Chicago Theatre

Unrepentant Geraldines Tour

Date	August 05, 2014
City	Chicago, IL
Venue	Chicago Theatre

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Setlist

Thanks to @theburlapfaerie and @bconley1973 for sending in the setlist tonight!

Parasol
Bells for Her
Winter
Don’t Make Me Come to Vegas
Virgina
Roosterspur Bridge
Father Lucifer
Fire on the Side

Lizard Lounge

Dust in the Wind [Kansas] / Africa [Toto]
Thank You [Led Zeppelin]

Blood Roses
Taxi Ride
Invisible Boy
America
Another Girl’s Paradise
iieee
Cornflake Girl

Encore

Tear In Your Hand
Wedding Day
In Your Room [Depeche Mode]
Hey Jupiter

Reviews

Casiquire says:

This was probably the most interesting show of hers that I’ve seen. Tori was really in some kind of mood—the quieter, more emotional songs were not the highlight, but the louder end of the spectrum was just incredible, which is a change from her last few shows I’ve seen. She was really acting spunky, fidgety, overflowing with energy.

To start from the beginning, I have to say that I’m not the hugest fan of the openers. They are both very talented but I think what they’re going for is intriguing lyrics, and I’m watching Tori whose lyrics don’t make a lick of sense half the time so I was a bit bored by the repetitive nature of the music. I really enjoyed the solo piece that the female singer played, though—the music stood on its own without the need for backup from the lyrics.

Then came Tori. Oddly enough I predicted the first two songs, don’t ask me how or why, but they did feel very natural. Parasol was good but relaxed, so her energy was still pent up waiting to burst out. Same with Bells for Her. Winter was, as always, perfect. At some point here Tori started telling a story which was bizarre and erratic and hilarious, a prime example of her wild energy. She started off talking about the crowd, then suddenly said “Carrots! Right?” and everyone looked at each other in confusion, and applauded their approval of carrots. “For f***ing breakfast!” Then we realized she was complaining that all she had eaten for breakfast was carrots, and she apologized for what might be about to happen because of her apparently unsatisfying breakfast. [Editor's note: She was referring to Garrett's Popcorn, not carrots!] She quickly mentioned how much she loves Boystown (sort of a gay hub of Chicago). She went on to talk about how she had received so many requests, and it was obviously not possible to include them all but that she would do many of them, and she talked at length about how she hoped the show would “make sense” and she wanted us to bear with her until the very end and that it would “make sense”. She had the whole audience laughing and cheering her on, encouraging her. The next three songs were solidly performed and I’m usually bored by Roosterspur Bridge but it was quite good here.

Then came Father Lucifer. Rock-solid performance. Then came the bombshell…Fire on the Side. WOW. She belted this out expertly, powerfully. This is one of the only YKTR songs I enjoy and never thought I’d see her play it live. It was pretty shocking, and I was glad to hear her letting that power out.

Dust in the Wind had a little story to it as well. She had to self-consciously apologize for it beforehand. She said she had never done the song—“Well, not like THIS…”—and that people make specific requests sometimes and tell her that she did sixteen bars of this or that, and she can’t remember doing it, and I’m sure she threw in something about menopause in the mix. And some profanity, of course. I remembered hearing a guy in the row in front of me (clearly dragged there by his wife!) saying “Wow, she’s a feisty one, isn’t she!” Think we have a new Ear with Feet in the making. I was not expecting the mash-up bit it worked and sounded like one song.

Thank You was good, nothing too unusual. Then Blood Roses happened. I haven’t heard her sing it like this in a LONG time. I loved the red lighting during the song too. There are a few videos of Blood Roses from this tour around the web but in my biased opinion I think she poured much more energy into it in Chicago than anywhere else I’ve seen.

Taxi Ride was another unexpected Scarlet’s Walk song—there were more Scarlet’s Walk songs than Unrepentant Geraldines songs! It was pretty touching. Invisible Boy was, in my opinion, the most moving of the “quieter” songs. I was happy to hear some UG music! After the soft ending of Invisible Boy, suddenly…BOOM, there’s a loud backing track and Tori is playing and singing over the music from the album recording of America. It was very well-done and it felt to me like she misses playing with a band, so having the firm structure of the backing track made a big difference.

Another Girl’s Paradise was very good (another SW song!) and hearing her perform it allowed me to hear things I might not have noticed as clearly on the album. She sings the chorus in a longer form where each backing vocal line gets sung separately.

IIEEE was great, much like some of the videos floating around from this tour. The best part is when she turns to the piano for the “little arsonist” bit.

Cornflake Girl also had a backing track, and as usual it was very well-performed. The piano barely stuck out from the music though so the solo was a bit difficult to hear. That’s pretty much the only thing about this whole show that wasn’t absolute perfection, and clearly that’s not her fault, so it really doesn’t even count in my opinion! I believe that it was after Cornflake Girl that Tori started shaking hands with audience members. One guy had white-framed sunglasses and he really wanted her to try them on. So she took off her glasses and handed them to him, then modeled his white sunglasses. So funny, she was as quirky as could be during this show.

Tear In Your Hand got the audience very excited, with some people clapping along. Wedding Day was another backing track song and I feel like the decision to put it near the end was intentional—this song seemed to allow her to almost rest her voice a bit. To my ears, she sang the very low harmonies throughout the song but it’s so hard to tell because of the thick vocal harmonies in the recording, so she could easily have not even been singing during the chorus, and the instrumentation is so thick that she could take it easy on the piano, which could barely be heard.

In Your Room was a surprise and I didn’t recognize it; I spent the whole performance wondering what song it was and how I haven’t heard of it! I didn’t think it was a cover because it had a backing track too, but Undented knows better than I do. Lastly, Hey Jupiter. This performance was really good. I kept getting the feeling that she was dreading the high notes because she skipped them a few times, and sounded really timid, but when she went for them she nailed them perfectly, so I really couldn’t tell why she was so self-conscious during this show. I really loved this performance!

About three times, Tori slammed the front of the piano. She does it a bit differently now than I’ve seen her do it before. In the past it’s like she would smack it with her hand, but here it was like she would bang the keylid into the front of the piano which made a tremendous and shocking BOOM, which got applause and cheers every time. This plus her funny spoken moments plus the glasses exchange plus her insane amount of energy and strong Choirgirl/Pele-like belted vocals made for an extremely memorable, unique show. Much like the new album itself, this show hearkens back to something from over a decade ago that I can’t quite identify, some level of quality and genuineness. I’m so glad I went, this is not a tour to be missed.
Inara says:

What an incredible show!

Highlights:
Winter seemed especially heartfelt. I was in the second row in the pit and it looked like she was getting a little choked up. Definitely the most moving, intentional version I’ve heard.

I’d never really appreciated Virginia until tonight. It filled the theater and the low notes just growled. It felt like everything in her was getting poured into the piano. Incredible.

I was hoping for Taxi Ride and was so glad to hear it! The added improv (or maybe this is something she sometimes does live? I’ve only heard this one live a few times) about “November” was especially moving as I’m guessing that was in reference to her brother?

The real highlight for me was Fire On the Side. The timing with my personal life couldn’t have been more perfect/intense and it was cathartic and hard to hear it all at once. So gorgeous and it made me wish I could talk with her about the story behind it.

I’ve seen every Chicago show since the Pele tour along with some other cities and this one is definitely in my top 5. She seems rejuvenated and really happy to be touring.

The only downside was that some of the fans in the front row were quite rowdy. I understand that we all want to experience the show in our own way, and it’s a concert, not a church, but throwing yourself in and out of your chair, etc., especially during a song like Fire On the Side…..it was really distracting and took away a bit from the power of the moment. We should all be a little more aware of those around us!

Hoping to get to Clearwater or Miami to see the end of the tour, but I can’t imagine anything topping this show!
Mary Steinberg says:

This was a marvelous performance. I was in the 3rd row mad could see her various expressions. Tori is a masterful performer whose sincerity in her music can really draw out the emotions.I laughed. I cried. It was all very cathartic. And that voice. WOW ! She is the best ! I have always loved Roosterspur Bridge and was ecstatic when she played it. I cried like a baby !

Is it just me ? Tori kept mentioning that this performance had a message. I’m not sure I got it, but that voice inside me kept saying that she might be singing about a lost love, maybe a true love. Did anybody else get that? One who walked out on her or she sent away maybe? Trent Reznor?
Noah says:

It wasn’t “carrots”, it was “Garrett’s” as in Garrett’s popcorn. (Ps The cheese/caramel corn combo is known as the Chicago Mix)
I loved the dramatic slamming of the keylid!
And the kids in the front row were kind of distracting but they were having a great time and they had a really cute chihuahua with them (somehow?) so I’ll give them a pass. The last Tori concert I was at I sat behind a girl with several hats on that progressively got smaller like a Russian nesting doll and it stood about a foot high and I couldn’t see half the stage, which is all to say, something will not go quite your way so don’t let it get to you.
Awesome concert and awesome fans!
Kerichoirgirl says:

This was my 11th Tori concert and ranks right up there in the top 3 shows I have seen! There were four tearful moments for me:
1. Winter. This has always been one of my favorite Tori songs, and I enjoy it each time I hear it. However, this performance was very emotional and special.
2. Thank You. I’ve always wanted to hear this played live, so this was a real treat!! It’s one of my favorite covers and I listen to the recorded version on the Cruicify EP all of the time, over and over on repeat. The live version sounded fantastic.
3. Invisible Boy. This is a beautiful song off the new album and it’s just gorgeous live. I only wish there hadn’t been so much extraneous sound and interference from the moving of the organ during this song. But it was a highlight for me nonetheless.
4. Hey Jupiter. This one always gets me. I love when Tori does the “I know where the cupboards are…..I know he isn’t you…” bit. I get completely lost in the live performance of this song.

Another highlight for me was the Dust in the Wind/Africa mashup!! Brilliant. Also, Father Lucifer sounded particularly playful and beautiful. I was also so excited to hear Taxi Ride and Blood Roses!!

Tori’s voice sounded fantastic in the space and it was just a perfect concert experience. I couldn’t ask for more.

One note re: Casiquire’s review above. Tori did not say “carrots…” She said “Garrett’s.” As in Garrett’s popcorn. It’s a famous popcorn shop in Chicago. She ate it for breakfast. Which I think is awesome. I can see why people may have thought she said “carrots.” Just wanted to clear that up. :-)
Susan says:

This was my 9th show, and she amazed me as always! I got chills at some point during every single song.

I ate up every minute of Virginia, but especially when she jammed out at the end. WOW. My friend isn’t a huge Scarlet fan, but after loving the live songs that night, she is going to revisit the album. ;-) I myself am a HUGE Scarlet fan, so I was ecstatic to hear 4 songs! Another Girl’s Paradise had me spellbound with the background lyrics “how can anyone love you” “do I just keep taking”. Ahhh.

Taxi Ride…I think it is funny how things can be interpreted so differently by different people. Inara thought the November reference in the end improv was about Tori’s brother, but I took it to be a political reference! HA! I thought she was meaning something like “We’ll do it all over again in November (election month) and keep trying (and failing) again and again.” Then when she played America’s debut that went along with my train of thought. I figured she was connecting Obama with Chicago, but I could be wrong.

The Lizard Lounge made me a giddy schoolgirl. Hearing Thank You live was on my wishlist! <3 So was Blood Roses. Hell yes to that performance!

Throughout the entire show the piano sound and the lighting were just fabulous. Loved it as I love every show I’ve seen of hers! Well worth the trip from Indianapolis. Looking forward to her next visit to the midwest!
jason says:

Amazing show of course.
Let me just clear a few things up i read in other reviews.
Being a chicagoin,i know tori has always held us near and dear. It is well known that if your going to a tori concert and your a die hard fan, then you half to see her in chi town at least once. She likes to surprise us.
What she said during her banter was not that she had carrots…..she said garrets!
It is a famous poocorn shop on michigan ave with all kinds of flavored popcorn.
People wait in line for it….
So she was saying that she had junk food for breakfast,and that if she sucked that was why.also the “november” reference was im sure a reference to the upcoming election…also she said mentioned the november after which of course would be the presidential one.
Dust in the wind was great as well as africa.
All the songs were sung well. I was amazed she can still hit the high notes. But she did.
I got to meet her after the show after i accidentally exited where the gates were for people who may wait for her. I was right at the front by the stage door and figured what the hell? Why not wait?
Sure enough tash came out and smiled…pretty girl. Then tori followed. I did not want to bother her as she was in a hurry. I got a pic and my brother got to chat with her . after us she left. Alot were disappointed. One girl cried.
But in fairness it was not a planned meet and greet.
She was gracious enough to ignore her agent? Assistant?
Who tried to not let her even stop in the first place.
Awesome night!

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