StrangeLittleTour
Frankfurt, Germany
December 10, 2001

Updated January 7, 2002

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Tori performed in Frankfurt, Germany on December 10, 2001 at Jahrhunderthalle during the 2001 StrangeLittleTour.


Set List


Thanks to Christoph Viethen and Shiri Herbet and Yaron Leza for being the first to email me the set list.


'97 Bonnie & Clyde
Real Men
Little Amsterdam
Silent All These Years
Sweet Dreams
Enjoy The Silence
Marianne
Rattlesnakes
Bachlorette
Josephine
Etienne
Playboy Mommy
Me & A Gun
China

1st Encore:
Butterfly
Suede

2nd Encore:
Not The Red Baron
Time

3rd Encore:
I'm on Fire
Baker Baker


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 Shiri Herbet and Yaron Leza

Added December 10, 2001 - The original setlist intended for play tonight was:

Same Main Setlist

Encore 1:
Butterfly
Suede

Encore 2:
Tear In Your Hand
Red Baron
Time

No Encore 3

Tori sounded great and her voice is back to normal! She was very happy about it (and so were all of us!)


From Dormouse

Added December 10, 2001 - Yup, 3 encores.

Unfortunately, no post-show M?G afterwards. There were barriere for that purpose, but security packed them away during the show, they said Tori were sick and not up to giving autographs.


From timmie and the purple monkey!

Added December 10, 2001 - when the show started i was a little disappointed coz reading setlists and reviews at the dent had put my expectations way up high, and then actually 97bc already wasn't as great as i expected. then tori came out and started with real men, which was besides little amsterdam the song i didn't want her to start the show with. however it turned out really great, sounded way more powerful than on the album. but then little amsterdam followed and i went like, okay she's just gonna play the few songs that i was not anxious to hear, which were really few. seriously, i went into this concert thinking, she could hardly play any song which i wouldn't love to hear. and then she started out with two of them! however, afterwards she said hello, and told us how everybody had had the flue by now, including the baby, and they're all through with it by now, and we wouldn't know what all they had to go though to get to frankfurt tonight. but now she was here in pink (referring to her pink dress, mixture of a rope and a suite is what i'd call it, black high-heels! first i thought it was the "time"-dress).

then she started off with saty and the audience was on her side. it was so beautiful. i've heard live-versions of this before and always thought that's just an album-track and that's where it sounds perfect, but tonight it was wonderful. sweet dreams was fun and the fiyiyiyire-part was awesome!

enjoy the silence started out with a real dark intro, as many songs had really deep basses tonight (hurt my head from time to time). however when she started the song it was jsut beautiful. and so was marianne! again she introduced it with some wild intro, which i thought was icicle at first. but then when she started singing... wooh, real bliss, one of my alltime-favorites, and heck, that's where timmie and his purple monkey come from.

bachelorette was another one i had really hoped for but never expected. AWSOME!

yeah basically from now on everything was perfect: rattlesnakes were amazing, much stronger than the album version.

etienne and josephine: two french girls, which were on my wishlist but were never expected, and even more sweeter than they are already. during etienne, after "i close my eyes", tori had to stop for some reason, gave the cutes smile and said "sorry, i'll do this again!" and did it over again.

for playboy mommy tori went over to the other thingy, and told a really long story starting out with her trip to the rheingau (german wine area), where they had the greatest wine, and how in america you'd be put away for one glass of wine, and how one of her greatest nightmares would be if europe became a huge square, too. then she told the story how she and some friends were down in france, and how the girlfriends had discussions and she would just give out croog, crugue, whatever? to everybody, and how she went out with hers but forgot about her platform,shoes and the round staircase.. the she just started out with the first line ( i know, she told a similar story to that before about pm's first line). it was fun, and pm was very emotional. maag was one of my favorites, which i had never ecxpected it to become. but it was so emotional, you thought, tori was crying, don' know if she was. and the entire audience was dead silent, was spooky. only i was sad, coz i knew that maag comes so short before the ending.

china was pretty standard. afterwards we all rushed up to the stage and i made it into 2nd row.

butterfly: wow, there you go with another never-expected favorite again. i also was really wondering how suede would sound live, and there it came and i must say: awesome it sounds!

not the red baron and time also were much more beautiful than on the albums, especially time. it was jsut wonderful!

so then after time, tori stood up, came up front shook some hands and stuff and basically we were sure that the concert was over when she left the stage. but the lights wouldn't go on so we jsut kept clapping on and on, and finally tori came back. woooh! and by now the guys in front of me for some reason had elft their spot so i was right in the middle all the way up front, yay!

i had neevr expected i'm on fire! not that it was one of my favorites, but still the surprise was perfect, and seeing tori singing it from that close was just amazing. and as if all of this wasn't enough afterwards she still wouldn't stand up, but started into a wonderful baker baker.

then when she was "finally" all done, she came up front and shook whose hands? mine!!! geez, as if the evening hadn't been perfect enough. thanks so much tori for such a great night!!!

unfortunately the meet and greet afterwards was cancelled, coz tori felt sick. the security guys had to send us away a few times until we would finally leave. well, i hope tori will feel better soon, so that all the other guys who are about to see her have the chance to see this outstandingly excellent artist using one hand and one food on the piano the other hand and food at the organ, and on top of that sing in the middle! have fun everybody!


From Christoph Viethen

Added December 11, 2001 - I think there's not much to add to the reviews already on your page. Yes, it was Baker Baker as the last song - still can't decifer my handwriting, but the visual memory of Tori's performance is back on track. :)

I was quite surprised - and relieved - to find that her voice was so much better than yesterday. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice show at Berlin, but seeing that Tori had picked a certain selection of songs at that show which (my guess, anyway) are somewhat more easy to handle if one has got voice problems had worried me. This time, at Frankfurt, she seemed to start the show carefully, and then seemed to find that her voice did what she wanted it to do. I had the impression this was quite a relief for her as well, and she was in a good mood during the show. I think this might have contributed to the fact that she did three encores. :)

Show started at about 21:15 and ended at about 23:00, by the way, so it was back to the usual length again.

Yes, it might be a little disappointing for people to find that there were no meet'n'greets for todays show and none for yesterdays show, either, especially, if (unlike some of us more crazy toriphiles :)) one goes to one show only. One really should keep in mind, however, that Tori's health is the absolute top priority: no health - no show at all. And the concert is what we all want to see, right? So if you went to Berlin or Frankfurt and didn't get to meet Tori afterwards, be happy - because cancelling those meet'n'greets might well have saved her from having to cancel the entire shows.


From Carine (Mother Lucifer)

Added December 11, 2001 - just want to add that in the story before playboy mommy, she talked about "Krug", wich is the name of a Champagne very expensive.

I was in the first row, in the middle and it was really really weird because it was as if she just sang for me!!!!

I was very happy because I was with my husband and Anne, my "Beauty Queen", and the ticket for Anne was her gift for her birthday, and she's also a fan of Bruce Sringsteen. So when Tori sang I'm on fire, it was really special, just for Anne!!!

It was my third concert of Tori and the last one on this tour. I met her in Paris but I was unable to say something, and each time with the encore I was just able to clapp my hand...

Yesterday, when Tori came and shook some hands, (she shook Anne's hand...) I finally said "Thank you"! I guess she didn't hear me but at least it came out!!!

Thanks Tori, I'm a little sad today because it's the end of a adventure for the three of us, but next time I will be here again, all accross the Europe!!!


From the Frankfurter Rundschau

Added December 18, 2001 - A press review of the Frankfurt concert appeared in the December 12, 2001 edition of the German Newspaper "Frankfurter Rundschau". Below you can find a translation of this review from German into English, courtesy of Toriphile Christine Abraham. Please keep in mind that translation can sometimes be difficult and error-prone. You can also see a scan of a photo of Tori at the Frankfurt soundcheck that was printed along with the review. Thanks to Christine for that scan as well!

The dark side of songs

How Tori Amos changes many "strange little girls" that were thought up by men but are now sung by her

By Erhard Zeiss

At the beginning the black camouflage netting hangs in front of the stage. And the audience in Frankfurt's Jahrhunderthalle only sees a huge photo of Tori Amos: With a blond, long haired wig and a birthday cake she mysteriously looks at the viewer. In the background: spoken lyrics from tape. Then the netting falls down and the stage is clear.

Disguising and baringðuntil complete surrender: Tori Amos' performance varies between these two opposites. On her current album Strange little girls the American singer and piano player chose twelve songs which - all written by men- are directly or indirectly about women. Now Amos sings these songs from her female perspective - thus uncovering the originals' dark sides, the [dark side] of violence, of sexual abuse and oppression. They can be found in Neil Young's Heart of gold as well as in Happiness is a warm gun by the Beatles - and that is the stunning point in Amos' experiment.

Some of the cover songs are also part of the evening in Frankfurt. Tori Amos performs without a band. Alone on the Bñsendorfer piano and/or the e-piano a song like Eminem's '97 Bonnie & Clyde shows its other, its true face under her hands and her voice. The dancefloor suited song by the loutish rapper becomes what it is: a murderer's tormenting report who wants to make his wife's body disappear.

Tori Amos, the daughter of a Methodist preacher from North Carolina, has a powerful voice. She also gives other songs like Depeche Mode's Enjoy the silence a gloomy light which does not match the cleverly simple light show on stage. The tiny, fragile woman in her pink pantsuit and high heels sounds bright and girlishly gentle like Kate Bush and falls into a dark timbre the very next moment; she sings, powerfully and softly, she coos, she whispers. And makes the audience in the sold out venue listen raptly and in complete silence. After Me and a gun, the song about the traumatic experience of her own rapture which she sings "a capella", the atmosphere is so depressed that only some in the audience dare to clap their hands. There her disguise comes off, the human being Tori Amos emerges behind the masquerade in an unexpected moment of great closeness.

Then people in the front cannot keep to their seats any longer, they gather at the edge of the stage. Tori Amos also plays the encores preferably in minor. And she keeps to herself concerning the [evening's]topic: Even Baker Baker at the end is about a love that fails because of the masquerade, the hiding of feelings. But not without a glimpse of hope - which becomes also recognizable behind all of Tori Amos' disguises in voice and play.


German original:

Die dunkle Seite der Lieder

Wie Tori Amos sich viele strange little girls anverwandelt, die zwar Männer erdachten, aber die sie nun besingt

Von Erhard Zeiss

Am Anfang hängt das schwarze Tarnnetz vor der Bühne. Und das Publikum in der Frankfurter Jahrhunderthalle sieht nur ein großes Foto von Tori Amos: Mit blonder Langhaarperücke und Geburtstagstorte blickt sie den Betrachter geheimnisvoll an. Im Hintergrund: ein gesprochener Text vom Band. Dann fällt das Netz - die Bühne ist frei.

Das Verkleiden und das Entblößen bis zur totalen Preisgabe: Der Auftritt von Tori Amos bewegt sich zwischen diesen Gegensätzen. Auf ihrem aktuellen Album Strange little girls hat die amerikanische Sängerin und Pianistin zwölf Songs ausgewählt, die, alle von Männern geschrieben, direkt oder indirekt von Frauen handeln. Diese Lieder singt Amos jetzt aus ihrer, der weiblichen Perspektive - und enthüllt damit die dunkle Seite der Originale, die der Gewalt, der sexuellen Ausbeutung und Unterdrückung. Sie stecken, und das ist das Verblüffende an Amos' Experiment, in Neil Youngs Heart of gold ebenso wie in Happiness is a warm gun von den Beatles.

Ein Teil der zwölf Cover-Songs steht denn auch im Mittelpunkt des Frankfurter Abends. Tori Amos tritt ohne Band auf. Allein am Bösendorfer Flügel und/oder E-Piano zeigt ein Song wie Eminems '97 Bonnie & Clyde unter ihren Händen und mit ihrer Stimme sein anderes, wahres Gesicht. Der dancefloor-taugliche Song des Rüpelrappers wird zu dem, was er ist: zum beklemmenden Bericht eines Mörders, der die Leiche seiner Frau verschwinden lassen will.

Tori Amos, Tochter eines Methodistenpredigers aus North Carolina, hat Stimmgewalt. Auch die anderen Songs wie Depeche Modes Enjoy the Silence taucht sie in ein düsteres Licht, das so gar nicht passen will zur raffiniert-einfachen Lightshow auf der Bühne. Die kleine, zerbrechlich wirkende Frau im rosafarbenen Hosenanzug und den hochhackigen Pumps klingt hell und mädchenhaft-zart wie Kate Bush, um im nächsten Augenblick in ein dunkles Timbre zu fallen; sie singt, kraftvoll und weich, sie gurrt, sie flüstert. Und lässt die ausverkaufte Halle andachtsvoll und mucksmäuschenstill lauschen. Nach dem a-cappella vorgetragenen Me and a gun, einem Lied über das traumatische Erlebnis ihrer eigenen Vergewaltigung, ist die Stimmung so bedrückt, dass nur ein kleiner Teil der Zuhörer zu applaudieren wagt. Da fällt die Tarnung, kommt hinter der Maskerade, den Verkleidungen der Mensch Tori Amos zum Vorschein, in einem unerwarteten Moment großer Nähe.

Danach hält es die Zuhörer der vorderen Reihen nicht mehr auf den Stühlen, sie drängen sich am Bühnenrand. Tori Amos bleibt auch bei den Zugaben bevorzugt in Moll. Und sie bleibt sich auch beim Thema treu: Selbst in Baker, Baker ganz am Schluss geht es um eine Liebe, die an der Maske, dem Verstecken der Gefühle scheitert. Doch nicht ohne einen Schimmer von Hoffnung - der auch bei Tori Amos selbst hinter all den Verkleidungen in Stimme und Spiel erkennbar wird.


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


Review by steffie (Bosendorfer)

oki guys, it is around 7 am here and i just got back from frankfurt...before my head will bang on my desk i wanna try to give you a short review...

oki, first...i am not very fond of the opening act...i dunno...i just find his music boring...

anyway, this was one of the most amazing shows ever, i guess. tori seemed to be in a good mood...

she did all the songs that she had done during the soundcheck a few hours before. i bet you already saw the tracklist on the dent...I LOVED HER FOR IT!!! i mean, BACHELORETTE and an incredibly beautiful version of JOSEPHINE and then ETIENNE...

CHINA made me cry...i just love this song and it kinda fitted to my sad mood today...

i couldn't believe it when she entered the stage for a 3rd time in the end...she seemed happy on stage.

by the way...THANX TO THE AUDIENCE...you were great, guys!!!

i am sorry, this is just short and not very detailed...i am just too tired to think...
talk to you later!

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Review by Paula

She is getting better and better....this concert yesterday was the best I ever saw. I saw Tori several times in Germany in 1994, '96, '98 and yesterday. She is such a good singer and so amazing with her piano.

She enjoyed the show and is glad about being healthy again (so were we).

She said: "We were all having the flu, but now we don't have it anymore, baby is doing better, Mommy is doing better, hooray!!!and we're here tonight, in pink, hooray!!!" (refers to her pink suit).

I was lucky because she played almost all of my favorites. Bachelorette was absolutely amazing. Well, everything was just absolutely adorable....

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