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Tori performed in Brussels, Belgium on Sunday, January 19, 2003 at Forest National . The opening act was Howie Day.
Set List
Thanks to Matt Page who called me after the show with the set list!
Wampum Prayer
a sorta fairytale
In The Springtime Of His Voodoo
Sugar
Lust
Sweet Sangria
Cornflake Girl
Black-Dove (January)
Wednesday
Band leaves
Silent All These Years
Here. In My Head
Crazy
Band returns
Northern Lad
Juarez
Liquid Diamonds
Virginia
Precious Things
I Can't See New York
Iieee
1st Encore
Taxi Ride
Past The Mission
2nd Encore
Pancake
Tear In Your Hand
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 Matt Page:
Matt loved the show tonight and said it was his favorite so far on the European leg of the tour. Tori mentioned on stage that it was a lioness show tonight. There was an improv before Crazy. I am not sure exactly what she sang, but Matt mentioned that Tori said something about peace and it being a crazy world. (She obviously is referring to all the peace rallies against the possible future war with Iraq.)
From Mina:
The m&g was very brief, Tori showed up at 4:00pm and stayed for 10 min.I managed to get my cd signed, but i didn't get a chance to talk to her.There were about 40 ewf's or so,and everybody was very friendly (hi sarah!).It was definitely a good experience.About the show... it simply rocked.I was very happy to hear classic like "Silent All These Years", "Cornflake Girl" and "Precious Things".Tori didn't talk though -except for saying hi and introducing the guys -but she seemed ingood spirits :)
Howie Day was a great surprise - I never heard any of his songs before and i must say they're quite nice.The crowd was very respectful and seemed to enjoy his performance (which unfortunatly wasn't the case last year with Ben Christophers).
From Christoph Viethen:
Yeah, was an interesting show. My first for this tour ... I think I'll still have to become used to the band songs again. They're really good, but with all the solo shows last time around it seems like it will take a little while for me to adapt myself to that volume level (*ouch*)! :-)
I too noticed the improv before Crazy. If I were to name it like a song, I would indeed call it the "Crazy World improv". Let's see whether it'll turn up again.
Classics like "In The Springtime Of His Voodoo", "Sugar", "Black Dove (January)" or "Precious Things" work really well with the band, and new ones like "A Sorta Fairytale", "Wednesday" or "I Can't See New York", to name just a few songs which I really liked this evening, are a welcome addition. Add some lovely solo pieces, like "Here. In My Head", which was incredibly wonderful this evening, and you get a really enjoyable show. :-)
Show began at exactly nine minutes past nine, by the way, but I didn't check how long it took. (Two hours, I would guess.) Tori indeed didn't talk much to the audience, which is a pity, in a way, but one can't always be in a chatty mood, right?
From David A Baird:
This was the seventh time I have seen Tori live starting back in 1994 at Warwick Arts Centre and the second time here at FN having been there last time around.
First of all I thought Howie Day was excellent - great songs and a good voice. In fact I bought his CD after the show too so that was an unexpected bonus.
As for Tori's performance, well it certainly wasn't the best I have seen - the previous band performance at Nottingham in 1998 was, I thought far better. I think a lot of the problem was the mix - way too bass heavy for most of the show and the drums were drowning out the voice and piano - and you go and see Tori mostly for that I think. On the other hand it was a nice setlist and there were some I don't remember hearing live for some time - Mission for instance. The new material came over exceptionally well I thought although I would have liked to have heard more from Scarlet's Walk. I was especially hoping to hear GoldDust but noticed that it hasn't been seen a lot so far on the tour so didn't have my hopes up.
Highlight of the evening for me was Silent All These Years. I've heard this song played to death so normally I'd rather hear something else, but she played a particularly beautiful and moving version last night and I was in tears... The accoustics on the solo section were excellent and my mind went back to the previous solo show and I wished that it was the same format this time around.
Nevertheless, critical comments aside, she always gives us 110% in her performance and I'm looking forward to the next tour :-)
From Cyril GOBINET:
I went to Tori's show in Brussels. It was so great, especially when she sang Northern lad. It was magical. But sometimes i wondered if the audience really enjoyed the show : people were so quiet.
Note from Mikewhy: Being quiet does not really mean that someone is not enjoying the show. I am usually very quiet during a Tori show, but I love every minute of it. Some people have things going on internally that are not shown on the outside.
From marti pujolar:
Since many of you complain about the reviews by European people, here is a complete review of the Brussels show. I must say it was my 4 Tori concert but the first with the bad. She's great both solo and with the band but I must admit I prefer her solo with the piano and yesterday my favourite part was the Roadside Caf. The show was amazing and I'm giving it a 9 (out of 10) since the set list was great but could've been better.
First of all, THERE WAS A MEET & GREET and it was amazing. Yesterday there was a really dreadful weather in Brussels with cold and rain all day (since I'm Spanish and I've been living here for four months, I always complain about the weather) so I was fearing that the M & G might be cancelled because of the weather. I arrived at 2 and at first I saw no one, the place looked like a desert. Then I noticed about 10 fans waiting on a hidden corner by the bus garage. Here I met some really nice people like a girl from South Belgium called Mina which I lost after the M & G (I tried to find her again before the sow but I failed, so regards Mina) and especially three Spanish compatriots (Marta, Natalia and Alberto) which were really nice and with whom I spent all day. The M & G happened at around 3:30 and lasted about 15 minutes and it was amazing, because there was few people. The M & G took place inside the bus garage to avoid the rain and cold (that was nice) and I think that everyone got their stuff signed (I did). Tori looked really nice and was wearing a funny blue hat. I didn't talk to her but I saw her from a short distance and she even took my stuff from my hands to sign it. So European fans, If you have a chance go to the M & G, my advice.
Regarding the show itself, the venue (Forest National) was huge and it was all full except some seats in the tribune. Howie started at 8 and he played 30-45 minutes or so. After him, we got Massive Attack's Blue Lines on the stereo for about 20 minutes and Tori appeared at 9:05-9:10.
WAMPUM PRAYER
as usual. I have to say it was OK for a start. I guess it would have fitted better at the start of SW than just in the middle after Crazy.
A SORTA FAIRYTALE
excellent; I had read really bad reviews about ASF so I was expecting the worst but yesterday the song was great. The piano was quite low and it was really like a drum'n'bass track. Tori's voice was also in good shape. I must say the stage was really nice with some mountains on the rear made of cardboard with some map signs on it like Road 90, an airport and some indian reservations: The lights were also amazing during all the show and during ASF the face from the back of the limited edition of SW was projected on the screen. During ASF the light was red-ish so that it resembled a sunset over the rear mountains.
VOODOO
that was a big surprise because I was expecting it to appear later on the show. The piano/drums were a bit unbalanced here and the drums sound really loud. I think she changed a bit the lyrics, she did the first verse, the chorus and then, instead of going to the second verse she did the first one again. I don't know if she's doing it like this on the whole tour of it she just messed the lyrics, but I'm sure she sang the bit about Standing on a corner & twice. I was positively surprised by the song and the bit when she almost pauses to sing I'm right there for a minte & was beautiful.
SUGAR
I think it was before Sugar when she introduced the band which was the only TEN SECONDS she spoke in the WHOLE CONCERT. She mentioned that two of her most loved people in the world were at the concert (I'm so nave that here I thought she was meaning that some friends or family of hers were in the audience), and she introduced the bass and the drums. Sugar was pure rock but here I must say the drums were far too loud for me, the piano was inaudible like if Tori wasn't there at all.
LUST
really beautiful again. Again I think she changed some lyrics here because after the first chorus she started singing Remember, remember, remember a lot of times and then she continued with the song. Don't know if she does it in all the shows on purpose.
SWEET SANGRIA
not a favourite of mine, exactly like the album.
CORNFLAKE GIRL
really great. I've never heard it before and I was really willing to listen to it. The Where You Put The Keys part was gorgeous and it was just like a battle between the piano and the drums. Luckily, the piano won this time. I was expecting people to go mad during Cornflake but people here in central Europe is quite civilised and no one was even moving in their seats, everybody calm.
BLACK DOVE
I was totally expecting Crucify but here came Black Dove which I've heard in 3 of my 4 concerts, but it was ok, very beautifully sung. The chorus was quite calm but then she was singing the On The Other Side of The Galaxy line very loud and the contrast was really great. Her voice sounded absolutely amazing on this one.
WEDNESDAY
one of the suprises of the night for me. It rocked. The fast part of the song was definetely faster and it rocked, it had an incredible rhythm, more rhythmic than the album version. And then, the slow part of the song was even slower, Tori pausing in some of the lines.
SILENT ALL THESE YEARS
this was a real surprise for me. Boys gone, Tori solo on the piano. This was the first time I was hearing Silent and it was just amazing. The sign appeared once the song had already started. Quite similar to the album version but I think her voice sounded better.
HERE IN MY HEAD
For me, the highlight of the night by far. That was the best. I really love this little song and I had never heard it before and I really wanted to. The piano intro was just incredible. For the first and only time during the show, I got chills in my body, even the hair on my neck went straight!!!!! She sang it very beautifully and her voice was wonderful. Just brilliant!!!!! The best song of the night!!!!
CRAZY
This was great too. It was preceeded by a curious intro. At first I thought it was a new cover but then I noticed the intro was something like these crazy times or this crazy world and I figured out it was an intro for Crazy. I really loved it, especially the little magic pauses that are not in the album and that she did during the song halfway between lines, like, Down The Canyon, pause, When I Knew &
NORTHERN LAD
The band returned to their positions but they didn't play and the beginning of Northern Lad it was just Tori solo. This was another highlight of the night and Tori sounded brilliant and she sung beautifully. The band joined her at the chorus.
JUAREZ
This also really rocked. It was completely different to the album version, less electronic and more rocky with the drums sounding pretty loud. A great version and the No Angel Came part was great.
LIQUID DIAMONDS
another surprise and another Choirgirl song. Superb. It sounded really good, although it was not very different from the album. Her voice sounded amazing here, and it was going through all vocal ranges, some parts of the songs were very low, some very high. The contrast was amazing especially in the chorus were the Underwater thing line was very very low and then when she was singing Diamonds it was vey very high.
VIRGINIA
I think this is the song that sounded more exactly like the album version, just ok for me.
PRECIOUS THINGS
another highlight for everyone. Rocking. Superb. Another big fiight between the piano and the drums, won again by the piano. Tori's performance was just amazing on this song, her fingers were running over the piano so fast &
NEW YORK
Really touching. The lights were also very especial in this song, enhancing the magic of the song. At first, there were some blue lights very close to Tori so you could see nothing. After that the lights were changing all the time and the effect was kinda mesmerising.
IIEEE
we all knew this was coming and it was great, just gorgeous. I think there were some pre-recorded voices. For me, it was the album version. The arsonist part was really loud, Tori almost shouting and the result was so good &
TAXI RIDE
at first, only the bass player and the drummer appeared and they started playing. Everyone around me was going What's this but for me it was clear it was Taxi Ride. After some 30 seconds, Tori appeared doing a funny sorta dance. The song was OK but not amazing.
PAST THE MISSION
positively surprised since I hadn't heard this for a while and I really loved it. Her voice in the chorus was really good, the first line of the chorus was very calm and quiet and for the second line the band joined and the effect was great. I really love how she pronounces Girl, don't you?
PANCAKE
Not a favourite, a bit disappointed here because I was expecting a lost classic or another b-side.
TEAR IN YOUR HAND
I love Tori solo but I have to admit that this song sounded better with the band, really good, perfect way to end the show &
The sound lasted about 2 hours 10 minutes, after the show a nice Spanish girl from Madrid called Anna showed us the official setlist and it was exactly what she played, no changes at all!!!!
A great show, with the extra of meeting Tori in the M & G after a couple of bad M & G experiences in the US last year.
From ThibaultB:
Just back from checking your site.... I was there last night and saw Tori live again.... I loved the show ! It was the first time I saw Tori perform with a band and it was fantastic ! It gives Tori the freedom to dance around (sexy beast!!!!) and make some vocal impro's !!
The set list was fantastic.... Didn't expect so many songs from Choirgirl and Venus! And with the additional band, it makes you want to move.... Too bad most people remained seated until the encore's.
Lows: although she definitely seemed to enjoy the show and the crowd, she remained quiet and didn't say much ;-( Also the bass was too loud (Voodoo was hard to follow), but it definitely rocked some songs (Sugar, Tear in your hand) !
High's: set list: Nothern lad, Sugar (both with band), Silent all these years, Juarez, Here in my head. She looked beautiful as well, with a typical strange outfit (american indian type of shirt), sexy boots and I loved the way she came on stage, dancing on Matt's beats ;-) And her voice was amazing.... The light show was also amazing and added a great ambiance to the music !
Not much time to write more... Thanks for the site and your dedication !
From Bart Van Dromme:
When I arrived the tourbusses just drove in, so i was just on time. The M&G was really nice, I got my to venus and back and scarlet's walk cd signed..and then she asked me 'how are you?' but then I flipped....and said in a very stupid way...'euh...fine'..somebody asked her how she was doing, and she told us a story about an unpleasant flight with Natasha. I think she was a little bit in a bad mood. But you could see, she really did some effort to be nice to us! And that means a lot for me(us).
The show itself was really really great! Totally different from last year. Highlights for me were, a sorta fairytale, in the springtime of his vodoo, lust, juarez, precious things, here, in my head, silent all these years, she played the 'years go by...' totally different and it was very nice, virginia, past the mission, i can't see new york,...well, maybe i think the entire show was, euhm, one big highlight... hihi...
After the show, well the people who would pick me up, well they were lost, so we had to wait for an hour, and we saw Tori leaving the venus in a nice mercedes. And we all waved and she waved nice back!
what a nice experience
From Nico Claes:
I went yesterday evening to see my third Tori show (I also was at the Dewdropp Inn and Strange Little Girls tour). I must admit, it was the least impressive tour of all 3 I've been. The thing I didn't like was that drum and bass were too loud. They overpowered Tori's voice and piano. But despite that, it was still a good concert.
She shared no spoken stories with the audience about her daughter or other personal stuff, but that gave her more room for her most important stories and that are her songs.
Her songs are the tales that matter and she had plenty of them yesterday evening: A sorta fairytale, Cornflake Girl, In the Springtime of his Voodoo, Juarez, Precious things, Iieee, Taxi Ride, Past the Mission, ... New songs I never had heard before and old time classics.
But my most precious song was Silent all these years. I have shivers running over my spine each time I recall that song.
And I hope I will be able to see/hear her again on stage next tour.
From Lior Carmel:
This was my first ever Tori concert, I'm Israeli and I missed her the only time she dropped by in Israel (back in 1992!) but finally i got to stay in Brussels while Tori was stopping by so it was a great opportunity! Not being an expert on concerts i assumed the show would start at 2000 like it said on the ticket but actually tori did just come on just past 2100 (i forgot that warm-up acts existed). I was so excited when Tori started singing Wampum Prayer and the curtain went up to reveal the set and Tori came on stage to sit by her piano, but from the first few notes of A Sorta Fairytale you could hear that for the next couple of hours, Tori's voice and piano(s) would be drowned out by the megaloud drums and bass... for me sitting on the leftest side of the tribune there was constant relief that i knew the lyrics to all the songs by heart because otherwise i would not have been able to figure out what language she is singing in, at least during the songs with the band. Nevertheless, i have to admit that the arrangement of some of the songs was absolutely amazing live and A Sorta Fairytale especially got a whole new meaning from the live rendition. The highlight for me was definetely Precious Things and apparently it was the favorite of many people in the hall since they were cheering for it just as it was starting even more that they did for Cornflake Girl or SATY! The first encore was fabulous too with my two favorite songs from two of tori's albums, Taxi Ride and Past The Mission. The second encore was nice although the songs r not personal faves of mine, and it was weird to finish off the show with Tear In Your Hand because it's not exactly a big finalé but still i have no complaints :) After the show I made my friend wait with me for an hour and a half in the cold drizzle hoping to catch Tori coming out of the venue but Tori was driven off without stopping and all she could do was wave heartly at us... that was pretty cool too ;) But then again it's my fault for not knowing that the meet and greets take place when tori arrives at a venue and not when she leaves... oh well! Here's looking forward to her next tour!
From Linda Ferrara:
Sunday, 19 th January, I was also there (in Brussels). I saw her for the 4th times (I already saw her in 1996, 1998 and 2000) and she was great like usual.
Now, I have the after show's blues.
Unfortunatly, she didn't speak so much except to say 'hi' and to introduce Jon on bass and Matt on drums, both were great too.
I loved all the songs she played,especially classics like "past the mision", "cornflakegirl", 'in the springtime of his voodoo", "precious things" etc.
Tori, I love you. See you next tour (or maybe during the summers rock festival like in 1998 during "the plugged tour" in Werchter - Brussels).
From JiLL Verbaendert:
first of all - wow. this was my fourth tori show (in total, not this tour), and it was so incredibly amazing... last year was a whole different experience to me - i had second row seats, i got to meet her, it was just her and the piano (which i usually prefer) - but i have to say this show was just a great, if not, even better! i still can't believe how great the setlist was... before i left i had made this list of the songs i really wanted to hear, and she played so many of them! and i usually don't cry during songs, but this time, she had me going like 3 times...
here my song-to-song review:
*Wampum Prayer*
well, you know, the usual... what makes it special, is that it's the first song, you know? it makes you all excited and giddy for what's to come!
*a sorta fairytale*
matt and jon came on stage first, and started playing already... and after a while tori walked on, greeted us, walked over to the piano, and started playing ASF... i really, really liked it, which i didn't expect.. i mean, you've (i've) heard that song so many times the last few months, that i was getting kinda bored with it... but she managed to give a whole new dimension to it - really strong, yet very touching sometimes... i liked!
*In The Springtime Of His Voodoo*
god, i was so happy to hear this one! i always find it a very sassy song, and she gave away a really good performance... the 'got an angry snatch...'-part was delicious, and so was the 'and right there for a minute...'-bit! the drums and bass were quite loud during this one, but i never felt as if they were drowning the piano...
*Sugar*
remember that list i made? well, this one was on it! it sounded a lot like the plugged version that is on TVAB, but that's a great track, so you don't hear me complaining! i always thought the drums on this song were so very powerful, and matt did a great job on this one! i loved her facial expressions during this one, especially during the whispered "just watch, just watch what they do..." bit. awesome!
*Lust*
i let out a little squeal when she played the intro... it's my fave song from TVAB, and the live version just sounds so much better than the album version! she messed with the lyrics a bit, repeating 'remember' like 5 times before moving onto the second verse.
*Sweet Sangria*
i think this is like the ultimate tori-plugged-SW song, and she didn't let us down!
*Cornflake Girl*
i know it's a cliched song, and we've all seen it before (if not IRL, the on video ), but i don't think anywone could ever get tired of seeing this performed live!
i think i've listened to too many US bootlegs featuring this song, cause after her 'rrrrrrr' i went totally crazy (well, ok, i just let out a little yell, but still), and nobody else seemed to move... oh well.
*Black-Dove (January)*
another one i had on my list... so amazing, so delicate, so strong! i love the way tori pronounces/draws out certain words, and she did it this time with 'blue', as it sounded like 'blooooow' most of the time. her voice was so amazing in this one, going from really soft during the verses, to really loud during the chorus.
*Wednesday*
even more fun than the album version. didn't really differ from other live versions i've heard so far.
-band leaves-
*Silent All These Years*
i had to wipe a little tear away during this one... it's such an old song, and i've heard it for so many times, but the way she performed it was simply breathtaking.
*Here. In My Head*
i let out a little squeal when this one started . the piano sounded so good on this one, and her voice... damn, that woman can sing! one of my personal highlights - i had it on my 'must hear tonight' - list!
*Crazy*
she started this one with a long improv, which i began to wrote down, but gave up pretty quickly cause i couldn't see a damn thing. it was about crazy people/crazy times in this/crazy world, and about lifting yourself up or something... all the crazy talk had me figure out pretty quickly that she was gonna do crazy... usually not a favorite of mine - i tend to skip it, but it sounded ok, and i'm gonna give her another try. the 'unzip your religion down' part was really nice.
-band returns-
*Northern Lad*
the band didn't play along in the beginning, which provided sort of a nice contrast with the solo part when they finally did. this one was also on my list, and it was so awesome, had me on the verge of tears again!
*Juarez*
me and the squealing again! another one from the list! i love love love this song, both live and album... the live version sounds a lot different though, IMO, less electronica, more rock. all hail matt, cause the drums were awesome.
*Liquid Diamonds*
for years, i skipped this song on Choirgirl. and then one night, when i was lying in my bed, and therefore too lazy to get up and press the 'forward' button, i really heard it for the first time, and fell in love with it... it's been in my top-5 tori songs since that day... i had NEVER heard it live before, and i wasn't even hoping on it... then...
juarz ends, and matt and jon go right into the next song... tori starts playing some piano intro i don't recognize... and i'm thinking 'hum, what IS this song?', when all of the sudden... 'surrender, then start your engines...' really, all the air left my lungs, and my heart skipped a beat, only to start beating so fast i was afraid it would break through my chest. i cried again during this one, not just because it was so unexpected to me, but also because it was sooo well done!! this song again showed off tori's amazing voice...
*Virginia*
another great SW song... doesn't differ much from the original, but i don't care, cause i'm a huge Virginia fan!
*Precious Things*
i went mad again when i heard the intro! there was this sort of constant duel between the piano and the drums going on, and it was so exciting to see! really a splendid performance!
*I Can't See New York*
even though i already knew about the light during this one, it was really nice to see for myself! i adore this song, caus eit's just so increbly sad and gorgeous, and i was amazed at how well such an epic song was delivered.
*Iieee*
i knew this was coming, and i kinda dreaded it's arrival... not because i hate the song (since it's actually another one of my favorites), but because i knew the concert was coming to an end... really great though.
1st Encore
*Taxi Ride*
everybody had rushed to the stage, including myself, and kept on screaming and clapping for more... the band came back on stage, and started playing already. then tori walked out, and started shaking her booty to the drums... real cute and sexy! she danced her way over to her keys, and went right into taxi ride. i adore this song, and i think the performance was good, but not amazing.
*Past The Mission*
i died again when this one started... another one from my list! tori seemed really comfy while playing this, as she kept throwing matt smiles...
what made it a personal highlight to me was that i was standing totally up front, holding a bunch of flowers, and every time she sang 'i smell the roses', it seemed as if she looked right at me with a smile on her lips! i know i'm crazy, but hey, a girl can dream, right?
when the band got up to leave again, tori grabbed them and made them both bow with her, which was real cute to see...
2nd Encore
*Pancake*
this was ok... had some great moments, but i was kinda hoping for a different SW song, or a good b-side or something...
really cute moment: when she was doing the 'like a flag on a popstar' she kinda wiggled her hips while saying 'popstar', like she was referring to herself.
*Tear In Your Hand*
god, i love love this song - so wonderful! she looked kinda sad as she was singing 'maybe it's time to wave goodbye now, time to wave goodbye now...' and that part made my cry again, cause i knew this was gonna be the last song... a perfect song to end a perfect show!
Howie Day was OK too, and after his show, he was walking trough the audience! He walked right past me! :) such a cutie ;)
can't wait till the next show!
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