StrangeLittleTour
Cleveland, OH
October 24, 2001
Updated January 7, 2002
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Tori performed in Cleveland, OH on October 24, 2001 at the Palace Theatre during the 2001 StrangeLittleTour. Set ListI, Mikewhy, attended this show and recorded the set list. '97 Bonnie & Clyde 1st Encore: 2nd Encore: ReviewsLatest reviews are added to the bottom of the page. Be sure to check the Tori Concert Reviews Forum for reviews as well! From MikewhyAdded October 25, 2001 -- I am too tired to post a full review of this show. You can look at the set list and see how incredible it was. It was an intensely beautiful show. I was so pleased to hear Black Dove, Space Dog, Purple People, Sugar, Marianne, Mother, Etienne, Honey and Mary in the same show! The b--sides are so well represented on this tour. Let It Be was gorgeous. This was the first time I ever heard her do this, and I was quite taken. It was achingly lovely. Tori sang Etienne in its entirety, not just part of it, like she did during past tours. Of course I have to mention a few negatives concerning the audience. The idiots of this show were two females up in the boxes on the left side of the theater (facing the stage). They were talking so loudly at times during the show that you could hear them from the floor where I was sitting. They were singing and screaming constanly throught the show. They were the most obnoxious, disgusting people I have ever experienced at a show. The other incident was a cell phone ringing during Putting the Damage On. Hopefully the person with the cell phone was well embarrassed when Tori changed a line of Damage to "putting the phone off," which the crowd loved. Tori talked to us twice. She mentioned that Tash has discovered chocolate. She said this was convenient for her because she could now say that she was getting white chocolate "for the baby." Before Purple People, she said that it was one of the first things she recorded for Choirgirl and that she originally thought that Purple People would start that album. She said "I love her." (As you know, this song became a b--side and was not placed on Choirgirl.) Before the show I had the honor to meet singer/songwriter Pepper McGowan who was also attending the show. I found her to be super nice and fun to talk to. From Jim MathersAdded January 7, 2002 -- Paradise Returns On October 24 I was off to Cleveland to see Tori perform. I grew up in Cleveland and spent 40 years there. The concert was held at the Palace Theater downtown. At a kid that was the first run movie area and the Palace was where many of the top acts performed live (before TV appeared). I remember seeing Bob Hope and Phil Harris perform there live in the late 40' s. The Palace is a grand theater with fancy red seats and an elegant lobby that has been restored to what I remember as a kid. They were to tear down the theater a few years ago for Cleveland State University but some nice rich person stepped in and preserved the theater. The ushers were from my generation and were happy the place was still there. Going to this concert in Cleveland generated some apprehension. I attended my second Tori concert there in 1994. Showing up in a dress shirt and a tie and also being 30 years older than anyone else in the place make me feel totally out of place. This was amplified when security thought I was the owner of the theater and made a big scene. I got over my fears and felt accepted at the concerts since then. This is the first time I saw Tori perform without her band in 5 years. This is the first concert in the five years that I went as a fan just to be entertained rather than a part of the Tori community. In the Tori community events I spent the day meeting people and, without much success, trying to meet Tori again. At this concert I did see Richard Handal and my friend Kandi from Barnes and Nobel. The girl next to me met Tori at the same concert as I did 5 years ago in Pittsburgh. She said she almost fainted. This is the second time I actually went to a Tori concert with somebody else. These young single female guests play havoc with my wife but my wife would not be caught dead at a Tori concert and I do not like to go by myself. In Chicago in 96 I took Joyce and tried to explain to my wife that it was not a "date". I do not think my explanations flew over too well. Jami is my Dentist's daughter and an intern where I work. On one of my visits to her Dad before I met her, I gave advice on financial on colleges and predestinated the poor girl to living at home and commuting to a local cheap college. Her younger brother got to go to Princeton. Driving to Cleveland, we listened to several of the B-sides. Jami is not a true fanatic and has listened to only a few albums. At the concert the audience reacted within the first few bars of each song while Jami probably never heard most of them. Tori has generated over 100 songs including covers, mainstream albums, and b-sides. She can do three concerts and never repeat a song. I don't know anyone else generated so much music other than Joni Mitchell. Each one of Tori songs is a part us and raises all kinds of memories and emotions. I was afraid that the whole thing would bewilder "an outsider". I suspect that was true for a lot of the guest (boyfriends, ..) In the end, Jami enjoyed the concert and borrowed my CD collection to do a crash course on Tori's stuff. A word of advice to our older males, sort of hid your "Pass the Mission" b-side when traveling with young interns! Icicle was one of the few songs at the concert she recognized. In 96 I saw on TV documentation on Tori's concert tour. In it Tori said she in the process of making disciples. Tori has done an excellent job in that task. In many ways her concerts are almost a religious convention where the faithful gather to pay respect to their leader. There is the dead silence in "Me and a Gun". The audience knows the latest events in Tori's life and is part of a community. In many ways it is similar to the Grateful Dead concerts except on a smaller scale. In Cleveland Tori came out at 8:45 and never let up to 10:15. Songs just poured out in rapid succession. Many of them I have never heard her perform live or at least since her LE tour in 92. Mother and Leather from LE were performed. Also Marianne, Let It Be, Black Dove, Space Dog, Honey, Talula, Pass the Mission, Sugar, Lust, Me and a Gun, Donut Song, Icicle, Raining Blood, among others. At the end she did a song about Mary that I have not heard before. If anyone knows about a song about Mary, let me know. Tori has yet improved her stage presence. She looked like something from the 40's with shoulder pads and a formal pans outfit. I even noticed a little bit of Liberace showing up in her treatment of the piano. The mix of electronic piano and grand piano was excellent and created her own one-person band. However, the volume was a little too high and not blasting as in her band days. I suspect Tori had given up on generation a mass following and is now concentrating on satisfying her fanatic niche. She has reverted to the formula that worked in the past and all I can say is "Thank God". Paradise has returned. From Jonathan RohrerAdded October 27, 2001 -- I just thought I'd e--mail ya and tell you that you forgot to put "Lust" in the set list for the Cleveland show. I do believe it was inbetween "Leather" and "Putting the Damage On" "Lust" was one of the highlights of the show, I love that song so much as well as my friend Anna, and she freaked out! She must really love us here in Ohio to include so many great songs in one show. "Sugar" and "Honey" alone are so great but together are fantabulous! From Greg WooledgeAdded October 27, 2001 -- The opening act was Mike Farley, of the Mike Farley Band (http://www.mikefarley.com/). From Jeff FouchAdded October 27, 2001 -- My name is Jeff Fouch and I was at the show last nite too :) Which I agree was *incredible*... and yes, those girls were completely obnoxious, the drunk couple behind me and my two friends were equally appalling I must say :( But I just wanted to let you know that you left a song off your tracklist... After Leather, she did that wonderful rendition of Lust before Putting the Damage On... *i brought my little quote book to keep the tracklist in ;)* I'd have to say that my favorite parts of the show were Putting the Damage on and her encore of Mother... I was in tears... it was simply moving... Anyways, I thought you might like to add Lust to yer list :) Your site is GREAT and I frequent it almost every day :) Thanks for your continued dedication to a truly passionate artist.. we're all in this together :) From JillAdded October 27, 2001 -- This is Jill. We met briefly before the show and discussed the rude people at the M&G and the significance of "Windows of The World". The girls in the Left boxes were SOOOOO Annoying!!! From where you were I don't know if you could hear it, but up in the Loge where I was, there were groups of people chatting away from Honey -- onwards. Ugh, other than that I thought it was a great show. It could have been better if it wasn't for those rude people. From Emilia BoehmAdded October 27, 2001 -- I was at the Cleveland show last night too, and yes it was incredible...I ran to the Dent this morning to get the set list (thanks for posting it so early!) and I noticed that "Lust" wasn't on there...you were right about those balcony girls, they should have been shot after the second song...along with the cell phone owner who almost ruined on of my fav Pele tracks...my friend and I were 4th row and so it was a much more powerful concert than my Five and half weeks show back in '99. I do wish Tori would talk a little bit more, but she put on a wonderful performance nonetheless. Thanks for the Dent work, it's a vital source for myself and several other Toriphiles I know! From Jann McKenzieAdded October 27, 2001 -- Thanks so much for reviewing the Cleveland show and posting the play list. I was there too, and although it was my fourth time seeing Tori perform, it was by far the best. I thought she was luminous. The Palace is a much better venue acoustically than Music Hall! I also did not recognize all the b--sides, so I was very grateful to have them identified so quickly. I was also sitting in a better spot than you -- I did not (for once) have talkers around me and was able to enjoy the show. (I too do not understand why people pay good money to talk over the performance -- not to mention how attrociously RUDE it is to the person performing and the other audience members!) I did not even hear the cell phone, and did not get it when she stuck in the "putting the phone off" line in and everyone laughed. I am jealous that you have gotten to so many shows, but good for you! Thanks again! From BrianAdded October 27, 2001 -- This is a blow by blow so it is looong but the story is really funny and it is like a personal diary page. I am posting some images to click on to help illustrate and when the photos come back I will include the people I met and any shots of the show I manage to snag. If you just want the highlights I split up the story so you can read what you like. The Venue What a fantastic show! The best Tori show I have ever seen. The 24th row center stage seats I had were the best seats I have ever had to any Tori concert. Saved from the wrecking ball in the 70's the venue was restored during the recent rebirth of the Cleveland downtown area. Truly a comeback in America's Midwest. Cleveland's Bicentennial celebration was highlighted with the new stadiums and the sandblasting of the state and federal building brick, glass, and marble fronts. The theatre district is a jewel downtown. A walkthrough tour is available at this link for those who are interested. The Palace Theatre in Cleveland's historic Playhouse Square District is decorated with gold paint, ornate carvings and felt wallpaper. I felt completely out of place in my jeans and ë96 Tori black T--shirt. Pre--show M&G Well it was still 4 hours till the show so I planned to hang out there and talk with people I met. Many of the people I joked with about how sucky it is to never get a chance to get an autograph because the people who are in the front row are probably the same folks at every show. We figured that they are up there and just basking in Tori's glow, brething the same air she breathes. Talking about the dog they named after her who ran away and how sad it was. Perhaps confiding with her about how they used the skin cream she recommended on that rash they had and it got better. We in the fifth row are just desperately reaching forth, squishing our chatting partner in front of us in an intimate manner only reserved normally for loved ones. Hoping against hope that someone will leave after getting her to sign something. Perhaps if we are lucky to pass one of our items up to get a signature for us. We from the fifth row do so desperately thank those who do in fact offer to get one for us. It just seems that if it were run like a normal signing at a music shop we could all be ushered through and get one glorious minute with the goddess and everyone would be hunky dory. What a day for us all! But the man wants to keep us down. You know the muscular bodyguard types who shout the orders to the crowd. Well she was spirited off to the sound check and the crowd dispersed and my pic came back unsigned. I joked about how glad I was that at least no one signed it Your Anus instead of Tori Amos. The Crack heads I met so many people. I would like to single out one nice fellow from the CIA. Ha the "Cleveland Institute of Art" that is. Chase Bowman and his girlfriend. Chase is a nice fellow who makes some damn fine drawings of Tori. I'd love to post a few for him if he gets them to me. Hint hint! He was the originator of what we will now know as the Crack addicts or Crack Heads. It was he who came up with the brilliant idea of staying close to the emergency exit by the playhouse hoping to hear the sound check. What a grand plan it turned out to be. Upon hearing the first notes we plugged our ears to the door cracks and got a wonderful earful of Tori warming up. Wow! It was great. A sneak preview of the show itself. She warmed up with Black Dove January several times and people started gathering for updates as we switched off and on to let other EWF hear some. My crack was the best one too it was the Sony Walkman of the cracks. We shouted OH she's playing Icicle now! Oh what is this one. Purple People! In all she played 11 songs, 10 of which were in the show! We got an hour of Tori for one ear as a free preview. Personal highlights were Let it Be, Putting the Damage On and Space Dog. She screwed up doing Marianne and started over. More and more people gathered and we took pictures, which will be posted ASAP of the Crack gang. We were chased off by the Playhouse nazis who saw us all hanging by the door and said she wasn't coming out the door. We heard the whole warm--up so it was no big deal and at six p.m. we wandered up around the door and chatted more. People discussing how to get cameras in and where it would be that security would not put their hands on women and men to search for things. Hi to the gals I met in front some of who were Crack heads. Hi to Antioch Tina, Gina, and Katie. Hi also to Sara, Elizabeth, and the two girls from OSU EDU who I did get emails for but not names. Keep in touch and send me your pics if you have them! The Show Rufus Wainright did not come but we had a nice short five--song warm--up from a Cleveland guitarist named Mike Farley. Solo from the Mike Farley Band. He was really pretty good and played some mellow tunes and cracked some jokes about how he was in fact no Tori and he appreciated getting the chance to play for her. She picked him so you know he was good. I guess Rufus isn't playing all the dates so check your local place to see if he is coming. Tori The set list '97 Bonnie and Clyde She greeted us and told a cute story about how Tosh discovered chocolate and now she has a convenient excuse to purchase large blocks of White Chocolate for her! Wink wink. Leather Putting the Damage On (When a cell phone chirped off in an otherwise silent crowd to our dismay, Tori in unbroken song added a lyric "when shutting your cell phone off" and the audience burst into laughter. Space Dog Sugar Talula (The most excellent version I have heard yet of Talula she quietly slipped to the side and played star covered tiny electric piano with some improvisations to the tune) Marianne Me and a Gun (The first time I have heard this live and again the crowd was in mesmerized silence) Let It Be (Wonderfully performed and a great pleasure for the audience) Encore one
Encore two Post show M&G: Victory at Last! I met many of the same EWF were there and we squished together again. I was again in the fifth row since there was no way I would leave my only show of the tour early. We waited a while and I told people we would know when she was coming because they would bring the tour bus up before she came out. Unfortunately it started raining hard and then there was lightning and people worried she wouldn't stay for M&G. The tour nazis told us she would come out and all the same usual rules. After the rain stopped I had made some connections with some very nice folks who were stuck like me but were on a bike fence so they could be about 3 feet taller. I pulled out my photo again and asked them to send it up. I was talking to Chase and couldn't see anything up front when I saw my pic coming back and looked up in dismay thinking the worst again and I would be shutout. Before it came back I saw it! IT WAS SIGNED! Oh my God I was ecstatic! I jumped up and quickly put it away to protect it in my folder and shouted triumphantly Thank you Tori! I did exactly what I told everyone I wished they did I beat a retreat to the back of the lines and let other people move up since I had wanted. If only we were in cattle lines like at Cedar Point for the roller coasters we could all get things signed but for whatever reason I have yet to experience that at a meet and greet. I am just so glad to finally own an actual autograph since I am never sure any of them on ebay can be authentic for sure. From Nina HetrickAdded October 27, 2001 -- Just read your review of Tori's show. I agree what an amazing set list. I was completely blown away! Her performance was excellent and Her hubby did an excellent job on her sound. I also agree whoever the girls were talking were very rude and very inconsiderate of those around them and Tori. I was very upset at them and am shocked the ushers did not tell them to quite down. However, mixing alcohol with irresponsibility and see what you get. Just wanted to add my 2 cents. From The Plain DealerAdded Oct 28, 2001 -- Toriphile Michelle sent me this review of the Cleveland show that was printed in the October 26, 2001 edition of The Plain Dealer, a Cleveland newspaper. Read it online or below. Tori Amos sings for her die--hard fans' ears
John Soeder Tori Amos was all by herself onstage during her sold--out show Wednesday night at Playhouse Square's Palace Theatre. But the red--headed rock 'n' roll enchantress was in good company, with 2,000--plus of her closest friends in the audience.
Too bad only die--hard fans got to have most of the fun.
Those who came hoping to hear "Cornflake Girl," "God" or "Crucify" were out of luck. Far be it from the free--spirited Amos, 38, to humor us with any of her best--known tunes, with the exception of the vaguely familiar "Past the Mission."
Instead, we were treated (or so I'm told) to the lesser--known likes of "Purple People (Christmas in Space)," a surreal B--side. The more obscure the selection, the louder the crowd cheered.
These weren't merely songs. They were secret handshakes between Amos and her obsessive devotees. They hung on every word of her generally inscrutable lyrics.
The 1--hour--and--45--minute concert commenced with a couple of selections from the latest Amos album, "Strange Little Girls," a collection of covers.
Eminem's " '97 Bonnie & Clyde," a macabre rap about a man who murders his estranged wife, made for an unsettling opener, although a black curtain draped in front of the stage rendered it impossible to tell if the number was performed live. After the curtain dropped, Amos appeared in a cream pantsuit, parked herself in front of a black grand piano and delivered a dirgelike rendition of Slayer's "Raining Blood."
She played the piano with her left hand while her right hand kitchy--cooed a nearby electric piano during "Black Dove (January)." In the middle of the cabaret come--on "Leather," the classically trained Amos fired off a rambunctious solo that was part saloon blues, part Stravinsky.
She belted out "Space Dog," "Sugar" and "Talula" with sweaty passion, although her orgasmic vocals were breathy and a tad overwrought at times.
The most memorable song of the evening was "Me and a Gun," a gripping, autobiographical account of a rape. Amos sang it a cappella. On a lighter note, a cell phone rang out rudely during "Putting the Damage On." Without missing a beat, Amos improvised a line about "putting the phone off."
The regular set ended as it began -- with a cover. Amos did right by the Beatles with a soothing version of "Let It Be." A five--song encore showcased more Amos rarities, including "Mary" and "Etienne," a pretty ballad from her days with the '80s hard--rock band Y Kant Tori Read.
The whole affair was just the ticket for the hopelessly devoted, somewhat less so for the rest of us. From NickAdded Oct 28, 2001 -- Hi, I won the all star charity aution "b" for the front row tickets and after show passes through RAINN. I live in Warren pa, so it was a 3 1/2 hr drive. I got to the willcall, picked up my tickets, and was verry disapoited! I opend the envalope, and pulled out 2 tickets for row Q!!! I paid $820 for the tickets, and they were suposed to be 1st, or maybe 2nd row. I got 17th row! Well, I tried not to let that ruin my nite, I had back stage passes! Well, the show was excelent! Very powerful! And then after the show, about 7 people gathered in the theater at a side door, to go back stage. I was so nervous the whole time, meeting Tori, and the fact that I had to smugle my camera in! The auction clearly stated that there would be a photo op back stage. So, I brought my camera that was worth about $2000, inorder to get great photos. And, they threatened to smash it! I showed them my pass, and they couldnt beleive I had gotten past security! It wasnt the charity auctions fault, just the gaurds were assholes! Well, I was clever about it. The object is to pull every thing else in your bag out 1 @ a time, very s l o w l y, and exsplain what it was. they finaly told me just go in! So even withmy pass, they were not going to let a camera in. So I was very lucky to get it in, and get photos of Tori, with my friend and I togeather. They came out so great, because we were in her dressing room!!!! I was so nervous!!! I had her sign my sealed taiwanese version of the new album, (she wanted to open it, to sign the book, but I would not let her) I wasnt rude, I am jst very anal about keeping all my cds sealed. Call me crazy! So she signed the seal! Then, and I must say, I am so good, I took in 3 whole piano keys to have signed!!!! They were hooked togeather, in a tight order, and guess What I had her write??? The words to the never released song "to the fair motor maid of Japan" !!!!! She was impressed that I had brought the keys, and was like, "uhm yeah, I can write that." She is so cute! I will try to send pictures of the keys, and her. I even have pictures of her signing them!!!! She wrote: --........To the fair motor maid of Eat Your Hearts Out!!!!!! And my friend gave her a "where the Wild things Are" Toy of Bernard. She said she loves that Book!!!! and then he gave her artwork, and she signed2 pages of his art for him. And on the art she kept, we wrote our phone # !!!! I wish I wish I wish!!!! and last we gave a security gaurd a little plexi glass box filled with acorns, so he could give it to her, because we had forgotten to! We thought she might need a little nature to empower her!!! Then when she took photos with me, she totaly leaned right into me, and let me tell you, when you see these pics, She has such a talent to give her all in photos! You can almost see her energies. Curly hair, lip gloss, Twinkeling eyes, and faery ears in all! I'll get those to you soon. And then, When I returned home, i called the charity auctions, (Xandrea) And she is truly a beautiful woman! She was so sympathetic, she offered me a refund in whole, but I could not have this for free, so I told her I still wanted to make a donation of $400 to Rainn. The main reason i got a parcial refund, was because I spent $820 and got the wrong tickets, and I met the girl from auction "A", and she had first row center tickets! So they felt bad, and gave me a parcil refund! Such great people to deal with! Im still floting arround my house in awe!!! Thanyou for having such a wonderful website, that is always informative. Without the Dent, I would not have known about the auction! From Laura GoldbergAdded Oct 28, 2001 -- I too was at the Cleveland show. ÝThis was only my 2nd Tori show, I hope that doesn't make me a lesser Toriphile in the eyes of some. ÝI only just turned 18, and although I've been obsessed with Tori since I was 11, I only got to Plugged '98 at Akron three years ago. ÝFor years I had wanted to see her perform solo at the Palace Theater, so I was ecstatic when I found out about the StrangeLittleTour. ÝOut of lack of Toriphiles in high school, I took my mom to the concert. ÝWOW is really all I can say. ÝThe set list was surprising, so eclectic. ÝPutting the Damage On was enough for me, that song means so much to me. ÝBlack Dove surprised me so much, as did Purple People and Etienne (and so many more). ÝMother again did it for me at the second encore. ÝI've been attached to that song since 5th grade. ÝMy mom was chillin' at the concert. ÝShe said it was nice but she thought it all sounded pretty much thte same 'cause she's not very familiar with the music, and she thought Tori would talk more. ÝAside from the annoyances (which come with any concert, I've learned), it was fucking amazing. ÝAnd so I wait to meet another Toriphile and make it to another concert... From Mindy WoodinAdded October 30, 2001 -- I went to the show in Cleveland also. Although I have been following Tori for 9 years, this was my first concert I have ever been too. My boyfriend made me bring kleenex for fear I would start bawling when she came out. But the truth was, I was in such awe that I could not even think about crying. Although during one of the songs my eyes were brimming with tears.ÝAnd Andrew said he was chocked up when she cameÝout because he knew how much this concert meant to me. My boyfriend not much of a tori fan, but out of the respect he had for me because of my respect for Tori, he agreed to take me over a year ago. And as he promised he went with. I can't wait to see her again! I did hear the cell phone ring but I couldn't understand what she had said that was so funny to everyone. When I came to the dent I realised what she had said, and cracked up laughing! I didn't hear the girls in the balcony, and its sad that they didn't have respect for the goddess as we all have. This is the first concert I have been to that, I haven't had someone kicking my seat or that really annoying person that can't shut--up sitting behind you, and I was soooooo greatful! I feel sorry for the people that have to be ignorant like that. What goes around comes around. Hopefully someone annoys the hell out of them at a concert they want to go to and enjoy. I also fought like hell online to get the best tickets possible, and I got EE 324 and 325. Not back row, but not where I wanted...I'll have to remember that auction that Nick had talked about. I said I was willing to pay whatever I had to do to see her! From the Cleveland Free TimesAdded November 3, 2001 -- A review of the Cleveland show appeared in the October 31--November 6, 2001 issue of the weekly publication the Cleveland Free Times. Thanks to Tony and Michelle for first telling me about it. You can read it at freetimes.com or below. Being There
Tori Amos The house lights fell. Screams and praises broke the silence. A large photo rolled into place of a blonde woman holding a birthday cake. The photo, Tori Amos' interpretation of Eminem's ex--wife, Kim, hung over a black curtain torn full of holes. Deeper hues of violet, fuchsia and blue beamed through as Amos unrolled the furtive mess of Eminem's "'97 Bonnie & Clyde." She barely whispered the vile lyrics, but the words, touched with a Southern twang and dead--calm delivery, sent a hush through the crowd. The once--sneering song now stung with a real sense of atrocity, and a real tone of murder.
And so it went.
Leaving the band off the tour, Amos extracted a pure, minimalist dose of music--as--therapy that had the Palace audience on her couch, purging out their darker memories with the aid of her artistic abandon. Clearly, this was a show for women, and for any man patient enough to work out the complexities of Tori's manic joys and woeful lows. A cavalier therapist, she let her legs straddle the bench as she pounded into her Bosendorfer piano and slammed hard over each pedal with her delicate black heels. And just when she had a spellbound look on every visage, she took time out to share the joys of being a new mother.
"Tash has discovered chocolate," she deadpanned with a smile. Her 1--year--old daughter, Natashya Lorein, has given her an excuse to walk into the candy store, demanding, "I need white chocolate ä for the baby."
The set list was a reward to loyal fans, comprising loads of songs from Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink and Boys for Pele. Singing "Past the Mission," she swung herself from piano to keyboard on the verses and chorus, contrasting the crisp and muted sounds of each instrument. Her delivery of "Me and a Gun" brought tears to several eyes. And, answering the cycle of abuse with forgiveness, she appeased the victim's grief with a cover of "Let it Be."
Amos, at heart, seemed nothing less than a daydreamer--cum--rebel. Her new cover of Slayer's "Raining Blood" was apparently one such daydream, giving the tune's metal core a gentle christening of quiet madness. She gave two encores following an extensive standing ovation, playing "Icicle" with melancholia capable of freezing time.
If her mission was to purge some sins (on songs like Eminem's) and atone for others (on her own confessionals), then delete them all. Before leaving, she knelt before us with clasped hands, then ran away from the room full of ringing applause. -- Roxanne Tomco From Richard HandalAdded November 15, 2001 - This was a post Richard made to the Precious Things and ToriNews mailing lists shortly after the Cleveland show, and it gives his general thoughts about the tour so far. Hi, Gang: Alrighty, then. Got home Sunday morning from being on the road, having seen concerts through Cleveland before needing to go off-tour due to a personal situation my loyal travel companion had crop up. I have to say, although it's been fantastic to spend time with some really great people, for me this tour so far has been *the* most logistically tedious of any tour. Needing to deal with some car problems prevented me from attending the Minneapolis concert, but I feel humbled to have witnessed the other eighteen of the first nineteen concerts of this Strange Little Tour, and I have a few observations I want to share. First, I love the hell out of this tour--absolutely love the hell out of it. It's easily the most musically rich of any of the tours. I saw nearly three dozen Dew Drop Inn shows, even more of the plugged '98 tour shows and *all* of the 5 1/2 Weeks Tour and post-Alanis band shows in '99, and although all of them were amazing experiences for me, this one has more going on purely in terms of musicianship and musicality than any of those earlier ones. There seem to be some clear reasons for this--as well as some alchemical ones that I don't fully understand, but that's part of the mystery that keeps me coming back as if an abandoned, starving dog to the kitchen door. One clear reason for such a high level of musicality is the material she has to work with now. As much as I like Silent and China, when placed on this tour between more recent material, the glaring differences in musical depth are stark. I've complained about the musical dullness of Winter for years so I won't even start going on about that now, but it's interesting to note that the song Little Earthquakes holds its own on this tour. I know Precious Things would as well, but even before this tour began I didn't think it would be appropriate for her to come out on this tour, and I see that T has so far agreed that Precious should take a well-deserved vacation. I won't be shocked if she comes for a visit once or twice before this tour is over, though; but honestly, this tour is much less about pounding the crap out of the piano than was the DDI Tour, and overall, there's no clear place on this tour for Precious. But as much as I consider Precious to be *the* song of at least the early era of Tori Amos songwriting, with Sister Janet, Lust, Josephine, Little Amsterdam, Playboy Mommy, Northern Lad, Past the Mission, Here. In My Head, Concertina and 1000 Oceans, one is hardly being slighted on this tour by its lack of Precious. Some of the most intense emotions of my life were experienced on the DDI Tour, but it's wonderful now to see how expressive she can be while remaining in complete control of her playing--as opposed to being more a vehicle for personally cathartic volcanic eruptions. On this tour the songs can take center stage more than the playing; but while less pyrotechnic than on the DDI Tour, the playing is ASTONISHING. It truly takes my breath away to see her so on top of every move she makes. It's crazy. Some shows--the most recent example I saw being Cleveland--she nearly floats from one part of the keyboard to the other, and even between Boesey and Rhodes. She puts her hands in position, and her fingers glide to their marks between the other keys as if suspended in some sort of state of slippery weightlessness. This continues for the duration of entire concerts to an extent I've *never* seen before. I hope Mark won't mind my sharing some of a conversation I had with him after the Detroit show, when I finally had to ask about some suspicions I had. I told him how I saw that she was so clearly playing with such improved concentration from any previous tour that I wondered if she was doing something specific to heighten it. Was she doing hypnosis or meditation or anything else that she'd not been doing over the course of prior tours? Mark said no, adding: "She's a mother." Some people I told this to were satisfied with that as an answer--spoke of hormonal changes, what not--but it remains remarkable to me that she would experience such a dramatic increase in her ability to concentrate from becoming a mother. I first noticed some things about this improved concentration in D.C. I saw her smiling in such a way that seemed to belie a separation of part of herself from the part that was playing the piano. It seemed that she needed only, say, 82% of her consciousness to play, and the remaining 18% was free to roam, often being used to observe the concert experience as if from somewhere above. Frankly, I think she was able to enjoy seeing us in the audience, and was getting off on how much she saw we were reeling from her hitting us upside the head. Her sense of humor and mischief seems lost on many, but there is plenty of both. Clearly, she enjoys thinking of songs to add on a given evening that no one would have anticipated, and she then loves to see how we respond with both shock and delight. [I doubt either Imagine or Let it Be will make second appearances on this tour. She likely worked them up--lighting and everything--as one-offs for increased effect. Gotta love it.] My expectation is that the current overall shape of the concerts will remain through the end of this tour, but that she'll continue to add two new songs per night as possible, one often being a one-off such as when she did Please Come to Boston in Boston. So, yeah; in Cleveland she was really in the zone. She didn't even make mention of the Wurlitzer when she went over and played it. This is a convention I noticed on the DDI Tour, when in the opening weeks of it she tended to make a big deal of the harpsichord being wheeled out and the harmonium brought in, even having the audience say goodbye to the harpsichord. Later on in the DDI Tour she would simply motion to the stagehands to come take the harpsichord away and bring out the harmonium. I happily agree with her decision to trade off a cutesy ritual for a smoother flow within the concerts. Good deal, I say. For years I've disliked the sound of the Fender Rhodes as it was played by the likes of some jazz players who would use it to play fast leads, but this isn't Chick Corea's Rhodes we're getting on this album and tour: What we hear is more akin to the full, rich sound of an organ played with big, rolling chords; and combined with the wonderful piano used on this tour, the complementary nature of the two instruments is like a lush, vintage port with plenty of legs. Tori's caused me to rethink the Rhodes as an instrument. She's shown me the error of my ways for thinking that in this era of portable pianos with both strings and action, the Rhodes would be best assigned for use in creating special effects. I've seen--or I should say heard--the light, and I admit I was wrong. I can't go without some bitching. If you are blessed enough to be able to attend one of these concerts, do not have a conversation with your friends during it; and do not sing along to Me and a Gun! Do not sing at *all* unless prompted by Tori to do so! You are in a concert hall with people who paid good money to be there, not in your private living room! It distracts *her* if she can hear you, and the people around you will be too busy plotting your imminent demise to be able to pay enough attention to the music to enjoy it. I partly blame the sale of strong spirits at some of the venues for all the talkers and choir members, although I have to say overall I've been quite pleased with the respectful enthusiasm exhibited by most of the members of the audiences on this tour. As for the rest of you--just shut the hell up. The life you save may be your own. One last thing. Sometimes the shows can validly be compared to sex. She pulls one different flavor show out after another, but some of them, undeniably, can be compared to sex. I'm not afraid to say so publicly, and I have no apologies for the "chocolate syrup" quote I gave Michael for The Dent after the Wallingford show which seemed to cause some eyebrows to be raised. A friend of mine happened to be going backstage after that show and I gave her a brief note for T that was more explicit than that Dent quote, and she totally got the humor and laughed, so give me a break. I remember some ancient quote from her about music to the effect of, "If I'm not creaming, I'm not interested," but I can't find it right now. Suffice to point to this recent interview quote:
"I didn't care if Beethoven made mathematical sense". . . "I wasn't creaming." I feel the same way about music. If you're so uptight that an amusing sexual/musical metaphor causes you some sort of problem, I have to wonder how you can ever *possibly* listen to her music or read her interviews. I suggest you try listening to some Kenny G. :-) It's nice to be back on my own computer, but I best go now. Be seeing you, Richard Handal, H.G. The reviews below were taken from the concert reviews section of The Dent Forum and added here on January 7, 2002Review by FireOnYourSide I just got back! Show was great. I went to the Meet and Greet but didn't get to see Tori. Some losers were there at 5am! or claimed to be! GET A LIFE PEOPLE! So...the whole cell phone incident was funny. Tori was singing "putting the damage on" and the phone rang, from where I was sitting it wasn't that loud. Tori just kind of smiled and sang "when you're leaving your phone on" the crowd started clapping and cheering. I was hoping to hear "the wrong band" but I should have hoped for another song because Tori has played "...band" in about 29 years. Anyhoo. I thought the show was great. Tori looked hot, I thought to audience was OK. But people seemed to get up a lot and there was this one woman on floor, center who just wouldn't shut to fuck up! Or at least keep her voice down. Otherwise I thought it was a great show. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by Choirgirl Crush The show was awesome. I almost died when she started to play black dove. space dog and purple people left me having orgasmic convulsions. It was awesome. The crowd was fine from where I was sitting, I was *very* near the front *smile* The cell phone thing, lol, she handled that perfectly, in prime tori-fashion! ahhhhhhhh Mother was AWESOME to the max, and sugar and talula were everso powerful Best concert i've been to in a LONG time ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by OrangeCLouDS658 It was amazing! I really enjoyed her concert! She is a living Goddess! I missed the meet and greet because some moron told me that it wasn't there! Bastard! And I only had to wait about 40 minutes to see her too! But thats ok! It was truely a great show! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by LisK Hey everyone, The show was really great. 97 Bonnie and Clyde made me stop breathing. Damn that song is so scary! It was really intense. Tori didn't talk to the crowd much at all. At one point she told a story about Tash, saying that Tash had discovered chocolate and now Tori had an excuse to buy it (paraphrase). But other than that she didn't really seem into the crowd. Probably because THE CROWD SUCKED. People were getting up and down a lot, someones cell phone went off, people near me were screaming stupid things. This was the worst crowd I have ever experienced at a Tori show. Me and a Gun was really intense for me. I started crying (which is not something I usually do, at all) and couldn't stop until halfway through icicle. But I'm really glad she played it. Anyway, it was an awesome concert despite the crowd. Yay Tori! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by getupkid it was an awesome show! where i was sitting (sort of in the back, on the side) the crowd was fine. i didn't even really hear anyone acting up *shrug*. guess it all depends on where you sit. black dove was so awesome!!!! when she started the "well i have to get to texas" part it ruled!!! i was surprised, yet sort of pleased, she only played 2 songs from SLG. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by raspswirl6 oh! the chocolate story she said something like "tash is getting to like chocolate" and she folded her hands on her knee. and she said "i told them to bring some white chocolate for the baby, and it worked!" it was really funny, and her improvs were great! intros for talula, (the rest escape me now) & during putting the damage on... so good! is it normal for many people to rush the stage when tori is leaving and entering between encores? i haven't seen it before on this tour, it was kinda weird. pps - cleveland didn't open with rufus. he did a NY show by himself tonight i heard? tonight's opener for tori was semi-local singer guy mike farley. he wasn't particularly bad, but i didn't enjoy his songs. he had an interesting voice that i can totally see certain people getting really into, but it wasn't my kind of opener for someone like tori. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by Bryan with a *y* Ok, I'm not sure where to begin. This show was amazing. There were a lot of highlights - esp. Let It Be. It was by far the most beautiful version of that song I have ever heard - and it came out of no where - very surprising. Me And A Gun was also a highlight. The theatre was silent and you could hear every single breath Tori took - very emotional and sweetly sung. Raining Blood was just so powerful and an interesting opener. Although people tend to trash Leather for being around so much - it was very nice - I really enjoyed hearing it. Putting The Damage On was gorgeous. The cell phone incident was funny and Tori's reaction was perfect and quite funny. Marianne!! Mother!! Etienne!! Space Dog!! Black Dove!! I don't even know what to say - all extremely plesant surprises. Tori's voice was just so strong and her range is beyond awesome. Although I was very saddened that I couldn't hear Dutchman or Beulah Land - the show made my fucking month. She also told a little story about Tash discovering Chocolate...and she said something to the effect of getting Natashya white chocolate. It was very cute. I did go to the meet & greet. I didn't meet Tori because I was in the back (the way back). There weren't that many people, but Tori stayed up front the entire time and didn't come around to the sides as I had hoped. There was some psycho woman security guard that was yelling at people for looking the wrong way. She was extremely annoying. Dor!! Nice to finally meet you and thanks for the beautiful picture! After tonight's show being my first time seeing Tori solo (even though I've seen her several times now) I can see why you can and other EWF can do what you guys do. Travelling to so many shows makes perfect sense to me after being so enraptured by Tori tonight. It's something you just can't get enought of. There were so many friendly people that I met. That's what makes meet and greet's so exciting - Tori fans are just wonderful people. I have such a good feeling tonight. Amazing show. Sorry if this was too long. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by michelle (Mstescher) Hey guys! This was my third Tori show but my first one on this tour. I loved it! I went to the M&G and posted about it in the main forum...i requested Black Swan but alas, no go. But thats okay, I got some great pics of her! Anyways on to the show..I think we can call this one the Blood Show...so many songs with "blood" in them! b&c -So creepy...i dont listen to this one too often on the CD but it had an affect on me seeing it live... raining blood -I didnt recognize this at first...wonderful black dove - excellent..although i think i heard a wrong note in there while she went back and forth between the piano and the keyboard. leather - i could do without it but cute anyways..before this she mentioned that Tash is into chocolate now and that's a good thing for her. So now she says she wants white chocolate...for the baby! lust -beauuuutiful..just so gorgeous damage - I really wanted to hear this and i'm so glad i did...someone already mentioned the cell phone..I thought it was cute how she handled it..I thought she said "When you're putting the phone off." Whatever she said, it was funny! space dog - Had some really interesting intro to this..something about in the navy (did a little salute gesture)...SOOOO goood! She got really into this one purple people -mentioned how she wrote it for choirgirl and how she thought it would "start" the album because she loves it. very nice..cool purple lighting during this. past the mission -again, the lighting was cool...Some asshole yelled out "Where's Trent?!!" Jerk. sugar -Very strong and loud and just..great! talula - I dont have the version of Pele with this one on it..So this was my first time hearing it. Great! marianne -A great surprise! So glad i heard this one me and a gun -Finally shut the audience up..very good. let it be - Oh i went nuts when she started this!! Just fantastic 1st encore icicle - I was hoping for Bachelorette during this time but thats okay..icicle is always a good choice. etienne - I've never heard this (i have a really warped version of it on tape) so this was REALLY GOOD!! 2nd encore honey - One of my faves so i was digging it..again, gorgeous. mother - I never used to like this song but i think after this concert it's one of my favorites! I loved the "he's gonna change my name" part...she whispers it..very cool mary - I like this song but i wasn't happy that she ENDED the night with it..but thats okay! All in all, a pretty good night. Some people in front of me were talking and i did hear a few people singing along but nothing so bad that it ruined the night for me. I guess i was in a "good" section. *sigh* well, this concert tied me over until the next tour. And for those that i met at the meet and greet, your pics are coming soon!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by Carol (Velvetes1) LET IT BE! Wow...that was the highlight of the show. (for me anyway...) Talula comes in a close 2nd. Then Past the Mission, Honey, Black-Dove, and Sugar. Me and a Gun was really intense... I think Tori was almost in tears. I had an awesome view of the stage! I'm pretty sure Tori made eye contact with me a few times. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by SteveEwf Made it back. I really enjoyed the show even though my seat was wayyyyyy to the right I had a pretty good view of Tori. She looked beautiful tonight The setlist was great and the improve around the phone (while rude) was the mark of a true professional and was funny. Everyone around me was great, no chatting, standing, singing. Tori's presence on stage alone is so much more than with the band, my god, her voice and the piano loud and clear ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by frogs&angels tonight's show was just the best I've seen on this tour. It was truly incredible, magical. She played an unbelievable setlist. I also attended the Atlanta and 2nd New York show, and the cleveland show beat them by far for me (although she played Playboy Mommy in Atlanta). I didn't get to go to the meet and greet. If the girl in the front of the meet and greet after the show reads this, I handed you a note to give to Tori. I know it started raining really hard. Did Tori come out, or were you able to give the note to somebody who could give it to Tori? I don't know if any others gave you something to give her, but if you don't remember, I had long, curly hair, and a plaid skirt on. Anyway, great show, some rudeness, but trust me Atlanta was way worse!!! She looked damn good too. My boyfriend wants me to buy the shoes she was wearing. He loved them! I told him I don't think I'd be able to walk in them, and he told me I'd learn. Great. Oh yeah, this is getting long, but I went to a bar afterwards that I knew had Tori in the jukebox and played as much Tori as I could. I asked the bartender not to dare turn it off, but it turned out he was a Tori fan as well and missed the show since he had to work. He missed a hell of a show. But, he was happy to hear about it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by Jalbrean The show rocked. There wasn't much trouble in the balcony section. I heard the cell phone go off. Which is amusing since as soon as you went in the door they promptly reminded you NOT to have your cell phone on. People must not listen, but Tori handled it nicely ;p I really liked the curtain going up with the tori picture on it while Bonnie and Clyde played. That was eerie with the lights going through it. My gripe. The biotches in line with me while I tried to get a shirt. I was sure I was going to jail if another chick that was 'behind' me some how scooted in front of me while I had to back up and turn to let the person in front turn around to leave. ;> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by MilkyWhites Yes, the show was amazing! I'm still glowing. I just wish I could have met some of you. I didn't want to wear a laminate, but I didn't expect to NOT see any! I was trying to make eye contact with random people and communicate telepathically, but it didn't work, unfortunatly. I did see Mikewhy, but I was too shy to say hello, because he was talking to a few other people, and I didn't want to interupt. Besides, I'm not really a regular on here. I probably saw many of you. Great show. I was particularly amazed by "Mary" That made my life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by room509 This was a seriously amazing show. I loved it all. And I really didn't want to hear Lust, but when she did play it I thought it was amazing. Let It Be was such a highlight. I'm sure half the crowd, like myself, were all teary eyed. There was a definite motherhood/blood/Virgin Mary theme running through the evening. All the songs worked well together. Now for the negative side. I was in the third row on the right side. The man directly behind me was the rudest man I have ever been near during any concert. During the opener he kept repeating the same phrases - "fuck yeah" "oh yea, rip that shit up" and "he's doing the harmonics (pronounced har-mown-ics)." It was just ridiculous. The opener was a blathering self-promoting schmuck. He had barely been on stage 5 minutes and was already spitting out his web address and announcing his forthcoming CD. I understand the struggling musician. I really do. I respect that he is doing the promoting himself. But I have not been so inundated with self-marketing bullshit ever before at a concert. I thought he was a bit tactless. Back to the drunken fuck. He sang on every song except Etienne. He began singing and my friends and I would periodically shoot evil glances. I thought about getting an usher to talk to him, but I felt that would be too disrespectful to Tori. And I didn't want to look like the asshole who started everything. But, to top it all off, he sang during MAAG. Isn't it just some unwritten rule that that is a Tori concert no-no? And I forgot to mention that before Tori came out, he began making some rather violent comments about a woman in the second row. Something about grabbing her hair. He really tarnished my experience until I got into Tori-mode and blocked outside interference completely. Secondly, there was a Cadillac parked directly behind 3 cars in the parking lot, making it nearly impossible for those 3 cars to get out. I was in one of those cars. We were blocked in. It was like driver's training in the middle of the parking lot. It was extremely rude and I can't believe the parking attendants allowed it to happen. After we made it around the car, I left a note reading "YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE" under the windshield wiper of that same Cadillac. I felt somewhat validated after that. Sorry that all was so negative. I would have to say that overall, this is one of the best crowds of any Tori show I've attended. It was my 3rd Cleveland show. My previous 2 Cleveland concerts (Plugged and 5.5 Weeks) had far ruder crowds than this show. The setlist was amazing. Tori played so many songs I wanted to hear - Etienne, Marianne, Talula, Past the Mission, and Mary(!!!). B&C was really fantastic. Very intense. And MAAG, the first time I've heard this one live, was one of the most intense experiences I've had. Let It Be was the absolute perfect end to a perfect (first) set. Thanks for reading my catharsis. Hope I don't sound like a huge cynic. I'm really quite the optimist ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by weepingsabicu What a great show, and what a crappy audience! You could hear people talking all over the place, the crazy drunk bitch was yelping orwhatever that was, and there seemed to be tons of people who milled about during the show. Okay, and I may get flamed for this, but am I the only person who gets annoyed when people scream DURING songs and/or freak out for the first 15 seconds of her singing when they figure out what song it is? I'm there to listen to her, not the audience. Sorry about the negativity. I'm such a brat . Bonnie & Clyde- this was really different live for me. Not as eery, maybe angry is the word? Raining Blood- so beautiful. Very powerful. Black Dove- a surprise, and it sounded like she had the band! The things she can do with that piano. I think she hides a drum set in it. Leather - you know, Leather! Lust- this was so pretty. The 'rolling and unrolling' part was very loud and commanding. Putting the Damage on - another surprise for me. I love to hear her sing the word 'pretty' for some reason! Space Dog - she sang the bridge as an intro and it was fabulous. I love this one live! Purple People- Cute story about how this girl was one of the very first songs recorded for Choirgirl and she wanted it to start to album becuase she loves it. Past the Mission - starts off on the Bose with some pretty intense, low and loud stuff I've never heard before which she continued throughout the song (can someone explain this better??) and then she went on to play with one hand on the Bose and one on the keyboard. Sugar - sounds like the band version but without the band, right down to the 'you're just a pussy..." Talula- totally amazing on the Whurley. Lots of "I don't want to loose him/her" and other slight lyrics variations. One of the highlights for me! Marianne- yummy! Me and a Gun Let it Be- WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW Well, I'll be damned, that is one amazing treat. So beautiful. Just unreal. Icicle - So awesome- pretty true to form Etienne - Gorgeous, and when she sang "Maybe you're the knight who saved my life" I swear to God she paused for a second and looked right at Mark with the cutest smile on her face. Mother - this song blew me away. It's just incredible live, and it meant a lot ot me because I was actually there with my mother! Honey- great- true to form Mary- I don't care much for this song, and can't stand the "Butterflies don't belong in nets" part, but there are some pretty parts that I could appreciate, like when she sings, "Don't be afraid" After the show, I said hi to mark on the way out and he said "Hullo" back, although I could kinda tell he didn't really like being talked to. I felt like a dirty groupie or something. Doesn't she say he's grumpy? Because I think he needed a smoke. However, that man is HOT. Like, very very very HOT. He was wearing the same 'Closed for Rehab' shirt that he is wearing in the Venus tour book photo. I went outside to the barricades after the show and it started to pour. We waited for Tori for a long time and when she came out we were told to be really quiet because the baby was sleeping on the bus right next to us! I got to touch Tori's arm, but I did not even make eye contact with her. I was crushed against the railing and don't think I could ever go to the regular meet and greet. While I did get to talk to some sweet people, I was kinda put off by the whole vibe. People are totally fucking ruthless! Also, you could tell Tori was really tired and just wanted to get the hell out of there. Is that how she is during the day meet and greets, too? Becuase I left feeling like I shouldn't bother her! Or like she doesn't need a bunch of people like me hounding her for autographs! Of course, the other part of me (the part I don't like) says "I own you! Get in my car and come home with me so you can be my musical slave! You'd better stay out here and sign every last damn thing we hand you because we paid for that tour bus, ya hear?" Whoa- excuse me. I did not really say that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by RayvenFaerie I really didn't want to wait about all day from 9:30am until the M&G to barely get a picture of Tori and not even get an autograph. I'm 5'1 and really couldn't see much of anything. Especially with the 6 foot + guy in front of me. To the one guy in front of my friend who refused to pass up something for an autograph, go fuck yourself. I was highly disappointed in the behaviour of some of the fans that arrived there long after me, and who managed to weasel to the front to get autographs and pretty lil pictures. The line thing doesn't work, period. It does NOT matter when you get there, I was there pretty early and should have had a good chance, but that chance was lost to others running and acting as if they were animals... wild dogs at a feeding frenzy. to the girl with the white shirt, curly hair and big mouth. I'd think someone that claims to have been to so many tours would just have better manners. This crowd was bad, almost as bad as 1999's! Sad. However~ The setlist was to die for, and Tori looked fabulous! I *loved* the version of Talula she did, and I loved her mid-song improv about the phone... M&AG was touching, and very very moving as was Let it be. This was a terrific show with lots of different people. For as many rude people that were there I must have met more than 5 beautiful sweethearts. *hugs* to all those I met. *hugs* to all those I didn't meet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by stargazerlily65 *deep breath* First off I would like to give a big FUCK YOU to the little girl with the blue dot on her head and the tori-written all over backpack who repeatedly demanded to be in the front of the line AND kept giving me snotty looks, when in fact she has been at the front of the line for THREE shows we know of. Go play in traffic and DIE you fucking ridiculous bitch. YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO TORI. okay! People in the show who kept screaming/singingalong/taking flash pictures/talking through honey right behind me/whatever. The same goes for you. DIE. Other than that? Amazing setlist!!!! I wanted Black Dove and I got it. Big surprise. Finally got to see Talula (I've only seen Crucify on this tour) Honey and Sugar in one night! a very Pele night. I was happy despite all of that. Thanks to the rest of the people who made the show very cool! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by SugarSwirl Melissa, Emily (her 7 yr old sis-HUGE Tori fan) and I got to meet Tori beforehand. Emily was soooo happy. Tori was so sweet to us. She commented how great it was the the three of us travelled from three different cities (LA,SF and NY) to see her. She hugged Melissa when she heard that she had been hurt in NY on 9/11. She even played three things we requested! "Sugar", Talula" and "Black Dove". The show was great. Front and center tix! Tori was Tori. Fun, witty and amazing. She told a cute story about Tash loving chocolate and how she requested some white chocolate "for the baby". Sure Tori!! (ha ha ha ha) She also talked about how "Purple People" was to be the first track on "...Choirgirl" then she said "I love her", in that loving Tori way. Very cool. It is great how Tori makes everyone feel a part of the experience. NOW FOR THE BAD PART: I thought cell phones going off during perfomances and loud people were only a LA/Hollywood thing. (One of the things I hate about living in LA) There was some girl being obnoxiously loud. What was that all about? Tori show NOT a Korn concert! Ugh. Tori did make a reference to "Putting the phone off" during "Putting the Damage On". We all got a laugh out of that. =-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Review by Idioteck Here's my play by, with all of the gory details. I had to wake up at 4:30 am to meet Erol and get on the road, we're in Michigan. We then picked up Jen in Toldeo, Ohio. So, I road-tripped with two complete strangersfrom the forums and we actually had a really good time, they are both very interesting and cool people. So, we made it to the M & G around 9 am. I have had issues with these things in the past simply because they really bring out the devil in some people, myself included. But, I had to go with the flow. Usually I'm quite anti-social and quiet, but not yesterday! I ended up meeting some deeply cool kids out there like Amanda and Rachel, the two Nikkis (sp), Nikki's boyfriend, ToriKnight and all sorts of really friendly, nice people. I was genuinely surprised. This was the first show I had been to with so many Toriphiles and it was very surreal. But in the the nicest way possible. As the day wore down and the weather contiuned to stay absolutely perfect for us, people's tempers began to flare up. As soon as we were allowed to go to the side of the venue, everyone just bolted. I know there isn't any guarantee that you are going to meet or talk to Tori at these things, but SHIT, give the people who were there first the first crack at it. It's just disrespectful to be so full of greed. In the end, it is just like meeting any other person in the world, right? So people were arguing about their places and being very very nasty to one another. At that point, I decided to just fend for myself instead of trying to get other people that were there up front. This by the way, will be my first and only M & G. People here talk about respect and being cool to one another and sharing common interests and blah fucking blah, but when it comes right down to it, many of those people were ugly yesterday and filled with gross-ness. There were definitely some exceptions, though, I'm not trying to talk shit about anyone in particular. The crowd was just nasty and devious and ruined the whole day for me. Incidentally, those of us who were there so early did end up in front somehow, I guess it is called karma. I was in the spot right where her bus pulled up and was one of the first people who got to talk to her. She was much smaller than I envsioned her and to be honest she looked a little older than I expected her to be! But she was still so attractive and radiated strength and calm. Her eyes were totally wild and I couldn't break contact with them as I wa talking with her. A very mesmerizing experience for me! Tori seemed to be very upset by the crowd as well, muttering to Joel at least twice "I hate when the push and shove like this". Other than that, she told me that she had some "surprises" in store for us as far as the set was concerned. And boy, was she right. '97 Bonnie & Clyde : Seemed extra intense and intensely creepy for some reason tonight. The lyrics seemed to be hissed out rather than spoken like in previous shows. Raining Blood: Absolutely stunning. It really showcases her vocals and it set the mood for an unpredictable and emotional show. Black Dove: I just about crapped in my trousers when I recognized it. Better than the Cd version, if you can believe it! Her vocals were stellar. Leather: Blah. Over it. Putting The Damage On: Very touching, despite the cell phone interruption. I have never heard it live before and was extremely happy. It's my boyfriend's favorite Tori song and he's in Germany right now, so it made me think of him. Space Dog: This is my favorite Tori song ever, and I was talking about it all day long. I never expected it to happen especially right after PTDO. I was just entranced at this point. Purple People: Not a big fan of this song, but everyone around me seemed to be, cause they were singing at the top of their fucking lungs. Past The Mission: A nice improvement on the original. More teenage girls singing out of tune. Sugar: Very nice solo. I loved it on the Plugged tour, but this time it was even more intimate and shocking. I love when Tori says "Pussy!" it makes me so happy. Talula: Stunning and on the Wurlitzer. I dig on this song anyways so I was happy. Until the girls started singing again. This time they didn't know the words. I asked them very nicely to "shut their fucking mouths before I helped them" but they just didn't get it. Marianne: Pele overload, but that's totally ok by me. Sweeping and faster (at least to me) than on the CD, this was one of many high points for me. THe girls singing also thought so. Me and a Gun: No singing here but there was incoherent weeping and mumbling. Stop it already. I actually zoned out and fell asleep, waking up only by hearing myself snoring. I am so disrespectful! lol...It had been a long day by that point... Let It Be: A huge shock, but not to those of us who heard the soundcheck outside Very pretty and a nice follow-up to M&AG 1st Encore: Icicle: Snooze. Wanted to start shooting singing girls. Etienne: Heard it Grand Rapids, but liked this one more. 2nd Encore: Honey: Always nice to hear Honey. Not always nice to hear obnoxious girls singing it behind me. Mother: Screaming girls switched from singing to shrieking "I LOVE YOU TORI" through the whole fucking song. Mary: Better in Detroit, but a nice way to end the whole thing.,
Ok, so obviously, there were some crowd issues. Singing at shows is so out of line and to think that it's ok for you to just run your mouth through the whole thing is just not cool. You know it, don't argue. It ruined my night and my last show. People who do that are lucky they don't get their asses beat, cause at one point, I was seriously ready to choke one of the girls. Yucky. I tried explaining this to the 89 year old ushers there, but what the fuck could they do? they coulld barely read the tickets. I decided to write a letter to the Playhouse Theater complex about their people, who seemed to be totally braindead. If you have idiots at a show, they shoud get one warning and then get the boot. Let me re-iterate: THIS CROWD SPRUNG FROM THE FIERY PITS OF HELL.
i did still really enjoy it, though tori didn't seem to me to really get "on" until "sugar". which i will say was the most powerful version of sugar i've ever heard. :-) i was really hoping for "sister janet", "upside down" or "take to the sky", but i guess i wasn't so lucky. i have a question about the setlist though, there was a intro to one of the songs, it was around "putting the damage on", it sounded like she was singing "snow cherries from france", and she sung something about paris in the beginning. i have an awful memory so i don't remember which song it was, so maybe someone else can remember. but i was so sure that's what i heard. :-) if anyone knows, please let me know.
not the best crowd.
all in all a good show. i often wonder where these people are the rest of the time, the cool ones, the nice ones. why do i never see these people in cleveland?
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Review by carylbear
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