Opera House

American Doll Posse Tour

Date	September 14, 2007
City	Sydney
Venue	Opera House

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Setlist

Pip opened this show. (Tori did a Tarantula improv/story of some sort between BOC and CG, but we don’t have any info on it.) Setlist from samiam over on the Feeltheword/Austori forum.

Act I (Pip)

Cruel
Bliss
Fat Slut
Smokey Joe
Body & Soul
Waitress

Costume Change

Act II (Tori)

Big Wheel
Crucify
Bouncing Off Clouds
Cornflake Girl
Bells For Her
Siren

Solo

“I will be finally free of him” improv
Silent All These Years
Marianne

Band Returns

Your Cloud
God
Code Red

First Encore

Precious Things
A Sorta Fairytale

Second Encore

Hey Jupiter

Video

Cruel (posted by isshee)

Professional Widow (posted by isshee)

Crucify (posted by isshee)

Marianne (posted by isshee)

Precious Things (posted by isshee)

Hey Jupiter (posted by isshee)

Fat Slut (clip) (posted by zemonsta)

Photo Sets

Chantel Bann

Photos

Reviews

Angus Kidman says:

The tarantula thing wasn’t an improv – just general stage banter. Tori referenced the recent APEC summit in Sydney and Bush’ gaffe by commenting “Don’t you love having another American on this stage? I love being in Austria”, then said how she had been bitten by a tarantula yesterday, “and it’s changed me. I’m going to grow even more arms and play even more keyboards.”

I’ve never seen so many cameras in the Opera House, so there’s bound to be some YouTube clips soon.
Astred says:

This show was high energy in Pip’s half and very friendly ‘we’re having a cuppa tea and biscuit together’ in Tori’s half.

Pip strutted on stage and proceed to ‘present’ herself by placing her hands on the piano stool and her bum high up in the audiences faces. Throughout Pip’s songs I have never seen Tori so animated, standing on the stool, rolling on the ground, striking rockstar poses with the mike stand. I was SO bloody impressed. Then she flipped everyone the bird when she left the stage.

When Tori came on she, as every one predicted, made a comment about the APEC summit that was held at the Opera house last week. something like: “So, another American on this stage this week" and “I always love coming to AUSTRIA” (a joke on George W’s gaff at calling Australia Austria during an OPEC — I mean APEC — speech ;) – what a turkey)

She also spoke about holding a tarantula the other day and how it changed her and now she wants more hands for more keyboards. Her T&Bö long improv song also mentioned the spider. But I’m still clueless as to who she is now “free’ of after many long years??

Huzzah for 2 encores. Boo for short ones.
Chelle says:

She was on fire!! Cruel was absolutely amazing, not ususally a favourite of mine, but it was different, so powerful. Wonderful opener. Her performance as Pip was just extraordinary, she was in a yellow satin dress, belted with a wide black belt, over latex leggings. My husband was really stunned by how heavy the set was, it was just so full on. I really enjoyed Fat Slut, she was kneeling on the floor whilst singing it.

Siren and Hey Jupiter were my other favourites, as well as the brilliant Bouncing Off Clouds. Wow! The improv was really cool, her vocals were exquisite… I wasn’t sure whether it was a cover or what. But she did mention Sydney, and, yes, a tarantula, as she had held one for the very first time that day.

She did quite a bit of dancing, my husband referred to it as her “Kate Bush moment”.

She looked really cute, sort of disco 70s Tori, in an emerald green sequinned jumpsuit.

I loved every second, and preferred seeing her with the band to seeing her solo, as I did in 2005.
Vince Taouk says:

Like the character Pip, the show rocked out. The sound was devine in a full to capacity opera house. With a wide audience, the show seemed to please all.

Range of songs highlighted a long and diverse career with many of the numbers being from the early part of Tori work.

Like most of her work, the show was faultless. Looking forward to seeing another one.
akte says:

Last nights show was just…AMAZING! Pip opened, and having seen Santa & Clyde in Melbourne, we were all hoping for Pip tonight. She did NOT disappoint! So much attitude and sexual energy. I honestly can say I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like Cruel in any of the times I’ve seen Tori. It just blew me away.

Bliss was nice again, Fat Slut was AWESOME. Crouched in front of the piano. It was hot! The rest of Pip’s set was just brilliant. We were all cheering harder than we have before.

The Tori set was a little disappointing after having seen most of the songs already played in Melbourne, but Your Cloud was really beautiful.

The tarantula improv wasn’t an improv as such, she was just telling a story about how she held one and it changed her. She wanted to have extra arms added on so she could play more keyboards.

The “i’m finally free of him” improv got us all speculating about if it was about Mark or not? It seemed hard to interpret any other way, but then we all know how tricky she can be with her lyrics, so it probably wasn’t.

Marianne was another standout for me. Beautiful song, beautiful performance.

Overall a fantastic show. Even though we’d seen most of the songs before, she seemed to bring an edge to them tonight that wasn’t there in Melbourne, particularly in Bouncing Off Clouds. OH! And the intro to Bells For Her! She was looking around sharply, like a startled animal, as she was playing the intro. At one point she pulled her hands away from the piano like it was about to bite her. The intro was fantastic, acting aside, the music was brilliant.
jenny says:

Yesterday’s show was amazing! Awesome venue, awesome Tori. She was an absolute doll at the M&G and made time to meet everyone who was there. And when I turned up in the concert hall, looking for my seat, the bouncer from the M&G came up to me and handed me a ticket for front-row centre! Thanks Tori.

The show was amazing. Pip (in her black latex pants!) did a fantastic job of Cruel, Bliss, & Fat Slat in particular – so dirty! Cornflake Girl (a la Tori, in green sparkly sequin jumpsuit) was particularly special.

The band were fantastic, enthusiastic & loud – they opened and for a split second I thought I might have ended up at Nine Inch Nails a night early! Lots of testosterone.

The set was gorgeous and full of so many bright, rich colours that worked brilliantly with Tori’s costumes & hair. It really enhanced the whole experience. I remember one point in particular where she had just finished a song – maybe Crucify? – and the lights all switched to a really deep purple. She and the stage were just washed in this gorgeous unearthly purple – lovely.

Overall, brilliant.
beetlejuice84 says:

Pip was awesome tonight. She wore a kind of yellow version of the outfit from the ADP cover. She does Tori so well, I was thrilled to hear Cruel, Bliss and Waitress by Pip, it was unreal. Then at the end of her set, Pip flipped us off on her way out. Love it.

This was round 2 for me (did 2nd Melbourne). I can’t really remember much about the tarantula story, something about “I’m a changed woman now” – but I may be confusing it with the “finally free of him” improv. After the Britney improv, and the one I saw last night, it seems like they’re almost whole songs.

T and Bo was fantastic, Marianne was beautiful as was Your Cloud.

Has the cane toad prize been redeemed yet?

[Note from Violet: Unfortunately I put woj in charge of looking after the Cane Toad, and he licked it and passed out. Can't leave him alone for one second! I don't have the heart to break the bad news to the winner. Next time, I'm opting for the Candy Cane Toad. Much prettier, safe to lick, and leaves your breath minty fresh.]
Barbara says:

Amazing show! Even more energy in the playing and power in her vocals than the show I saw in Melbourne on Monday night, which was awesome. The Pip set was a treat because it was so long – Cruel and The Waitress WENT OFF!

Her little story about the tarantula was her talking about holding a tarantula the day before (at Taronga Zoo maybe – I know they took Tash there last time they were in Sydney), and being inspired by all those legs – she said she’s gonna get more arms and play even more keyboards on stage!

Then the improv at the start of the T & Bo section also referred to the tarantula and how it could have “taken her down” while she was holding it. The improv was long and almost like a full song in itself. She sang over and over about “I’m finally free”, from a man I assumed, and how it had taken her “long enough and far enough” to be free. And at the end she sang something like “Do you know why? Because I’m dry…” and she held her crotch. I thought maybe the song was inspired by Santa’s blog on Monday which talked about the ending or her relationship with the Russian, but that could just be my warped thinking….

The Sydney crowd were brilliant, and she got a standing ovation from the whole crowd at the end of the first encore. Such a privilege to share in the energy from Tori and the crowd last night.
Swilliam says:

Last night’s performance was breathtaking. Pip’s raw energy enveloped the concert hall for the first section. She was wearing her usual dress (in yellow), and added some very choice phrases to the end of Cruel (which were fantastic). There was lots of writhing and thrusting. My friend joked that if she got a dollar for every pelvic thrust she saw she would be filthy rich. Pip ended her set with a finger to the audience and strutted out with her dress hiked up around her waist.

Tori was magical as expected. Marianne blew me away. When she greeted the audience she mentioned she has held a tarantula yesterday, and that it had changed her (she wanted eight arms to play eight keyboards). Later in her improv she sang “an eight legged eight eyed creature helped me be free” or something to that effect. She sang that she was free of “him” (Husband) at this time because she was DRY (and she spread her legs). Hilarious.

Highlights were Cruel, Smokey Joe, Marianne and God (really powerful piano when the band quietened down).

I’m still smiling. =D (see)

Now… where’s my cane toad?

[Note from Violet: Sadly, the Cane Toad got away, thanks to woj. (See earlier note to beetlejuice84.) Bad woj! But you can watch this as consolation.]
Amanda says:

An absolutely amazing performance! I only wish i could see the other Sydney shows to compare. Pip’s set was perfect, and the setlist was one you couldn’t dream up for brilliance. It was nice to see some of the older songs make an appearance, and she seemed to do a broader range of albums this time than she did in 05 on the Original Sinsuality tour. I did miss the little “Tori Stories” – she was a lot less chatty this time compared to other tours; looking at the bootlegs that seems to be happening everywhere. Siren blew me away – i’d never expected to hear it live. If she’d only done Spark, i could die happy.

All i can really say is everyone who’s yet to see her will have the experience of a lifetime. Bravo Tori.

And hopefully one day she’ll make use of the Opera House’s pipe organ…
Kathrine says:

This was Tori in top form! Pip came out fierce and strutting, rocking out in a fantastic yellow dress, black obi belt and the raunchy leather tights. Tori’s voice was amazing, I know others have written about the instruments and especially the heavy bass and percussion drowning her out at other shows, but she was perfect last night. She was on her knees, straddling the bench, thrusting, working the piano, and generally giving us a run for our money as Pip and I loved it!

Tori didn’t talk much, but she said she’d held a tarantula the day before and it had changed her – she wanted 8 arms so she could have more keyboards! She made a joke about another American being on the stage (the APEC talks were in the Opera house last week, with Bush attending, I assume she was referring to him), and said something about how much she loves ‘Austria’. The ‘Free from him’ improv was beautiful, all about how she no longer was bound by a man, and she ended by singing that she knew for sure as she was ‘dry’, and she reached for her crotch. It was funny. I wonder who it was about though…

I was pleased we were treated to Siren, but I am not sure many ozzies knew it. Marianne was a rare treat as well, as I had never seen her perform it live, and it took me right back to the days of listening to Pele over and over again!

It was a wonderful evening, and Tori was everything I’d hoped for. The main things that struck me were her energy and the power of her voice – even after seeing her live 3 times previously, it never ceases to amaze me. Also, she is so tiny! I was only 10 rows from the stage and she looked like she’d break in a heavy breeze, yet she has the incredible power about her.

Stunning! Loved it!
Simon says:

I expected to see Pip tonight for the first time in the Aussie leg and I’m glad I did because she’s definitely my favourite (is it just me or does Tori look especially hot with black hair??)

She wore what looked like the rubber and belt from the album cover with a yellow dress. She was very animated and was practically on her knees when she sung Fat Slut. Not surprisingly the first act featured some of her rockier songs and was definitely the highlight of the night for me.

Tori wore a green sequined dress for the remainder of the show. In the solo set she started with an extended improv that made me think we were being treated with a new song because it lasted as long as any of her other songs. In the middle of it she stopped and asked the audience what time it was then continued with “that’s the time I’m finally free of him”. It made me wonder who she was singing about.

I think we were lucky to get many crowd favourites in the set. I enjoyed the band but I think I prefer Tori solo. The sound really drowned out the piano and I didn’t hear it much at all. Other than that it was a good show and great to see her back in Sydney.
starfucker says:

Pip was the expected doll for this show and she delivered with every pelvic thrust. Cruel was excellent and high energy, good use of the vocal delay added to Pip’s extremely invested vocal delivery. Bliss was unexpected and left me wondering if Teenage Hustling was going to make an appearance (which it didn’t) but still a good performance. Fat slut was an interesting segue into Smokey Joe, which built up, but seemed labored throughout. Body and Soul was, as expected, rocking and well performed. Waitress concluded Pip’s set and it was a shorted version of the extended performance with the hang ten bridge, a good finish with Pip giving the finger to crowd at the final beat and swaggering off stage.

After the Professional Widow improv jam by the band, Tori returned in a green sparkling doll suit, with the red hair it had a very mermaid/aerial feeling to it. Big Wheel was a nice and secure opener, though I still believe it lacks something in the translation from album to live. Crucify and Bouncing off Clouds followed, forgettable, yet still wonderful performances. After Crucify, Tori spoke briefly to the crowd, she seemed in high spirits and talked about having a Tarantula in her hands the day before. She said the experience changed her and now she wants more arms and more keyboards. She then preceded to introduce the band in the regular fashion. Cornflake Girl was a big crowd pleaser and the band seemed especially tight in this song. Bells for Her had a huge improv intro that seemed to never end (but in a good way) and the finale Siren was a nice treat for all.

The solo section began with Tori improving about being ‘free of him’ it was not apparent to myself until the end of the improv when she referred to being ‘dry’ and touching her genitals that she was referring to being free of her monthly cycle. This was followed by Silent All These Years and Marianne, both wonderfully passionate performances, Marianne much more so then Silent.

The band returned to a very pleasant and surprising rendition of Your Cloud, the first appearance of Scarlet for the night. This was followed by God which also gained a large and positive crowd response. Code Red was a song that I never really connected with on the album, but live it has something strong and captivating that drew me in. The set finished Tori and band departed from the stage to a standing ovation.

The first encore saw the typical, but welcome Precious Things being performed. A Sorta Fairytale was another nice surprise with Tori and the Band appearing to be enjoying it very much. After this Tori called all the band members together for hugs and waves, then quickly departed, leaving the impression that perhaps she might return for a second encore. She did and Hey Jupiter was a wonderful closer to a wonderful set.

Particular mention should be given to Jon Evans, I am usually more focused on Matt (who I believe to be a supreme drummer) but Jon was passionate last and he delivered a complex and perfect performance throughout.
Joshua Helms says:

I saw the show last night at the Sydney Opera House, and out of the four Tori shows I have seen, this was by far the best. Perhaps it was the acoustics from the Concert Hall, or just Tori’s intesity, but everything just seemed right. I work at the Opera House so I see lots of shows in the Concert Hall, but with Tori the place seemed transformed! There was a surging energy through the crowd that resulted in two standing ovations at the end of the show. I wasn’t expecting such a “greatest hits” sort of playlist, as it seemed every song I wanted to hear she brought back out.

Crucify was a definite highlight as it had an ethereal quality to it which was heightened by following the epic version of Waitress. The piano intro for Bells for Her had me waiting on the edge of my seat in anticipation for her to finally start uttering the haunting lyrics. Already mentioned, Your Cloud, was an ultimate surprise, as I thought I would never in my life get to hear it. It felt light, enchanting, and more passionate than the album version. Even people who aren’t super familiar with her work seemed stunned by Silent All These Years. It was just breath taking. I can’t stop gushing! I should also mention that the lighting for the show was spot on at every bit! As well as her band, the drum-god Matt Chamberlin was brilliant once again.

Tori also did a meet and greet outside Stage Door before the show and she hung around till everyone had met her. She had a little chat with everyone and even a friend of mine who was not a fan before said how incredibly nice she was. I was a bit curious about the green sequined jump suit she performed in, but after hearing all her songs I could care less! I’m seeing another Sydney show, but I’m not sure it could top this one! Well done!
Gavin says:

The concert was simply amazing. Pip was such a perfect start, I’ve never seen Tori perform like that and was really blown away by ‘Cruel’, ‘Waitress’ and ‘Body & Soul’. ‘Fat Slut’ was also a treat.

The other old favourites were a treat, especially ‘Precious Things’ and ‘Bells For Her’. I really enjoyed the whole thing and I’m sad I can’t travel to see a few more shows.
Elizabeth Briedis says:

The show last night seemed kind of disjointed – and alot of people were up and walking about… unlike in melb where everyone seemed glued to their seats… perhaps some of the crowd were industry types who got free tix and freaked out when Pip appeared instead of tori.

I’ve seen about 14 tori shows and never ever before have i seen tori this angry and crazy and scary and dark! She finished the pip set by stepping up from the piano and flipping sydney the finger!!

She sang cruel standing up at a microphone – i’ve never seen tori sing standing up like that – she is one sexy motherF*****!!!! hot! I havn’t seen her dance like that since her little ditty dances during DDI tour!

Highlights were her lovely improv about finally (at exactly 10.10pm sydney time) being free of him… him? who? any thoughts?

This show seemed a little disjointed – but tori was happy and the crowd loved her. Was great to get a 2nd encore!!
orfeo says:

Pip was absolutely intense and in-your-face: peppering Cruel with the F-word, on her knees for Fat Slut, holding an amazing squat position for the first part of Smokey Joe, and above all giving us the finger and storming off after the Waitress!

The rest of the concert definitely had a more fun feel to it, but there was still plenty of power. I’m mightily impressed with how strong Tori’s singing was – Bouncing Off Clouds sounds completely different to the album vocal in terms of the vocal quality.

Biggest highlights for me were Crucify (just a magnificent version), Bells For Her (not even a favourite song of mine, but she used the keyboard to brilliant bell-like effect) and Marianne.

Huge credit to Mark and the sound team. I’ve been to so many concerts which are too loud and distorted, and I was a bit worried that Tori with band could head in that direction, but even with the loudest songs I still felt like I could hear everything clearly.
Ellen says:

The tarantula thing was an improv she spoke about it then played the improv about being free in which she mentioned holding a tarantula and it telling her she didnt need ‘him’ i’m pretty sure she didnt say she was bitten by it just that she held it and she was inspired by it and wanted to grow more arms. The show was awesome :)
maria says:

Oh ditto. Pip was a powerhouse, alright. An extraordinary performance – the best I’ve witnessed so far, but I’m still young and happy to accept free tickets to Tori (yeah, right) so that I can continue to be mesmerised, to whisper: ‘bite me, Pip.’ And while we are on Pip, here’s what she should do:

Crash the next APEC summit and randomly flip the bird at world leaders who choke on chicken and mutter: ‘Oh my, George, that young woman is rather ferocious. Where is she from?

George W: Austria.

As for you, Tori Amos. You keep me tongue tied. Thank you for an amazing evening and for your graciousness and generosity at the meet and greet.

Reviews are no longer being accepted for this show.

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