precious stories with us during the shows. :~)

From Anonymous:

tonight was amazing! it was defintely the best tori show i have been to, i was totally blown away! Jackies strength was so moving, it had me in tears. followed up by cooling and carbon! i have to say i haven't been a big fan of scarlets walk, but seeing tori playing them live tonight has truly converted me! i can't see new work was just amazing, and again, had me in tears. take to the sky (played in a way i had never heard before) followed by precious things was the high light of the night for me (that and the "tash's rainbow" story!). i was so happy to finally see tori play like this! the last couple of concerts i have been to she's been ill and been very mellow. she looked like she was having such a great time up there, it made it much more enjoyable for the audience!

the only complaint i would make is about the lighting! i'm sure they looked great from the back, but i was sitting in the 6th row, and we were all being blinded by pink and purple lights in our eyes for half the night.

From Daniel:

tori last night was just amazing! the meet and greet beforehand was really nice, met some amazing people, everyone here is so nice! tori was in a good mood and took some requests (but didn't play any last night - she said probably tomorrow, so we'll see...) and said that she had a great time on graham norton.

howie day opened, and i hadn't seen him before,and the way he layers and loops and performs with himself is just superb- i'm definitely getting there early again tonight and recommend everyone else does too!

i was up the back in row CC, but still had a great view, tori jon and matt seemed to be having lots of fun, especially during the encores. i thought "new york" was better tonight than in manchester, and "lust" was just absolutely superb live, with reverb and echo on her voice and it all was just so lush and beautiful. the highlight for me was "your cloud" - i just started crying halfway through it was so beautiful! and i think for audience response, "precious things", "take to the sky" and "past the mission" were the top numbers!

the sound and lighting were superb, i couldn't fault either of them, and before "jackie's strentgh" she did the cutest improv about having a dry mouth and needing saliva, so funny!

From danny.weddup:

This was my third Tori show and my favourite. Before I've seen Tori solo, and the marked difference tonight was the amount of energy she had onstage!!! She was very active and lively, dancing around the stage and shimmying in front of Matt and Jon. She was very 'on', especially in terms of her piano playing - Cornflake Girl and Take to The Sky were amazing. After several songs a big grin spread across Tori's face, as if she was thinking 'I really nailed that one'. The crowd was VERY well behaved. There was almost no shouting out, and people only stood during the encores. Precious Things was incredible, Tori really rocked out especially on the 'giirrrllll' part where she did her custon 'crotch rub'.

Tori only talked to the crowd once but she did talk for quite a long time, telling us that somebody gave her a note before the show saying 'Welcome home' to her (to London), and that she cried. She said that some of her favourite people in the whole world were in the room tonight.Also she talked about having to take Tash to the potty before the show, and asking Tash which kind of a show she should do. tash replied 'a pink one'. Then 'a blue one' to which Tori decided she had a schizophrenic baby!!! In the end Tash decided they would do a 'Tash rainbow' show.

All in all it was an incredible show, rocked-out in all the right places and also fragile and beautiful, on Carbon and Cooling.

From Cass Smith:

Thought I'd give you a quick review of last night's concert at Hammersmith Apollo. This is the eighth time I've seen Tori live and it's always completely different, yet always wonderful. I admit that I was slightly disappointed to learn that she would be touring with a band again after enjoying the last two concerts where she was solo. Matt Chamberlain and Jon Evans are both fantastic, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day it is Tori we all go to see. However, their presence made some of the numbers, notably Cornflake Girl and Talula, great, and Take to the Sky, with Tori's traditional piano-banging and the bass guitar was truly memorable. Also, Wednesday, which is my favourite on Scarlet's Walk, was awesome, and I just wished it was a longer song, particularly with Matt Chamberlain's wonderful drumming. Tori's voice sounded better than ever and she seemed so very happy that it was infectious. I noticed that someone commented on the rudeness of some people attending the concert. I have to say, without wishing to moan too much, that it always amazes me that some people keep getting up, talking and singing all the way through the concerts, given that all of us are so passionate about Tori and her music...

I was pleased that people didn't shout out as much as usual, as I was worried that someone might upset Tori by shouting out at an inappropriate moment like they did during one of the American concerts. I spent the beginning of the encore worrying that someone was going to try and get on stage which I always find quite frightening for Tori. They didn't, everyone was dancing and the atmosphere was electric by the end of the concert. I can only echo what the others said; I wished it could have continued forever.

It just goes to show: while other artists gradually slow down and give in to commercialism as their careers progress, Tori is still producing music which is better than ever, and for that reason she will always be special to us.

From Luke:

Luke sent me a scan of Tori's official set list for the evening and it appears Tori followed her written set list exactly tonight.

From stephen pearce:

It was the second concert I've seen her do and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked how she had the backing of the band and also how she had the solo part in the middle. Loved her outfit too! She really showed off her talent when she played certain parts with each hand working different keyboards simultaneously. Her voice was wonderful - better than the last concert I saw her do when she complained of having a sore throat(although it was still great then). The lighting was a bit distracting at times - especially when the big bright head lamp type lamps almost blinded me as I watched her through my little red bonoculars from the back. As I looked around the audience it seemed everyone was really rivitted by her performance. I really enjoyed hearing her sing Cooling and Talula (and the rest). Can't wait for the next time she visits!

From The Times (London):

From The Evening Standard:

From The Daily Telegraph: