StrangeLittleTour
Toronto, Ontario
October 19, 2001

Updated January 7, 2002

Tori performed in Toronto, Ontario on October 19, 2001 at the Massey Hall during the 2001 StrangeLittleTour.

Set List

Thanks to Richard Handal for giving me the set list on the phone.

'97 Bonnie & Clyde
Little Amsterdam
Mother
Sugar
Rattlesnakes
Mr. Zebra
Never Seen Blue
Cool On Your Island
Cooling
Raining Blood
Pretty Good Year
Crucify
Hey Jupiter
Me and a Gun
Twinkle

1st Encore:
Enjoy The Silence
1000 Oceans

2nd Encore:
Not The Red Baron
Daniel
Black Swan

Reviews

Latest reviews are added to the bottom of the page.

Be sure to check the Tori Concert Reviews Forum for reviews as well!

From Richard Handal

Added October 20, 2001 - Richard called me after the show. Tonight show was low-key, instrospective, deep and soul seaching. It started at 9:16PM and ended at 10:57, which was 1 hour and 41 minutes. Mr. Zebra was on the official set list, and was written vertically on the set list on the right, thus--

[ . . . ]

Never Seen BlueZ
Cool On Your Islande
Coolingb
Raining Bloodr
Pretty Good Yeara
Crucify
Hey Jupiter

[ . . . ]

The verticality of it shows it was meant to be played but not in a particular slot. That was the main idea I wanted to stress by telling that it was vertical. That it was written in Sharpie was also interesting. :-)

Tori performed Hey Jupiter tonight for Toriphile Alicia, who lost her life during the September 11 terrorist attack. Her name on the Dent Forum was littlejupitergirl.

From Rachel

Added October 20, 2001 - I just got back from the Toronto show, and it was amazing. It blew me away. It was only my second time seeing Tori, and despite being on the balcony, it was one of the most intimate and personal events that has ever happened in my life. I'll go through a song by song review, but my memory is a bit sketchy on the order.

97 Bonnie & Clyde - sent a huge chill down my spine when the curtain dropped and tears came to my eyes. Absolutely chilling, I'll never forget it.

Little Amsterdam - changed the words a bit, added in a part about dying

Mother - good god this was gorgeous. I loved it, and remembered why I wanted to hear it so badly, it's beautiful.

Sugar - she hit the piano, hard, when she sang about Bobby collecting bees and hammers.

Rattlesnakes - Loved it. My favourite off of SLG, and it was fantastic.

Mr Zebra - I thought it was adorable.

Never Seen Blue - Not one of my favourite b-sides, but this one was nice. Hearing it live made me appreciate it more.

Cool On Your Island - Sweet Jesus! I gasped in disbelief when she did this one. I wanted to hear this one so badly, and she did it! I was stunned the whole song through. My favourite by far.

Cooling - After COYI? I'm spoiled. This was another gasp. Absolutely stunning.

Raining Blood - Not my favourite from SLG, but it was pretty good live.

Pretty Good Year - Quite a surprise for me, because I didn't think of hearing this one. I loved it. There was just so much emotion coming out of this one, it really swept me off my feet.

Crucify - I loved how she did this one on the organ. She messed up the words, singing "Looking for a savior in these birdy streets, looking for a savior beneath these cagey sheets"

Hey Jupiter - one of the most beautiful songs of the night. You could really feel the emotion in Tori and in the audience.

Me And A Gun - one of the most remarkable things I have ever heard in my life. There was an echo, a ringing, from her voice. The hall was dead quiet. It was unbelievable.

Twinkle - So much Pele! I was quite impressed, as Pele is my favourite, this one is 10x better live.

Enjoy The Silence - A lot more energy and vocal range than the album version.

1000 Oceans - another gorgeous one. I didn't expect it but loved it.

Not the Red Baron - More Pele! Loved it, and it's not one of my favourites. I have a feeling that might change now.

Daniel - I had wondered if she would do a cover outside of her SLG ones, and this one was lovely.

Black Swan - Wow! I didn't expect this one at all! I loved it.

My only complaint about the show is that it went by too quickly! I loved Rufus, although I thought he was on for far too short of a time. He's a funny guy, but maybe that's because he seemed a little drunk. The best concert I have ever been to in my entire life, I will never forget it.

Added October 20, 2001 - You can read a review by Jane Stevenson that was printed in the Toronto Sun on October 20, 2001 by going to this web site.

From Sarah

Added October 20, 2001 - Here are my thoughts on the Toronto show. She wasn't *too* chatty, but she sounded amazing.

The Meet and Greet was FAB. I got there at 10:30, and everyone was so polite, and calm. Tori didn't arrive til around 5:00, it got to a point where Steve kept asking this other woman "uh... where's tori?". We were in the barricades since 4 I think :/ But it was great :)

Here are my thoughts, song to song.

'97 Bonnie & Clyde- I couldn't help it, I giggled at the beginning of it, at the mere thought that I've actually reached my Tori show. I can't stand the album version of this, but hearing her do it live was absolutely chilling.

Little Amsterdam- Couldn't figure it out in the beginning, but when I realized she was played it I was blown away!

Mother - This girl was out in full force. Not a favourite of mine, but still nice to hear.

Sugar- She whispered "you're just a pusssssyyy" and dragged it out a touch. it was great.

Rattlesnakes- Nice. I think at times though, when she's playing the two whurly and the piano at once, it kinda gets all mushed together and doesn't sound too hot:/

Mr. Zebra- How cute and unexpected was THIS? I LOVED hearing Mr. Zebra!

Never Seen Blue- It was so overwhelming, hearing never seen blue. it sounded beautiful and calm, and so sweet.

Cool On Your Island- WOW. I was still in shock from hearing never seen blue, and now cool on your island!

Cooling- ahh, sweet cooling. I was sitting there with my mouth open from the last three songs, thinking "wowwwww. i love this setlist!" She introduced it with some story that made NO sense, about water and drills and houses and the bridge floating. But she mentioned the bridge, which made me think "hey, maybe she'll do brambles!" but alas, no.

Raining Blood- piano was great on it. It drags on a bit live, I found, though.

Pretty Good Year- AHHHH!! I was so overjoyed to hear this, especially cause I never thought I would. it sounded BEAUTIFUL.

Crucify- she messed up, as someone noted which was kinda cute, and in response to her mistakes she goofed up her other lyric! (I've been looking for a saviour in these birdy streets (she giggled) looking for a saviour, beneath these cagey sheets)

Hey Jupiter- She was asked to play this for LilJupiterGrl, who was killed on September 11th, and lovingly she obliged. it was a beautiful, emotional version.

Me and a Gun- I couldn't really enjoy MAAG because there was a light shining RIGHT in my eye :/

Twinkle- Twinkle was the only song I wanted to hear. I cried when I heard it, and grabbed my friends hand. It is so sweet when played live, and I never thought I'd hear it.

1st Encore: Enjoy The Silence - expected it, but it was good to hear nonetheless! 1000 Oceans - AHH on the whurly at that! How beautiful and lovely was THAT>

2nd Encore:

The Red Baron- not my favourite, but still enjoyable.

Daniel- I love her cover of Daniel, I really really do.

Black Swan - a nice way to end the night. when she sang it, she kinda whispered at the last part of "did eric call.... by the way?" the whole line, not just by the way.

From Tiffany (iciclespark)

Added October 20, 2001 - First I simply must preface this by saying I am in a massive state of withdrawl. This was my last show of the tour, and I'm so depressed it's over. The whole day was wonderful, as the Toronto crew is the best in the world.

I simply must tell you about the meet and greet because it was crazy and wonderful. I showed up at 9:30am, and I was forth there. Others began trickling in until about 11:30 when the crowd really started to grow. At the end, Steve told us there were about 300 people there!! It was by far the biggest Meet and Greet I have ever seen!! A huge crowd of denters hung together (including myself (iciclespark), Assless Pants, Father lucifer, fragile, June, Piano on fire, ADAM_EVE, and so many more I can't even keep all the names straight (I apologize guys I love you all!)

It was also the most peaceful M&G ever. Absolutely no pushing and shoving. We stepped back about five feet, Steve had the barricades built around where the line already was and we walked up to the front. I was at the front. Just past 5pm, Tori arrived, looking gorgeous. I was completely in shock, having never met her before. Up until that point, I had been freezing and my bad knee was aching. When Tori appeared, it faded away. She packs a serious cosmic energy, this wonderful aura that wraps you up like a warm blanket and holds tight. When she got to me, she smiled wide and asked how I was. I said I was kinda spazzing because I didn't know what to say since I'd never met her. I asked how she was and she smiled huge and said "Very very good thank you". I handed her my Choirgirl cover, which she signed to me, then a letter from Lipgloss Boost, A project a few of us worked on called StrangeLittleToronto (a book filled with poems, letters and art from fans including my poems based on the 12 characters of SLG), and a "perfect set" a large group of denters compiled from all of our requests. We made it realistic, placing B&C and MaaG in the right spots. I told her what it was and asked her to try for any of them. She played 7 of our requests: Mother, Cooling, Cool on your Island, Rattlesnakes, Raining Blood, Twinkle, and Hey Jupiter.

I told Tori abut the death of Toriphile Alicia, and she seemed to not have heard about it, as her face fell and grew terribly sad. I asked her beyond our setlist if she could play Hey Jupiter in Alicia's memory, and she nodded very vigourously. We also gave her one of the blue ribbons Toronto denters were wearing for Alicia. She then hugged me and apparentlyhugged me longer than anyone else that day, but I LET GO FIRST! I thought I would faint. My life has been so changed by Tori and I finally got to thank her in the tiniest way. Tori stayed about 15 minutes then the Toronto EWF list hit Mr. Greenjeans for a dinner that had at least 30 in attendence. Wonderful!!

Okay okay, now the show review:

B&C: Coming from Wallingford and Boston, this version hit the midpoint of the others. It was like Tori was channeling Eminem's character and the mother back and forth, as if both were talking to their daughter. They had lighting problems during the first verse and chorus.

Little Amsterdam: The changed lyrics thrown in about dying set a pattern of, in my opinion, songs influenced by Alicia's death and te tragedy in September in general. Amazing version of the song.

Mother: The first of our requests! It was amazing, although I have to admit, a bit more powerful in Wallingford. But nothing can top Wallingford for me *L*

Sugar: Tori must love me. She's played tis song every time I've seen her and I LOVE it! I loved the part after "when they find you out" where she went off on "You just watch wat they do, when they take you over, boys, yes" all said very low volume, while Tori swung the mike back and forth almost in a parody of giving a blow job.

Rattlesnakes: Gorgeous, as always. She's one of my very favourites off SLG so I'm glad she came to see me again.

Mr. Zebra: Awesome!! Tori had the most adorable smile! She seemed to pause between verses abnormally long, as if the next verse was momentarily escaping her.

Never Seen Blue: I know this sounds egotistical, but part of me thinks she played this because she knew she wasn't able to play Spark for me. I'd asked during M&G and she told me "She's still finding her own way. She misses Matty (Chamberlain). She will come out sometime, but maybe not today". For personal reason I explained in my letter I gave her that day, I think she chose this song partially for me. Either way, I was thrilled.

Cool on your Island: She came to see me again!!! I absolutely love this song. I was never the huge fan of Etienne that most EWF's are. Heartbreakingly beautiful rendition.

Cooling: She prefaced this song by talking about the house she lived in over water, where if you stood in the bedroom and a canoe came by underneath with a drill, they could drill into her floor. She said she'd lived there during Pele because "fire thought she'd rather be water instead". At this point, what with meeting Tori and it being my last show, I kinda went nuts. I cried my whole way trough this song. Absolutely gorgeous; I just wish she'd bring back the Brambles verse.

Raining Blood: My first time hearing this, and it was wonderful. Better than the album IMO.

Pretty Good Year: Gorgeous and a very welcome surprise. I was on such a high.

Crucify: Done on the Wurley, it was wonderful wonderful, slowed down. Instead of the other version with the "it seems we're all in chains these days", she said "she's in again". She messed up the second chorus, almost busted out laughing completely and restarted.

Hey Jupiter: Okay, I cried hysterically. She kept looking upwards, as if saying hi to Alicia. Towards the beginning she inserted the line "And I thought she'd be safe with me" or something to that effect. Heartbreaking version.

Me and a Gun: For those at Wallingford, it was as intense as that night's version. Wow. I was really pissed at the people snapping flash pictures during this song. I wanted (no flash) pics too but NOT during MAAG.

Twinkle: This was another song where you could feel ori thinking of Alicia and the Sept. 11 tragedy. She looked up every time she sang "when she twinkles".

Enjoy the Silence: I don't care that much for Tori's version and had already heard this song on the tour, so I was a little less than thrilled. But you can't win them all!

1000 Oceans: Again, the theme of loss keeps on coming. Gorgeous version.

Not the Red Baron: I love this song, and it's been my comfort song since Sept. 11. Once again, to me the theme was emerging again, with "another pilot down".

Daniel: If you kow the lyrics and about the previous time Tori dedicated this to a lost EWF, you'll understand why this fit perfectly with tonight's set. The Boston version was a teeny bit better though.

Black Swan: I personally really really dislike this song, so it was a letdown for me. Her singing was absolutely gorgeus though. :)

And thus concludes my insanely long ramble..... :)

From Lina Correia (Posted to Precious Things mailing list)

Added October 22, 2001 - I usually write right after a concert when you are experiencing this intense wave of euphoria from the music, however today it is a bit delayed, but I am still very euphoric just thinking about it. I have seen Tori only with the band so last night was a very different experience and a real treat. It's great when you don't know what to expect, especially with such an amazing list of songs she can choose from. Rufus was great but I couldn't understand him at times which can get frustrating, but it's nice to have someone with talent open up for an artist. The audience was very quiet tonight which really surprised me, everyone around me was very respectful and completely mesmerized. This woman is amazing to watch, I have said that every time but this time was different. I love her solo, her music is so pure and you get lost with her for the entire time you are there. I really never care what she chooses to play, I would enjoy listening to her play anything at this point. I've just started piano lessons, and I have to admit I spent time watching her fingers throughout this concert. A lot of people found it sad, but I have to say it was more cathartic then anything else. I was hoping she would play me and a gun because I have never seen it live and that song is so powerful, last night it was beyond powerful. It hits you so hard, as did the rest of the evening. It was so great to hear a whole bunch of old stuff and I love the b-sides. It felt to me like I'd finally had a chance to see the stuff I had missed because I found her too late. That's a great feeling. The woman is incredable live and I am envious to all those who go and see more then one show. I'm glad to hear the meet and greet was so civil, but I'm not surprised. What an amazing night!

Added October 23, 2001 - A review of the Toronto show appeared in the October 22, 2001 edition of Canada's "national newspaper", the Globe and Mail. Thanks to Chuck for sending the article to me.

Amos plays it cool
By REBECCA CALDWELL
Toronto Globe and Mail
Ý Monday, October 22, 2001 ‚ Page R4

Tori Amos
At Massey Hall
in Toronto on Friday

For a woman whose songs are legendary for their emotional impact, Tori Amos's solo concert Friday night was oddly cold and uninspiring.

America's answer to Kate Bush was her usual energetic, enigmatic self, thrashing about and gyrating seductively on a stool situated between the two pianos she played simultaneously on songs such as Little Amsterdam.

The intensity of her lyrics was reflected in her physicality, forcefully pushing the mike with her hands and even her face. And her vocals -- haunting soprano register, moving balladic voice -- were dead on and evocative, especially in the sparse Crucify.

But while technically brilliant, she didn't manage to connect with the sold-out audience at Massey Hall, perhaps because her instruments were set back too far on the stage or because she rarely addressed the crowd. Her performance was personal, but not personable.

At times, the show seemed like an intellectual exercise -- or worse, an art-school project gone on too long. Amos opened with '97 Bonnie & Clyde from her latest album Strange Little Girls, although it was hard to tell if she was singing or if it was just her CD playing as she wasn't to be seen during the song. Instead, the stage was shrouded in a shredded, black curtain, lights beaming through to the audience, as Amos's voice, at times whispering, at times agonizing, echoed through the hall.

It's one of the best songs off her album of cover versions, a take on Eminem's original catchy rap about a man explaining to his daughter how he's murdered her mother that cleverly subverts the misogynist fantasy by focusing on the lyrics instead of burying them in melody.

Amos's presentation may have been visionary, but it seemed to simply puzzle an audience that repeatedly called out requests to hear Cornflake Girl (and in that they were disappointed.)

They weren't puzzled for long, though. The rest of the evening Amos chose mostly old favourites over new material, although she did include an intriguingly dark version of Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence and a deconstructed, balladic version of Slayer's Raining Blood.

But her powerful Me and A Gun, something of an anthem for sex-assault survivors, was overly indulgent. With a spotlight shining on her directly from stage right, Amos whispered and gutturally threw out the lyrics in a lengthy a cappella version that seemed almost self-parodying.

The audience, however, lapped up Amos, and even after her 100-minute show, demanded two encores (and in this they were not disappointed).

The crowd, too, seemed to appreciate opening solo act Rufus Wainwright. Almost every seat was filled in time to hear the cabaret stylings of Wainwright and heartily cheered him on between numbers. Mellow and relaxed, dressed in jeans and an old button-down shirt, this could have been simply a night in a rec room in front of friends.

Alternating between guitar and keyboard, he played songs such as the wistful Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk and a hypnotic California.

And his interaction with the crowd seduced them into good humour -- chatting and joking with them, even looking for his friends in the audience. Judging by the applause, he made many new ones.

Tori Amos plays Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre on Nov. 8.

From Kevin Laforest

Added October 23, 2001 - What a wonderful show it was ! I'd only seen her at Molson Centre in 98 with the band, and she was sick (only played an hour). This was something else ! Just her on the piano, that's so cool, she's mesmerizing. Great musician, great voice (which was ever more evident thanks to the venue's great accoustics). Lighting was nice too, and the setlist was to die for.

My favorite album of her's Boys For Pele, and she played lots of it, from Little Amsterdam to Hey Jupiter to Twinkle to Not The Red Baron to Mr Zebra, (which was soooo cute !)

Both '97 Bonnie & Clyde and Me and a Gun were riveting, Raining Blood was also quite an experience live. She did great renditions of Mother, Sugar (she really got into that one), Rattlesnakes and Enjoy The Silence. Crucify on the thingie with the stars was surprising (in a good way), and I love when she screwed up and giggled

My favorite moments, I think were Cooling and 1000 Oceans, which were oh so beautiful, as were Never Seen Blue, Cool On Your Island and Black Swan, which I'm not very familiar with but I loved how she played them. I had never heard her version of Daniel, but I enjoyed it a lot.

The one song that made me happiest, though, was Pretty Good Year. I just love that one so much... Plus I didn't expect it, as I haven't seen it on any previous set list from this tour... T'was perfect.

She played what, two hours, but it completely flew by. Might be the best show I've ever seen.

From Tori Knight

Added October 23, 2001 - This was one of the best shows that I've seen, and I'm not just saying that because it's recent! Massey Hall is perfect, and Tori was way into it!

A first-timer was with us and I warned her that sometimes the first show needs to sink in because first-timers have high expectations and maybe she'd enjoy the 2nd one more, just a warning, but I was wrong :) The show was incredible for her as it was for all of us. The funny thing is that she was hoping for "little Amsterdam" and it was the first song that Tori performed, to our surprise. And my other 2 companions got their wishes too.

My hightlights were Cool On Your Island, and Daniel. Tori did a lot from BFP and I have no complaints there.

Added October 23, 2001 - Chuck alerted me to a Toronto concert review that was printed in the October 21, 2001 edition of The Toronto Star newspaper. Read it online or below.

Tori Amos' baggage is heavy to handle

Ben Rayner
POP MUSIC CRITIC

It hardly fit the sullen mood at Massey Hall, but there was something genuinely relieving about the little giggle that escaped Tori Amos' mouth at an inopportune moment Friday night during a dirge-like wallow through her calling-card tune, "Crucify."

Aside from a flighty speech about Canada (or, rather, "the northern territories") being "the big sister of the north" delivered near the beginning of an otherwise unwaveringly sombre two-hour solo performance, it was one of the only indications Amos wasn't going to end the night by downing a bottle of sleeping pills backstage. That one unsuppressed, decidedly girlish snicker suggested there was, at least, a thin line separating performer from performance.

And this was a performance, all right. There's no shortage of real psychological baggage roosting in Amos' songs -- her a capella rendition of "Me And A Gun" was an unflinching, autobiographical evocation of rape that left the sold-out room unsure whether to applaud or sit in reverent silence -- but she makes damn sure you know it.

Each elaborately curlicued vocal, each classically complicated, portentously pedalled piano arrangement, the way Amos dramatically thwacked the face of the piano with a bracelet for percussive effect during "Sugar," the on-cue collapse of her seated frame at the end of each song -- these are the signifiers of Importance, the stylized flourishes that let you know "this is all taking a lot out of me."

It's the kind of stuff that makes for a deep connection with fans, as evidenced by the way the poor, huddled masses rushed the geometrically adorned stage to be closer to Amos during the five-song double encore that concluded the night. It's also, however, the kind of stuff that can get quite exhausting over an entire evening if you're not hanging on every word, as evidenced by the beleaguered looks that had begun to haunt many flagging boyfriends' and husbands' faces. This was a crowd visibly heavy on couples (her rapt, him quietly noting that Amos looked rather fetching in a cut-from-the-air swath of sheer material) by show's end.

That's not meant to suggest, by the way, that Amos' appeal breaks down along gender lines, although it doesn't take a lot of formal sociological observation to conclude that her fan base is weighted considerably toward the female side. Besides, Amos herself has made gender politics an issue on her new disc, Strange Little Girls, by subjecting a dozen male-penned songs to feminine readings.

Those covers, interestingly, were kept to a minimum on Friday night. The show opened with Amos' unsettling version of Eminem's graphic wife-murder fantasy "'97 Bonnie And Clyde" piped in over the PA.

Familiar Amos oldies such as "Little Amsterdam," "1000 Oceans" and "Hey Jupiter" culled from her five previous albums instead dominated the evening, each nimbly cascading piano or keyboard intro drawing a roar of recognition from the hall. Of the Strange Little Girls tracks that did make an appearance, Slayer's "Raining Blood" -- a sprawling, fittingly intense tour of Hell that ebbed and flowed portentously like a concert-piano composition -- was the most interesting, although Amos also pulled out Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence" and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' "Rattlesnakes."

The different songwriting voices barely registered, though, since Amos gave everything the same slowed-down, torched-up treatment, making it very apparent that many of her songs could stand to be trimmed by a verse. Her voice is likewise a mighty instrument -- a rare, full-throated outburst during "Pretty Good Year" hinted at the full power held in reserve -- but Amos' inconsistent phrasing and bottomless cache of vocal affectations (it's not enough simply to say "Jesus;" it's gotta be "Jeee-sooo-yeee-usss") often diminish the impact her perfectly pitched pipes can make when she simply sings.

It boils down to a matter of taste, I suspect, whether you prefer Amos unadorned by full-band arrangements or dolled up in full, neo-Kate Bush art-pop regalia. Fans of the former, who hurled flowers, cards and cries of "Toronto loves you, Tori!" between songs, certainly weren't complaining about this gig.

From Amy Anderer

Added October 30, 2001 - I just wanted to comment on some things you said. I was at the Oct. 19 show in Toronto. Thankfully, I didn't have anyone singing along behind me, but I also experienced the rude behaviour of people with flash cameras and one right behind me with a disposable camera that had to be wound by hand. In addition to the distraction of the flashes, Tori also seemed to be bothered by it. She didn't say anything, but at one point a flash went off and she squeezed her eyes shut and made an unhappy face. It was like she was trying to communicate her wishes without ruining the flow of the concert by saying something to the audience about the flashes. Do people not understand that from 50 feet away, the flash is useless anyhow?? I was appalled. The flash pictures increased as she got into her encores, I guess people figured it was almost over so they didn't care if they were thrown out. It got to the point where it was almost constant.

The reviews below were taken from the concert reviews section of The Dent Forum and added here on January 7, 2002

the day in a nutshell:

got to massey hall around 11, waited for like 6 hours..but we didnt get to actually meet tori cuz all these peopele pushed ahead and it was kinda sucky...but i managed to hand my letter to someone to give to her *more on this later*....so after the meet and greet we (i went with jason *drowned world*, his boyfriend, and my friend michele) did some shopping...

now on to the set:

tori was in absolute top form, throwing out song after song..songs that i was not expecting...like little presents to everyone:

*b+c 97-absolutely chilling....i knew it would be creepy but...i was almost in tears

*Little Amsterdamn-what a shocker! she would do these real fast turns from the whurlie to the piano during the choruses...it was fun

*Mother- wow! was not expecting this one...its absolutely gorgeous...the ending got quiet and so pretty

*Sugar- augh! so this is like one of my favorite b-sides and i was lucky enough to get it last time at darien lake and i got it again now! the ending was very emotional....

*Rattlesnakes-i like this one live alot...its slower and more drawn out...with the chorus on the piano

*Mr Zebra-what a nice treat...so fun...tori seemed to enjoy this one

*Never Seen Blue-gorgeous...so not expecting this girl to pop up but glad she did

*Cool On Your Island- she kinda gave a little giggle and went into this one...it a beautiful song really...

*Cooling-a cute little story before this one...it ended with "well ya know fire decided she wanted to be water instead"...so i knew what was coming...it was absolutely gorgeous...the "cooooooooooliiiiingggggg" at the end....*sigh*

*Raining Blood-long intro with really low notes...very surreal and melodic....gorgeous...deep red lights and drawn out vocals...i was so glad to hear this

*Pretty Good Year-can we say 'oh my god!"?? this set just keeps getting better and better...its funny too cuz right before this song i was thinking...'wow...she hasnt played any under the pink yet....'

*Crucify-hehe she good "lookin for a savior in these birdy streets..." it was cute she started laughing right after...i like how its reworked...longer and more drawn out

*Hey Jupiter-gorgeous

*Me and a Gun-first time ive heard this live and its absolutely chilliing how quiet it got in that theater

*Twinkle-so cute...a lovely way to follow up me and a gun...a delightful surprise as well...

*Enjoy The Silence-right back from offstage, gave a wave, right into this one...much better live than album version

*1000 Oceans-beautiful...but so many people were taking pictures it got annoying....at the end of this i started crying hehe...

*Not the Red Baron-okay...so here's where it gets emotional...so if we jump back a second to where i mentioned my letter...the letter i wrote tori said alot of stuff and it mentioned this song and how its been a very good friend to me lately and i asked her if she felt like coming out if she could play it...she did...as soon as it started i just got so happy and...well...if you saw a boy in a grey argyle sweater crying like a baby during this...odds are it was me thanks tori...

*Daniel-very very nice....

*Black Swan-tori had one more surprise in store for us before she left and it was this girl...so great...an absolutely perfect way to end the evening...

sorry for the randomness...im giddy

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Review by CarrionAngel

Oh my god

Despite a hellish trip up, and back, I'm still absolutely beside myself over this show.

Come to think of it, I've been sooo lucky! I got to see the CT show from the 5th row with someone I love very much, but the setlist had very few of my fav's. Then in Toronto I was stuck in the balcony, which turned out to be a better seat than I expected it to be, and the setlist was an absolute dream (with the possible exception of little, or no girls from Choirgirl but one or two of them had popped up in CT anyway).

I felt like I was the first person in the room to 'get it' when she started Crucify, I picked out a note sequence and cought my breath quick. It was funny. Pretty Good Year hit me like a ton of bricks (a close friend died a couple years ago, durring a stressfull time in another friends life. We turned to that song to help us get through.) And when she started into Cooling, it was like somebody opened the floodgates. I've never cried at a concert before, not even last weekend in CT. But I cried tonight.

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Review by deborah (anastasia1009)

I just home at 3:30am left Toronto at midnight and got into Ottawa. It was a long day but worth it all.

It was an amazing show. Cried so much that my contacts dried out a bit. When she sang Never Seen Blue my eyes were watering so much. That was the hightlight song for me. I took my bf there who only likes a few songs but when she sang Cool on your Island and Hey Jupiter he got goose pimples - he loved them two songs.

I am off to bed and sleep for 10 hrs. Then unpack and relax.

Life is amazing. Glad to meet so many tori fans. If felt great to be apart of such a wonderful group.

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Review by Piku

Hey all,,,brief summaries of songs while they're still fresh in my mind.

'97 Bonnie & Clyde
-interesting opener...not too much I have to say about this one. Sort of drew the point home that she was doing something more with this song.

Little Amsterdam
-this one was good. I have ignored this song for the past couple of years so it was nice to get a refresher.

Mother
-lovely, absolutely lovely!

Sugar
-pounding the piano. Even sans the band, it was still a very loud, intense performance. You can tell that the previous version with the band had a lasting influence. I really like how she's doing this song lately.

Rattlesnakes
-I was happy to hear this one, one of my favs off of SLG. Some nice 'eeeee's at the beginning.

Mr. Zebra
-very cute, w/ some funny smiles smiles & gestures to the audience.

Never Seen Blue
-A lovely surprise! This has to be one of my favourite, if not the favourite, b-sides. She didn't play Cloud On My Tongue tonight, but this made up for it. So pretty, very moving.

Cool On Your Island
-I'm so glad I got to hear this one in my life time. My favourite off of YKTR...also has some personal significance to me. Quietly beautiful. Also nice that she acknowledges this part of her past. Another thing that makes her so distinctive from the rest.

Cooling
-I have little memory of this, but I remember enjoying it.

Raining Blood
-very intense. Words to describe it? Thick, heavy, dense. It had a lot of weight. I haven't paid much attention to this track up until late, but this live version has made me want to listen to the recorded version more often.

Pretty Good Year
-VERY well done. This was such a pleasant surprise. Some nice lights and volume during the 'what's it gonna ta-e-yay-e-yake' part. One of the best songs of the night, IMO.

Crucify
-I wasn't as into this one, felt it was a bit too drawn out. It was played on that whurly thing (someone please refresh my memory--describe what she played to me other than the Bosendorfer...one was the 'whurly' and the other was just an electric keyboard? I'm ignorant...but I need to know if I'm to write a competent review). Very funny when she said 'Looking for a saviour in these bird-y streets...*snicker*'

Later added 'looking for a saviour in these cagey sheets'



Hey Jupiter
-This one was also very well done. The 'ooooh oooooh hoooo' part was very haunting, quite lovely. I don't think any version I've heard (recorded) has quite captured that haunting quality as well as this version did.

Me and a Gun
-The audience was very quiet for this one. The song had a different quality live than I thought it would. It didn't make me want to cry, like I thought it would.

Twinkle
-pretty, although this isn't a song I'm that interested in...someone commented that they thought her set declined in quality towards the end. I don't agree entirely, but I wasn't as into this one. Still good, though.

1st Encore:

Enjoy The Silence
-Yay! I liked this one a lot. I've been listening the song (both original and Tori's version) a lot lately... Loved it.

1000 Oceans
-much better live than on record. Another song I've abandoned recently...but it was very touching live.

2nd Encore:

Not The Red Baron
-perhaps in some ways appropriate, but another song that I'm not that into personally. I was interesting.

Daniel
-lovely. I'm so happy she played this. A treat!

Black Swan
-I guess some fans will be happy that this was played although I didn't feel it was a strong closer.

Anyway...keep in mind I'll be writing a review of this so I was just trying to be honest about any parts that I wasn't totally blown away by. Overall though? It was a great show...I enjoyed this much more than her abbreviated set w/ Alanis the last time she was in Toronto.

Definitely worth it!

And I liked Rufus a lot too...I think he's better with his band supporting him, but solo he can still do it well.

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Review by streetfaerie

I found a little piece of heaven tonight...Tori was magical
There was those moments were I swear she was looking right at me!! (unlikely maybe) but sigh...

It was amazing how much she can do with her voice...she takes it to so many levels...unbelievable!

I was incredibly happy to hear Pretty Good Year!,

Cool On Your Island was a first for me...it blew me away,

Daniel was touching...so sweet..Black Swan...Cooling

So I'm rambling on, but damn, after a concert this intense you try to take it into your life and make it a moment (moments) you never want to forget...

You can't help but feel everythings gonna be okay in your life when Tori's out there giving you that hope...

Gee whiz...wow...what can you say?
"Words are meaningless" right now I guess...

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Review by emily (June)

I won't review the setlist cause lots of people already have but....It was SUCH an amazing show!!!! She played MaAG and twinkle back to back which had me in tears!! My seats rocked!!! Even though i didn't get to meet her at the m&g i still got to see the top of her head! So yeah the show rocked and so did all the 'internet peeps' (as father lucifer would say )

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Review by fragile

I cried when she played twinkle, like you wouldnt believe. I was so happy and overjoyed. I thought the Meet and Greet went okay, considering a drunk guy pushed his way to the front and there was someone who was being a touch showoffy. (ernn..) everyone I met was so sweet and lovely, and I can't wait to see you all again :/

Here are my thoughts on the Toronto show. She wasn't *too* chatty, but she sounded amazing.
The Meet and Greet was FAB. I got there at 10:30, and everyone was so polite, and calm. Tori didn't arrive til around 5:00, it got to a point where Steve kept asking this other woman "uh... where's tori?". We were in the barricades since 4 I think :/ But it was great

my seats were AMAZING. I was 2nd row right balcony, and tori was looking in our direction like 90% of the time. There was a loud,loud woman in front my me though who kept scratching her boyfriends back, rubbing his head and making out with him during the show :/ grrrr!

Here are my thoughts, song to song.

'97 Bonnie & Clyde- I couldn't help it, I giggled at the beginning of it, at the mere thought that I've actually reached my Tori show. I can't stand the album version of this, but hearing her do it live was absolutely chilling.

Little Amsterdam- Couldn't figure it out in the beginning, but when I realized she was played it I was blown away!

Mother - This girl was out in full force. Not a favourite of mine, but still nice to hear.

Sugar- She wispered "you're just a pusssssyyy" and dragged it out a touch. it was great.

Rattlesnakes- Nice. I think at times though, when she's playing the two whurly and the piano at once, it kinda gets all mushed together and doesn't sound too hot:/

Mr. Zebra- How cute and unexpected was THIS? I LOVED hearing Mr. Zebra!

Never Seen Blue- It was so overwhelming, hearing never seen blue. it sounded beautiful and calm, and so sweet.

Cool On Your Island- WOW. I was still in shock from hearing never seen blue, and now cool on your island!

Cooling- ahh, sweet cooling. I was sitting there with my mouth open from the last three songs, thinking "wowwwww. i love this setlist!" She introduced it with some story that made NO sense, about water and drills and houses and the bridge floating. But she mentioned the bridge, which made me think "hey, maybe she'll do brambles!" but alas, no.

Raining Blood- piano was great on it. It drags on a bit live, I found, though.

Pretty Good Year- AHHHH!! I was so overjoyed to hear this, especially cause I never thought I would. it sounded BEAUTIFUL.

Crucify- she messed up, as someone noted which was kinda cute, and in response to her mistakes she goofed up her other lyric! (I've been looking for a saviour in these birdy streets (she giggled) looking for a saviour, beneath these cagey sheets)

Hey Jupiter- She was asked to play this for LilJupiterGrl, who was killed on September 11th, and lovingly she obliged. it was a beautiful, emotional version.

Me and a Gun- I couldn't really enjoy MAAG because there was a light shining RIGHT in my eye :/

Twinkle- Twinkle was the only song I wanted to hear. I cried when I heard it, and grabbed my friends hand. It is so sweet when played live, and I never thought I'd hear it.

1st Encore:
Enjoy The Silence - expected it, but it was good to hear nonetheless!
1000 Oceans - AHH on the whurly at that! How beautiful and lovely was THAT>

2nd Encore:
Not The Red Baron- not my favourite, but still enjoyable.

Daniel- I love her cover of Daniel, I really really do.

Black Swan - a nice way to end the night. when she sang it, she kinda whispered at the last part of "did eric call.... by the way?" the whole line, not just by the way.

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Review by Assless Pants

Well, I can honestly say yesterday was the best day of my life. We showed up around 10-ish to wait for Tori, who showed up around 5. I spent hours talking to so many wonderful people. Fatherlucifer (who is the cutest thing ever) and I hit it off particularly well. (We're going to get married and have children.) I got to talk to VenusAsABoy and burning ocean again (THE PETES), the people from the PJ Harvey show. It's really bizarre to feel a weird bond with strangers over PJ Harvey or Tori. Very positive. There was a pretty cool vibe. Everyone was really friendly and talking to everyone else. (About Tori, of course!) I talked to Rebecca and pagoda, who were both very cool and had eyebrow piercings (the lucky bastards). We even made up a hypothetical setlist to give to her of songs we'd like to hear. When Iciclespark and I went for a potty break, we saw Tash's crib in the back of one of trucks outside the venue! Awesome! We started squealing like NSync fans.

I wrote Tori a very heartfelt letter and enclosed some of my assless comics. They don't exactly compliment each other well, but I'm sure she'd be amused by it! I also requested Cooling in my letter.

So I talked to her. Handed her my letter. At first I was shaking when she was signing my stuff, crying. She was about to hand it back and I was like, "Susan, my name is Susan" so she wrote my name on it. I said, "Thank you Tori. You changed my life." She had this amazing understanding look on her face and grabbed my hand. I said, "Please play Cooling Tori" and she enthusiastically wrote it on her hand. I was shaking SO hard. I smudged a bit of Tori's autograph by accident. It took me like 45 minutes to completely regain my composure.

There's something AMAZING about her presence in person. She's a fucking superhuman. Her eyes are so powerful and magnetic. Everyone changes when she gets there, and I don't just mean they get hyper and start screaming at Tori and pushing more. You can SEE the effect she has on people. I know I wasn't the only person crying. It's just so amazing the scope of the effect she's had.... such a positive effect on so many people. Amazing. And she's sooooo tiny and pretty!

We went to dinner, which is always fun. Fun hanging around with people. I sat with Smikey and Chris and Lesley and Iciclespark and Cruel Intentions and Kevan (Piku). It was so marvelous. I also had lots of "girltalk" with Matthew (fatherlucifer).

Before the show, I decided to scope the crowd and seek out Brad/No Angel Came, who I did spot and go talk to. He had the best ear piercings and he was so cute and had the best American accent ever! He also has the best livejournal ever. Go visit him!

'97 Bonnie & Clyde
Little Amsterdam
Mother
Sugar
Rattlesnakes
Mr. Zebra
Never Seen Blue
Cool On Your Island
Cooling
Raining Blood
Pretty Good Year
Crucify
Hey Jupiter
Me and a Gun
Twinkle

1st Encore:
Enjoy The Silence
1000 Oceans

2nd Encore:
Not The Red Baron
Daniel
Black Swan

I was so not expecting this setlist.

It was a very Pele show.

'97 Bonnie and Clyde - Fucking awesome dramatic start. I loved the curtain dropping part. Her voice was so amazing in that dead, restrained whisper she does the song in. How could Eminem's version ever fucking compare? This song just goes to show how amazing Tori is. Completely changes the song - makes it good.

Little Amsterdam - Took me a few seconds to recognize the piano intro, but damn. I wasn't really expecting this at all and it was a good surprise. Kind of weird half on the keyboard, but it was a nice change.

Mother - How fucking amazing was this song!? One of my favourite on Little Earthquakes. So gorgeous. Just amazingly powerful.

Sugar - Definitely influenced by the band. Much harder and angrier than it was before. I love the part when she pounds the piano with her fist. The "pussy" part was awesome. (I like that part.) The improv bridge is different than it was with the band, and a nice change.

Rattlesnakes - The played the chorus on the piano and the rest on the keyboard. A bit slowed down compared to the album version. I am not sure what to think of it, I'd have to hear it again. It's my favourite song on SLG. Her voice was amazing.

Mr. Zebra - This song is adorable! During the one part instead of playing the usual piano part she just went "plink plink" on the keys, which was very cute. I love this song. It's so short and bouncy. I was not expecting this one either. "Too bad the burial was premature, she said and smiled."

Never Seen Blue - At first I thought it was I'm On Fire (which would have been SO COOL!) because the piano intros sound sooo similar. But I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It's such a pretty song, and very happy.

Cool On Your Island - Amazing, especially compared to the version on Y Kant Tori Read.

Cooling - I was absolutely fucking thrilled. She told this adorable story before she started about the house over the bridge. "You could come up under the bedroom in a canoe and drill up!" She hung around in the house a lot during the Pele era and she said "the fire thought she'd really rather be water instead". And I FREAKED. Then she played it. And I actually cried. I've never cried during a concert before. But I know she played it for me. When I asked for Cooling she seemed very enthusiastic and she did show up that night. You have no idea how amazing it is to hear your favourite artist play your favourite song for you. It was the most beautiful thing I've heard in my life. How awesome is that song?

Raining Blood - I love how her voice just soared over the piano in this song. it's so creepy. Even creepier in a venue full of people, sitting absolutely silent. "A laaaaceraaaaaated SKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Slayer eat your heart out.

Pretty Good Year - I wasn't expecting this. It hasn't been all too common on this tour (I'm pretty sure. I don't remember taking special note.) But when the piano started I was like "YAY!" because this song has been a usual favourite of mine for ages, since I started listening to Tori. I listened to it when it turned from 1999-2000 (Isn't that corny?). Who doesn't like that "Hey what's it gonna take" part. It's got more punch with the band, but still, awesome. I'm glad she played this and not Past the Mission. Much better song.

Crucify - It was weird and slow on the stars and stripes thing, but it was so cute when she messed up the lyrics "look for a saviour in these birdy streets, looking for a saviour beneath these cagey sheets". It was so funny and soooo cute.

Hey Jupiter - Played mostly on keyboards with some piano for Alicia (littlejupitergirl) from the Dent who died in the Sept 11 attack. It was soooo pretty. She had so much anguish in her voice. This entire song has so much beauty in the sound and the lyrics. "I guess I thought I could never feel the things I feel...."

Me and a Gun - Oh my fucking god. So many people take this song for granted because it's been one of the classic classic songs for so many years and she played it a lot up to 96 and a fair bit afterwards. They're like *shrug* Eh.. Me and a Gun. But I nearly shit my pants during this one. The proverbial pin drop. Completely. God, it was so intense. This song perfectly describes what would go through the mind of a rape victim and she sings it she MEANS it because this HAPPENED to her. She did such a great job. It was so emotional and intense. Not a happy song by any stretch, or even one you'd listen to a lot, but god, it's so fucking important. It was amazing.

Twinkle - OMG! more pele! I wasn't expecting this either but very happy because I love this song, almost as much as Putting the Damage On now. It's so pretty. "She said I killed a man T, I've got to stay hidden in this abbey..."

Encore 1:

Enjoy the Silence - awesome! Like it a lot better than the original Depeche Mode version. Really good song.

1000 Oceans - I don't like the album version because it sounds so.... top 40-ish. But shit, this actually made me cry. When solo, it gets to the real core emotion of this song. It's full of such longing.

Encore 2:

Not the Red Baron - My least favourite from Pele, but seeing it live gave me new respect for it. it's a gorgeous song.

Daniel - I started crying again. I requested Daniel last time she was in Toronto for Lissa, to no avail. But god this song is so beautiful. One of her best covers ever. So beautiful and sad. It's a great song about death.

Black Swan - I nearly shit myself again. This song.... wow. Made me cry. Not so much because of the song, but because I knew the concert would be over at the end. I was not expecting this song either... but it was very pretty. Nice way to end the concert.

Now, the issue of merchandise.
What did I get?
I got:
- The black Strange Little Girls shirt with the dates on the back and the SLG character on the front
- The dark dark blue one with Tori's discography with all the albums and eps and their track listings with the mic on the front and piano keys on the back
- The tour program/calender. It's soooo cute! Tori's birthday is marked on it! "Be nice to faeries day."
- A huge tori poster picture print thing I got from some woman outside the venue that Lesley and I had to chase down. It was like $10 and made me completley broke but it's a wonderful addition to my collection.

I can honestly say that was the best concert I have been to in my life. There's something so different about a Tori concert. No one can capture that kind of power. Her river just runs so deep... I don't know. She's just a tempest up there. She means every word and everyone knows it. Every word is loaded. She's such a natural.

Afterwards, we went to some restaurant. The waiter was really bitchy to us and wouldn't give us separate bills until he found out we were Tori fans. Then he was really nice, which was cool. He came and sat and talked with us about Tori. We hung out for a bit, and then we had to depart.

Drove back to Thorold, took Lesley home, then went to Burger King. LMAO. Always end up back at burger king. I made us go home. I didn't want to be the one who had to make the day end, but I was really tired. It was absolutely fucking marvelous, yesterday. All because of Tori Amos.

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Review by burning ocean

I'm back, on my fett, after sleeping for 10 hours.
Here's my short, badly written review.

I got to the meet and greet area at around 11 in the morning. I was glad to see VenusasaBoy first in line, so I sat with him and we chatted for a while. Then I had to go to my spot in the line. I hardly talked to anyone for the rest of the wait until Tori came out, because I knew only two of you people! But I did make a friend (I hope she agrees) witha girl that wanted to get the same CD signed (Winter single). I don't know your name, but you asked for mine, it was rude of me not to ask you, sorry
Once Tori came out I gave her a Piano Pin and a letter. She looked at the pin and looked into my eyes, thanked me. Looking into her eyes was so surreal. As if getting drunk, really! The only way I can describe it, or perhaps filled with energy, as Ie never gotten drunk. The girl who I talked about earlier was standing beside me but was kind of short, so I took her Winter CD and handed it to Tori and she signed it. I took a few pictures with my camera, and then the girl's camera, and someone else's camera. And I handed some things over to Tori. My point is that there are nice people everywhere. And people who say people were being rude and pushy, that's not true at all. I saw many people who were helping eachother out!

After the meet and greet The Denters went to Mr. Greenjeans. That's when I finally opened up a bit. The food wasnt the best, many agree. I made some great friends. I'll talk about the wonderful people later.

THE ACTUAL REVIEW

We went into Massey Hall, where no one got searched, really. IT wasn't the most secure search!
I went into my seat and waited.

Rufu was good. Better than I had expected!
Someone said he was drunk and had a six pack on stage. He had two beers, and drank only one, so I don't know what you saw. (MAybe someone else was drunk, ) He was funny and very nice. I enjoyed him a lot.

Then after he played Tori came on. I'm not going to get into detail here, as many of you have already written those reviews. But, Little Amsterdam was a great surprise! I was thrilled to hear this live!!!! Keep in mind this is my first Tori show!
Cool on Your Island waws the first to make me cry. I've never given the lyrics a chance. But they were extremely fresh in my head. So the song was sort of a closure to many things that have ended in my life recently. Cooling was right after it (it seems) and it was just wonderful. This song means so much to me. I had a little tear here too. This song was really Cool on Your Island's twin because they both were a closure for me, and made me accept something.

Pretty Good Year. well, that's just out of this world. Whenever I watch this on the NY video for RAINN I cry out of joy. And that was also the case here. It was wonderful and made all my pain melt. It was especially wonderful because Raining Blood was right before it. And despite our world being attacked, for years and years now, we must think of the good times. SO Pretty Good Year was a Merman for me. I had hoped to hear Merman, but Pretty Good Year had almost the same substence.

Twinkle was also wonderful. When Tori started playing the into I thought it was Merman and I started to cry. This was serious. I couldnt hold this in. But then she started singing it and it wasn't Merman, so....
But I love Twinkle too!

I wrote about 1000 Oceans in the letter I gave Tori. I listened to that song right after my airplane almost fell out of the sky couple months ago. As the song was playing on my Diskman I looked around and watched people cry and pray and it was so touching. I was holding my mom's hand that day in the airplane and was thinking that we might die and this is the last minute we might be together (on earth). And the lyrics were just perfect for that moment. That moment changed my life. So I was glad to hear this song. It was very emotional.

Not the red Baron was also beautiful. Very touching!

The highlites for me were Little Amsterdam, Rattlesnakes, Mr. Zebra, Cool on your island, cooling and Pretty Good YEar.

Oh, at the show I bought the anniversary t-shirt, which is messed up. SOme of the tracks on the back are false. The calendar and a pin. Yeehaw!

Now its time to chat about the people. Most were wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better time. Piku, Venus (Peter), Assless, her friend (I forgot your name, again! but I loved you the most), the redhead who I sat across from at the dinner, and many others, really, were really friendly to me. We got along great. And I can't wait to hang out again!
Oh, I'll have the pictures back soon, which is VERY exciting!

Well, it was nice spending time with everyone, and it was nice seeing Tori, but you know what was the nicest? The drunk, old man, who came to the meet and greet and got in front of everyone. That was wonderful. YUMMMM

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Review by iciclespark

I simply must tell you about the meet and greet because it was crazy and wonderful. I showed up at 9:30am, and I was forth there. Others began trickling in until about 11:30 when the crowd really started to grow. At the end, Steve told us there were about 300 people there!! It was by far the biggest Meet and Greet I have ever seen!! A huge crowd of denters hung together (including myself (iciclespark), Assless Pants, Father lucifer, fragile, June, Piano on fire, ADAM_EVE, and so many more I can't even keep all the names straight (I apologize guys I love you all!)

It was also the most peaceful M&G ever. Absolutely no pushing and shoving. We stepped back about five feet, Steve had the barricades built around where the line already was and we walked up to the front. I was at the front. Just past 5pm, Tori arrived, looking gorgeous. I was completely in shock, having never met her before. Up until that point, I had been freezing and my bad knee was aching. When Tori appeared, it faded away. She packs a serious cosmic energy, this wonderful aura that wraps you up like a warm blanket and holds tight. When she got to me, she smiled wide and asked how I was. I said I was kinda spazzing because I didn't know what to say since I'd never met her. I asked how she was and she smiled huge and said "Very very good thank you". I handed her my Choirgirl cover, which she signed to me, then a letter from Lipgloss Boost, A project a few of us worked on called StrangeLittleToronto (a book filled with poems, letters and art from fans including my poems based on the 12 characters of SLG), and a "perfect set" a large group of denters compiled from all of our requests. We made it realistic, placing B&C and MaaG in the right spots. I told her what it was and asked her to try for any of them. She played 7 of our requests: Mother, Cooling, Cool on your Island, Rattlesnakes, Raining Blood, Twinkle, and Hey Jupiter.

I told Tori abut the death of Toriphile Alicia, and she seemed to not have heard about it, as her face fell and grew terribly sad. I asked her beyond our setlist if she could play Hey Jupiter in Alicia's memory, and she nodded very vigourously. We also gave her one of the blue ribbons Toronto denters were wearing for Alicia. She then hugged me and apparentlyhugged me longer than anyone else that day, but I LET GO FIRST! I thought I would faint. My life has been so changed by Tori and I finally got to thank her in the tiniest way. Tori stayed about 15 minutes then the Toronto EWF list hit Mr. Greenjeans for a dinner that had at least 30 in attendence. Wonderful!!

Okay okay, now the show review:

B&C: Coming from Wallingford and Boston, this version hit the midpoint of the others. It was like Tori was channeling Eminem's character and the mother back and forth, as if both were talking to their daughter. They had lighting problems during the first verse and chorus.

Little Amsterdam: The changed lyrics thrown in about dying set a pattern of, in my opinion, songs influenced by Alicia's death and te tragedy in September in general. Amazing version of the song.

Mother: The first of our requests! It was amazing, although I have to admit, a bit more powerful in Wallingford. But nothing can top Wallingford for me *L*

Sugar: Tori must love me. She's played tis song every time I've seen her and I LOVE it! I loved the part after "when they find you out" where she went off on "You just watch wat they do, when they take you over, boys, yes" all said very low volume, while Tori swung the mike back and forth almost in a parody of giving a blow job.

Rattlesnakes: Gorgeous, as always. She's one of my very favourites off SLG so I'm glad she came to see me again.

Mr. Zebra: Awesome!! Tori had the most adorable smile! She seemed to pause between verses abnormally long, as if the next verse was momentarily escaping her.

Never Seen Blue: I know this sounds egotistical, but part of me thinks she played this because she knew she wasn't able to play Spark for me. I'd asked during M&G and she told me "She's still finding her own way. She misses Matty (Chamberlain). She will come out sometime, but maybe not today". For personal reason I explained in my letter I gave her that day, I think she chose this song partially for me. Either way, I was thrilled.

Cool on your Island: She came to see me again!!! I absolutely love this song. I was never the huge fan of Etienne that most EWF's are. Heartbreakingly beautiful rendition.

Cooling: She prefaced this song by talking about the house she lived in over water, where if you stood in the bedroom and a canoe came by underneath with a drill, they could drill into her floor. She said she'd lived there during Pele because "fire thought she'd rather be water instead". At this point, what with meeting Tori and it being my last show, I kinda went nuts. I cried my whole way trough this song. Absolutely gorgeous; I just wish she'd bring back the Brambles verse.

Raining Blood: My first time hearing this, and it was wonderful. Better than the album IMO.

Pretty Good Year: Gorgeous and a very welcome surprise. I was on such a high.

Crucify: Done on the Wurley, it was wonderful wonderful, slowed down. Instead of the other version with the "it seems we're all in chains these days", she said "she's in again". She messed up the second chorus, almost busted out laughing completely and restarted.

Hey Jupiter: Okay, I cried hysterically. She kept looking upwards, as if saying hi to Alicia. Towards the beginning she inserted the line "And I thought she'd be safe with me" or something to that effect. Heartbreaking version.

Me and a Gun: For those at Wallingford, it was as intense as that night's version. Wow. I was really pissed at the people snapping flash pictures during this song. I wanted (no flash) pics too but NOT during MAAG.

Twinkle: This was another song where you could feel ori thinking of Alicia and the Sept. 11 tragedy. She looked up every time she sang "when she twinkles".

Enjoy the Silence: I don't care that much for Tori's version and had already heard this song on the tour, so I was a little less than thrilled. But you can't win them all!

1000 Oceans: Again, the theme of loss keeps on coming. Gorgeous version.

Not the Red Baron: I love this song, and it's been my comfort song since Sept. 11. Once again, to me the theme was emerging again, with "another pilot down".

Daniel: If you kow the lyrics and about the previous time Tori dedicated this to a lost EWF, you'll understand why this fit perfectly with tonight's set. The Boston version was a teeny bit better though.

Black Swan: I personally really really dislike this song, so it was a letdown for me. Her singing was absolutely gorgeus though.

And thus concludes my insanely long ramble.....

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Review by ADAM_ EVE

OH MY GOD I AM SO IN AWE.

I left the house at 6:40 am with my parent's and piano_on_fire I was so excited I threw up at a gas station in Bellville. We arrived in Toronto around 11:00 and went straight to the Meet and Greet where we met tons of nice peole Suze(assless pants) Tiffany (iciclespark) Btw I'm sorry you didn't get to hear Spark.
We saw burning ocean and others that smiled at us and just were there making the 6 hour wait more fun. Father Lucifer asked me what song I wanted to hear for the set list they were making up and I said Landslide Every like 5 minutes the alarm went off across the street at St John's hospital. Then a guy with an IV came out and it looked like he was trying to escape,lol but when I looked again he was gone. White snowflakes were falling from the sky and Suze said it's anthrax. A drunk old man who just wanted to get to FUCKING Queen Street as he put it pushed his way to the barricades and finally they just let him out to get rid of him. Andrew was there and got his bfp vinyl signed and was told by marcel? that you got your stuff signed so please calm down cause he was like freaking out. I got closer and got my slg cd booklet signed. I yelled Jared and she smiled and gave it back The girl with the Winter Single CD was so nice and talked to me as we were being squished togther. I want her name so I can tahnk her for just noticing me and talking to me. After ward like 40 of us wen to Mr. Green Jeans to eat The food was ok, but nothing spectacular. I sat with tori knight pof,chcuk and two girls.

Then the show Rufus was awesome he opened with Ciagarettes and Chocolate Milk. The he played 4 songs on the guitar Rebel Prince where he said this is on the Moulon Rouge soundtrack,and that he was gonna paly Nicole Kidman's brother who continues what she started in Moulon Rouge 2. Then it was Greek Song, California,In My Arms.Then he closed with three piano songs In a Graveyard, which he said he wrote in a graveyard while he was on acid, although he didn't condone drug use. Grey Gardens and Poses which he said was about NYC.I left after for a washroom break and to see if Rufus would Sign my Ticket but he was not there or I just missed him. Was he around signing? When he asked pretty early on in his 8 song set list where his guest were that he invited, they yelled up here from the Balcony and he said you should have been down here I told them to put you down here, those BASTARDS. Lol he also said he was watching a lot of tv while on the road and was seeing the whole Anthrax scares and said that is why my records arn't being sold downstairs It figures with the border crossing problems and me being on anthrax record lmfao too damn funny,and that all you could do was laugh really and we all applauded and laughed. He really had a good rapport with the audience.

Now on to Tori she played 20 songs and this being my first show was awesome Highlights for me were Cooling,Pretty Good Year, Cool on Your Island Daniel,1,000 Oceans. and Black Swan which I had never heard b4 and it was just beautiful. Afterwards we waited for Tori and this homeless Balck man came in holding his cradbaord sign taped to a pole with a jar of change and whenever he sang a line he shook his change jar to make that typical blues da na na na he said that President Bush is a terrorist and all this hatefull shit. I got sick of him so I left after taking his picture. All in all I great day.

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Review by beth (Kudra)

there's not much i can really add to what has been said, but here's my thoughts about the Toronto M&G and show...

firstly, i'm so glad that people wore the ribbons i made... i was a little worried that people wouldn't care about remembering littlejupitergirl... thank you iciclespark for making a point of telling Tori about it and requesting Hey Jupiter...

i got to the M&G around 10:30 and met a lot of you wonderful people... i'm sorry i was so shy and quiet... i felt really strange for some reason yesterday, very introverted... but thank you to all of you who humoured me all day (ie: June, fragile, fatherlucifer & Diana)... mr sulu, thank you for taking those couple of pictures for me ...

while i didn't get to talk to Tori, i was lucky enough to get something signed... i was about 5 people back along the side of the barricade, so she did come over to talk to us all... it was wonderful... i can't get over how gracious and kind Tori was to everyone... it was amazing...

lady door: THANK YOU once again for the tickets... i'm glad i got to meet you and tell you that in person... i hope you enjoyed your great seats, you lucky girl you!

to everyone i met at the dinner: it was great to meet you! i had a wonderful time and i'm sorry i didn't get to really talk to more of you (especially you, aryatella!)

as for the concert, well, it was my favorite Tori show yet (granted i've only been to 3 before it)... i was geeky enough to bring binoculars (since my seats were pretty far back), so i got to see some really great close-ups of Tori's face during the show)... i enjoyed it thoroughly... here's my thoughts on some of the setlist:

Mother - this is my absolute favorite Tori song... as soon as i heard the opening notes, i started to cry... it was amazing... it literally took my breath away and it was SO unexpected...

Twinkle - i'm so glad she played this, fragile... i was thinking how much you must have been enjoying it

Black Swan - this is probably my favorite beeside... i was so happy that she played this... i didn't cry, i was just in awe... i never thought i'd hear this live...

Never Seen Blue - surprised to hear it... it was wonderful...

Rattlesnakes - the only new girl i really wanted to hear... it was beautiful...

also enjoyable: Not The Red Baron, Daniel, Hey Jupiter, Cooling, Cool On Your Island...

there's not really anything else to say, i guess... i just can't believe what a great time i had!

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Review by laforestk

I'm so HAPPY !!!

Fricking tired, but happy. I just got back home, as the TO-Montreal train was delayed twice, and then it actually took a wrong turn (!?!?).

Anyways, I don't know where to start... I took a night train to Toronto Thursday and got there at around 9, on Friday morning. I got a room at the really friendly Backpackers Youth Hostel, took a shower, had some lunch, then went to hang around Yonge street.

At around noon, I decided to check out the venue to see if there were people waiting already. Der ! There must have been 30 ewf's on the side of Massey Hall already. So I got in line myself, where I was quickly greeted by Iciclespark and then Assless ; I don't remember your real names, but I remember that you were funny and friendly, so that's that already.

I also met Deb (i think, redhead in silver jacket) and her boyfriend Sean, as well as Spark, who were all very nice, and then I head a little gang speaking in francais and I just had to say bonjour to them. I ended up spending most of the 5 hour wait talking with them, Stephane, Isabelle and Corinne from Gatineau/Ottawa. Corinne, mostly, she was just so interesting and charming and witty and pretty and bendy

Anyways, after much much time in the cold, the "anthrax" snowing down, 7 or 8 fire alarms, a drunk old dude trying to walk through the barricades and countless false calls (why was that bus even there?), a limo pulled in and She came to us !!!!!!

Whoa, Tori is so cool and so gorgeous... And she has a way with people, she's like magnetic... I was sorta kinda far from her, between way too many people shoved around me, but once in a while I could see a flash of red hair or more, and it made me feel good enough. There was even a girl who was nice enough (thanks a LOT if you're reading this) to pass my SLG booklet up to Tori and she signed it !!

Sooner or later she had to go, and she did. A bunch of us then went to Mr. Greenjeans for dinner. Food was good, and I got to know some more great people, like John-who-goes-to-every-show, two girls from Manitoba with a digital camera (I'm really bad with names), a tall dude from Saskatchewan and more... I got along particularly with Matthew (father lucifer), a very fun Vancouver toriphile.

(man, I'm rambling on forever)

Okay, so at some point I actually got into Massey Hall. My 13th row floor seat turned out to be much better than I thought, close enough to the stage to me. Next to me were some more French girls from Quebec, I can't remember their names either but we had a nice chat.

Then at around 8:05, Rufus got on. A lot of people can't stand him ; it's true he has sort of a whiny way of singing, but he's got a sense of melody, and he seemed very witty and sympathetic (and drunk!) when he talked between songs.

An hour or so later, She came on !!!!

What a wonderful show it was ! I'd only seen her at Molson Centre in 98 with the band, and she was sick (only played an hour). This was something else ! Just her on the piano, that's so cool, she's mesmerizing. Great musician, great voice (which was ever more evident thanks to the venue's great accoustics). Lighting was nice too, and the setlist was to die for.

My favorite album of her's Boys For Pele, and she played lots of it, from Little Amsterdam to Hey Jupiter to Twinkle to Not The Red Baron to Mr Zebra, (which was soooo cute !)

Both '97 Bonnie & Clyde and Me and a Gun were riveting, Raining Blood was also quite an experience live. She did great renditions of Mother, Sugar (she really got into that one), Rattlesnakes and Enjoy The Silence. Crucify on the thingie with the stars was surprising (in a good way), and I love when she screwed up and giggled

My favorite moments, I think were Cooling and 1000 Oceans, which were oh so beautiful, as were Never Seen Blue, Cool On Your Island and Black Swan, which I'm not very familiar with but I loved how she played them. I had never heard her version of Daniel, but I enjoyed it a lot.

The one song that made me happiest, though, was Pretty Good Year. I just love that one so much... Plus I didn't expect it, as I haven't seen it on any previous set list from this tour... T'was perfect.

She played what, two hours, but it completely flew by. And, enjoyably enough, the night didn't end there, as Matthew, his Vancouver girl friend and a few other of us went to have a few beers at Fran's and then dancing at the Barn.

All and all a great day and a greater night. I'm still giddy !!

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Review by Raquel Welsh

It was GREAT. Did anyone recognize me?I guess not eh. I *think* I recognize certain people in a "hum that face looks familiar" kind of way.

Anyway, we drove down, got lost 50 times comming into Toronto. We got there for Rufus.
We had bad seats that were upgraded at the last minute and turned into GREAT seats. That's cuz I'm special

It's weird because I couldnt feel sad although she played all these sad songs. I was smiling most of the time (actually laughing of joy too).

To whoever said they caught on to crucify early on: I did too!! She did the "chains" melody on the piano my friend and I screamed!

Also, after the show we waited for an hour for Tori to get out for not much. I got to see her right ear. I was sitting on the fence next to the bus there.



AND SHE PLAYED COOL ON YOUR ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ROCK ON!!!!!!!

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Review by terri (velvetdeer)

wow, what an amazing day yesterday was. first of all, the show was absolutely phenomenal.

i was so happy that she played daniel, which is my favorite cover that she does.

pretty good year was so emotional, and cool on your island was beautiful.

not to mention the rest of the show about the only thing that kind of sucked was the two women sitting next to me. i was in the second row center (me and my friend had seats 34 and 35). they were really loud and obnoxious for some of the songs and one of the women decided to get up and leave, only to come back during me and a gun and rudely start telling her other friend every place she had been ("well, i went to the bathroom, then went out for a smoke ) ....") she would have kept on going if some guy in the first row hadn't turned around and slapped her knee. that really pissed her off and i thought for a minute that there would be an altercation, but it passed thank goodness. but other than that, great show.

after the show, my friend and i had backstage passes and we were SO nervous. i have been a fan for about 5 years and i have never got to meet her. things never seemed to work out. so we waited around after the show and around 12:15 steve let us in.

her dressing room was so small and cute, and tori was so radiant. she shook all of our hands and then started signing things for the people before us. they didn't really say much to her.

when my friend got to her, she was a little nervous too, but she did get a hug and got to thank her. when i got to her, it was very surreal. even though there were other people in the room, it was like it was just me and tori. she focuses all her attention on you and her eyes are so intense. after she signed my picture i brought, i told her how beautiful the show was. she told me that she had a lot of fun playing tonight and she enjoyed herself.

i then tried really hard to collect my thoughts and said something to this effect "tori, i just want to thank you for putting out such wonderful music. you've really touched my heart and helped me through so many rough times..." i didn't get to finish cause she reached out to hug me and said "thank you, that means so much to me" after that, i had enough courage to reach into my bag and give her the necklace i made for her. i asked her if she liked purple (she said she does, that it was ''divine" or something to that effect) and then opened the box and showed her. she took it out and examined it for a minute, saying that she really liked it and it was very nice, saying that she had "just the thing to go with this" (which totally made my day!).

at this point, she still had my framed picture of her that she had just signed and i still had the box, so she made a little cute face and pointed to under my arm, saying that she needed "the little home" for the necklace and she would trade me for the picture. then i gave her the 2 plastic frogs that a girl named amber had given me right before i went in and gave her the message "these are some watch-frogs for you and your daughter" i think she got a kick out of them and told joel "everyone needs some watchfrogs, i'll put them next to my watch panda" i thanked her again and she thanked me and gave me another hug!

it was so so great. she was SO nice and gracious, even after meeting with people for over an hour after the show. i was absolutely high all day today and telling everyone i know. of course, none of them are tori fans or understand why this was so important to me. but i don't care, it just felt really good to thank her for what her music has done for me. it was well worth the 5 year wait!

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Review by frangipani haze

it's NEVER too late to post a review, however i will skip my lengthy blow-by-blow account of the show and simply say wow.
this was my first live Tori experience, and thus, the most astoundingly beutiful night/day of my life.
i was not prepared for the m&g at all. i didn't know that a mere glimpse of Tori's boot and green(!!!!!!!) pant leg extended from a vehicle would reduce me to a mushy mess. to anyone who overheard my "i was breathing the same air as Tori!!" comment right after the m&g...please don't hold a grudge. i am pathetic and in love dammit!
it was interesting to finally see what 'tori' people look & behave like. a real eye-opener to say the least!
in conclusion, see you all next tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Review by toni (blue jupiter)

Okay the show was very cool. I can't believe she played Little Amsterdam.
It was weird, I thought of a song, and then Tori played it. Odd i know. Right before the show, I joked to my boyfriend,maybe she'll play Daniel, and look what happened! It was so amazing. Black Swan, was... i'm speechless. so good.

the whole show, was great. the sound in that venue was very good. you could hear every little thing.

I noticed people clapped after Me and a Gun. I just couldn't do it, clapping after that song, just felt so odd to me.

anyways. the show was good. that's really all i can say, and that it did go buy to fast! it was nice seeing some people after the show. I dont really post on here, but I met some nice people and I saw a couple of laminates.

For those people that were waitng after the show, the black guy who's running for counsellor of the Beaches, asked my boyfriend for a light, so if you remember that, than you may have seen me!

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Review by liz (underworldthing)

i had a rockin' time. the concert was just beautiful. i was on the verge of tears for quite a bit of it. *sniff*

but i think what i enjoyed most was waiting for the m&g to happen. there were so many awesome people. um.....frangipani haze, i remember talking to you, but i honestly can't remember who you were exactly (btw, i'm liz, the girl with her own cheesy nametag). and alanisboy......i have "it's raining men" stuck in my head. sung in like tori's voice. but you're right, that would have been so awesome if she did sing that.

also, thanks to all the people who sent my letter up to tori's people. erica (who stood on the stairs for an hour freezing to get pictures of what will most likely be the top of tori's head) thinks it made it all the way up there (i love having a friend who can tell my writing from far away).

thanks for making my first tori experience a good one everyone

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Review by Patrick (silenthope)

My first post here! I love this forum now because I got my ticket here from a girl named Christine and Perry! (thank you soooooo much!)

The show was amazing! Raining blood was my favorite.. the way her voice reverberated through the whole place.. her voice is so magical.. it feels like an instrument of its own! (my first tori show since she hasn't been to montreal in awhile!)

I wanna say hi to Tara who spent time with me after the meet n greet I didn't talk to anyone cept her cuz i'm not good with crowds.. but if anyone at the meet n greet remember someone in a long coat sitting on the pavement that was lil me

So anyway! Tori needs to come to Montreal some moreee! The show was so amazing.. i left montreal friday morning at 8 (6hours of bus) and caught a bus at 12:30 after the show(another 6hours) and it was so worth it.. so so worth it..

I had balcony seats and then magically i ended up in the second rowww! I couldn't believe it.. i was in shock.. the way events turned out was just so perfect..

the setlist was great.. tori is such a shortie tho! she's so cute and short i never knew ;fi Anyway just wanted to say I had a great time and that the album version of raining blood doesn't do it justice.. you have to hear it live.. and feel it.. literally feel it

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Review by JoliePhreak

my lord.... how incredible was this show? i can't even find the words right now...

i was kinda out of it during the day cause pagoda and i had just come back from detroit the night before and i was sooo tired... but i met some great people... winterboy, iciclespark, assless (who loves CHEESE, i had met her before, god this girl kicks ass), imdying... i know there's more but i can't remember right now...

i was the girl sitting on the ground about 1/3 of the way back in the line in the satin worship shirt... sitting with 4 guys and a girl... dunno if anyone remembers or not..

tori was amazing... i can't decide if i enjoyed the setlist from detroit or toronto better... in detroit she played tear in your hand (which is SO my girl) but in toronto... lord... cooling, sugar, daniel, little amsterdam... EEEEEE and i was one of the people who ended up right in the front leaning on the stage... i was so afraid that i would piss people off by doing that... but the security guard told me it was okay and i was like "are you serious???" i couldn't believe it... during daniel i started bawling and tori looked down at me and sort of made this sad face... it was so adorable...

and now i'm kinda sad that it's over... but i got to see her 3 times so i guess i should just shut the hell up... LOL

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Review by beansi

Well...she played twinkle and now i can die with a smile on my face. I cried and cried and cried. Right after me and a gun, tori started to play a few notes and my head jerked up and i grabbed the girl i was with's hand and started crying, i knew it was twinkle and it sounded just amazing. it really made my entire night. other great surprises were never seen blue, cool on your island, pretty good year, daniel, not the red baron and black swan. i thought the set list got better and better as the night went on. i'm just still high off of hearing twinkle

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Review by jimsemp

I'm still in euphoria from the concert Friday nite, now I want to go to
CLEVELAND!

Pele, lots of Pele, Tori played for 1 hr and about 45
minutes,

Rufus Wainwright was short and sweet but allowed more time for
Tori!

My favs are Little Amsterdam, Mother,
Mr Zebra, Never Seen Blue,Cool on Your Island, Cooling,
Pretty Good Year(letmetellyasumthingabout..........america(whispered)

Tori got in her dig against the USA while in Canada, interestingly.
This I know, because of the little talk between songs, she slammed the
US, not specifically/directly for the war in Afghanistan, but in code
as usual. But the fact that Tori played Raining Blood right before
Pretty Good Year confirms the pattern. In an interview with Tori I
heard on the internet, she spoke of solidarity with the women of
Afghanistan when talking about Raining Blood. And of course, any
knowlegable reading of Pretty Good Year is that it is sarcastic: Pretty
Good Year, NOT! in other words, is what is happening in the USA,
9/11 events/Afghan War/anthrax etc.

Straight into Crucify, I'm already crying and then she plays Hey
Jupiter and I'm really gone then numb during Me and a Gun. Glad for a little
relief in Twinkle.

Encores were beyond belief, 1st: Enjoy the Silence
not my fav but strong, 1000 Oceans, 2nd: she blows us away with a
surprise cover of Elton John's: Daniel, and then leaves us with an
incredible Black Swan.

We waited for about an hour for Tori to come out before
boarding the tour bus enroute to Michigan. The weather was not too
cold which was nice cause I just had a sweat shirt on. Lots of EWF,
Toriphiles to hang with and bond and discuss the concert and have fun, Finally she came out and we all yelled TORI, LOVE YOU TORI

.....WOOOOOHOOOOO! I watched from the top of fire escape about 20 feet away as
she signed autographs and chatted for about 5 minutes with those in the
front. Then she got on the bus. I remember talking to Raquel and also the girl with her who was taking pictures from the top of the fire escape, sorry I forgot her name.
I WANT TO GO TO CLEVELAND NOW!

Love Ya Back (Thats what Tori said when we yelled Luv you Tori!)

By the way, that request of Hey Jupiter as a memoriam for Alicia (liljupitergirl) was so thoughtful and right. It was important that you did that, thank you.

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Review by JOE (ToriKnight)

This was one of the best shows that I've seen, and I'm not just saying that because it's recent! Massey Hall is perfect, and Tori was way into it!

A first-timer was with us and I warned her that sometimes the first show needs to sink in because first-timers have high expectations and maybe she'd enjoy the 2nd one more, just a warning, but I was wrong The show was incredible for her as it was for all of us. The funny thing is that she was hoping for "little Amsterdam" and it was the first song that Tori performed, to our surprise. And my other 2 companions
got their wishes too.

My hightlights were Cool On Your Island, and Daniel. Tori did a lot from BFP and I have no complaints there.

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Review by redspark18

OMG! This was such a perfect show for me. I'm finally getting around to reviewing it.

I was up the entire night before waiting for people to come in from the Detroit show the night before. They (Richard Handal & his friend Linda with an I) showed up at around 11:30 and my sister and I were on our way to Toronto. The best part was Richard & Linda had an extra ticket so I got to sit like 6 rows from the stage! Yippee!!

I had thought crossing the border would have been a bigger hassle but it wasn't. We got into Toronto at around 3:30 (wasn't sure of the time)

There was already a huge line against Massey Hall for the meet n greet so we stood across the street and waited for what seemed like FOREVER for Tori to show up. She was running late and didn't get there til like 5:00 (around then). The meet and greet was over at (I think) around 5:40. We went into the Eaton Centre to kill time.

We got back to Massey Hall at like 7:40 and I went to buy a teeshirt. We finally got to the front but the people behind us were pushing my crotch into the table and i was NOT too happy!

But alas it was time to go upstairs to see Rufus. We got there in time to hear his last three songs... Complainte De La Butte (From the Moulin Rouge Sndtrk), In A Graveyard, and Poses. I adored all three and thought they were beautiful Rufus is really funny he cracked jokes that I actually laughed at. He said he wrote In A Graveyard while on acid... i can see that! And Poses was absolutely wonderful. I am a new Rufus fan ! I was almost asleep when the lights went off and everyone started roaring. I was getting so excited!!

97 Bonnie and Clyde started and I adored it. It was very haunting and I liked how they had the Bonnie portrait hanging in front of the ripped up curtain. The lights going in time with the string instruments that was so cool. Plus Tori was pronouncing words in that "Tori way"

The next song was Little Amsterdam. This song was so good. I felt like i was at home again and I felt like "ahh here we go, this is what i've missed since 99 "

Oh god then Mother, I was already losing it at this point. I cried and cried!

Then she did Sugar, which I've always loved. She really banged up the piano on the Bobby's collecting beeeeeeeeees. So cute.

Then Rattlesnakes. I adored this one. I was so impressed with it on the new CD and when I heard it live it was even better.

Tori then bent over the bench and pulled her hand over her head and started a lil wave to the audience, then she started to play Mr. Zebra. Me and my sister lost it! It was sooooo fantastic. I almost had a heartattack.

She then did Never Seen Blue, and it was very good I enjoyed it.

After that she did the two 'cool' songs-- "Cool On Your Island" OMG!! It was so fantastic. It took me a lil bit to recognize it but I was so into it when the song was done. And the next song I was not prepared to hear "Cooling". I think maybe she was cold and thinking of it being cold. Cuz I remember her commenting on how cold Canada was. And how Americans are so bratty sometimes... that's all they do is blah blah blah. I was roaring that was so funny.

Ok Now RAINING BLOOD. I don't know how the hell she got that much eeriness and mysteriousness into that womans piano, but this song was so moving. And the last note she held out for what seemed like forever and then backed away from the microfone and then the lights went out. It was fanbloodytastic.

Pretty Good Year was great. It was almost as if she was saying "hell all this shit happened but it was still a pretty good year"

Then Crucify on the whurly. Sounded different and I liked the improvs. She started laughing and fucked up the words. "Looking for a savior in these birdy streets." Just as she thought maybe i can cover this up she laughed again and broke the song. She picked it up immediately and fucked the words up on purpose with a lil laugh "Looking for a savior beneath these cagey sheets." It was such a "Tori" thing to do!

Hey Jupiter was really emotional. I love when Tori practically sheads a tear, she has that little catch in her voice and it made me just bawl and bawl!

Then Me & A Gun. I loved how the light was really bright from the left of her, making wierd shadows on her face. Then when she sang "holy holy" a bright light shone above her head. Then it was back to the eerie left light.

Then Twinkle, it was almost like she was shutting the book. Pele always makes me feel that way.

Then on to the encores, Enjoy the Silence and 1000 Oceans for the first one! I always felt like coupling those songs. They have kind of the same beauty to me. One I always felt is about motherhood. The other about wifehood. maybe I'm nuts but they were both beautiful, and as I looked down at my hands they were covered with mascara.

The second encore was Not the Red Baron, Daniel, and Black Swan. Not the Red Baron made me feel as if Tori was opening up that lil book in my brain again, the one that makes me feel all comfy cuz Pele is a comfy album for me. I absolutely LOST IT when she played Daniel. It has a special meaning for me, which one day I might discuss with the right person, but it was so beautiful for me that I was not expecting Black Swan. I almost fele like she was singing it just for Massey Hall that night. She made us seem like her friends.

Massey Hall was a very intimate venue, and everyone was completely silent in the appropriate parts, there were practically no rude screamers. Everyone just sat in awe after she played song after song of very nice beesides and the new songs. It was a very respectful audience, and I think Tori liked that.

We waited around after to see her get onto the bus. That took forever. But she flew out the door and started signing autographs. We again were across the street. But finally we all flew across the street almost gettin hit by cars just to see her. She climbed onto the bus and looked out the front windshield to see us. She spotted me and gave me a wink and a wave.. YIPPEE!! Then they drove off down Victoria Avenue. I was a very magical night I'm still under it's spell. Screw midterms... this was a fucking great weekend!

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Review by Talkshow Host

awww. I think Toronto was my favorite show (although, I only went to Detriot and Toronto.. heh.) but anyway.

The songs performed were so amazing and she did Never Seen Blue which I had been hoping for. She also added some lyrics to the end of that which amplified how much I love that song. The lyrics she added just fit in so well with what the song means to me and I started crying right at the end from being blow over with, with.. emotion?

Either way, I left right after Twinkle to get in line for the meet and greet and met a really nice boy named Ben.
He didn't go to the show, but he had been to both of the meet and greets, he wanted to get some photography book signed.
he's 24 and teaches photography at a school near Toronto.

but Tori was too late and he had to go. Ben was so nice.

um, and 2 people behind me go to RIT, which is a college not 50 miles from me, in which my best friend, my friend Derek and my boyfriend's 2 friends attend as well.

*yay* TORIPHILES AT RIT!
(which is where Pete goes as well. Everyone knows that silly Toriphile Pete.)

well. I got some good pictures of Tori and hopefully I will figure out how to post them when I download them to my computer. She was completely cordial and wonderful to me with the typical, "Hi honey, how are you?" She signed my boy's Boys for Pele booklet.

she had the cutest pink pumas on.

ahhh.. what a concert. what a show. what a Tori.

and Rufus was excellent too. I've liked him since his first CD came out as Mark (rigadoon) introduced me to him and imogen heap.

he's so cute.
he interacts so well with the audience too.

what a guy.

I got to meet lots of Denters and Greenjeans.. even though I never post.. I knew who a bunch of them were.
assless pants is cooler than shit.

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