Paramount Theatre

American Doll Posse Tour

Date	December 07, 2007
City	Oakland, CA
Venue	Paramount Theatre

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Setlist

Soundcheck included “Body and Soul,” “Secret Spell,” “Tear In Your Hand” and Lust.”

Act I – Santa

Body and Soul
She’s Your Cocaine
Hoochie Woman
Secret Spell
You Can Bring Your Dog
Raspberry Swirl

Interlude

Professional Widow

Act II – Tori

Big Wheel
Crucify
Sugar
Cornflake Girl
Bells for Her
Caught a Lite Sneeze

T & Bö

“woman in the mirror” improv
Winter
Cooling

Band Returns

Virginia
Hotel
Code Red

First Encore

Precious Things
Bouncing Off Clouds

Second Encore

Hey Jupiter

Photos

Reviews

Janelle says:

Tonight I thought Tori did a lovely job. Sure it was your “standard” set list- but she was really on fire and put forth a lot of energy. I thought she really got into Caught a Lite Sneeze and Virginia. It was fun to see the whole crowd rise to their feet and dance to Raspberry Swirl…even if I heard the people behind me complain. There were about 6 cameras there and one on a “boom” which would sometimes briefly block my view of T. But I can’t complain because it was a solid performance and it was exciting to be part of a DVD performance.

Santa was fun and she of course passed out drinks again (the people behind me thought this was very strange- clearly they’re not keeping up with the tour). :) She looked great!

The improv happened right after her glam squad guy came out and touched up the wig (before T&Bo). She sang about her mother looking in the mirror and not being young anymore. She sang something about being “free.” It reminded me of that story she tells about her mom and ribbons undone. It was lovely. I hope it’s on the DVD because it was the one thing tonight that wasn’t all planned out and standard.

Otherwise she was sweet and chatted a bit about how because of the DVD we would all hold a special place in her heart. Then she laughed and said she got the mushy stuff over with and then introduced the guys.

Like I said a good solid show. She hit every note. As always Tori is quite the professional. She seemed to really feed off the crowd. At one point blowing a kiss to the very active front row. I can’t wait for tomorrow night!
Emmanuel says:

I just came back from the show. I’m sure you’ll get the set list from a million people. First, some general notes:

- When my friend Terry and I entered, first thing we saw was the disclaimer informing us that the concert was being filmed by Sony, and apparently some production company called Frank the Plumber, if I’m not mistaken. I assume they’re taking over from Pink Adobe. Hopefully this means the DVD will be more well put-together than WTSF!

- Second thing we saw (or heard) was the last of Tori’s soundcheck. She was soundchecking “Tear in Your Hand” and “Lust.” I saw her through the door when the ushers were exiting, and she looked to be in full costume. Was she filming this? Oh, and by the way, that’s when I realized it was true – her voice IS the best it’s been in a while!

- We got Santa, the doll I hoped for the most! I kind of knew Santa would come for several reasons. One, Tori once said that Santa and Pip are the dolls that come more easily because Clyde and Isabel can require more concentration. Two, Tori was just coming off a 3 concert stint and right into a DVD filming, so I’m sure she wanted to conjure someone more accessible. Three, Pip already performed the concert before. Four, we’re right near San Francisco, the heathen capital of the nation. Of course Santa’s gotta greet us at concert #1!

- For the same reason as reason #2 above, I also kind of expected Tori to do a somewhat generic set list for her portion. Hopefully she’ll change things up for tomorrow.

- Tori’s set included “Caught a Lite Sneeze” and “Virginia,” songs she wanted to perform or had performed for the WTSF DVD taping, but didn’t make the cut.

- What’s with the sound? For Santa’s set, I could barely hear the synth on Cocaine, and I couldn’t hear it at all for Raspberry. Hopefully, it won’t be like that in the DVD mix.

Now, for highlights:

- I LOVE Santa! She’s so fun and sexy, what with her moves and all.

- I find it amusing how the crowd goes wild now for “Hoochie Woman.” I always liked this song, but didn’t everyone else totally hate this song when TBK first came out? Look at the bitch now!

- I think Dan Phelps really adds a lot to the new arrangement of “Sugar,” and I think tonight’s “Sugar” was the best version I’ve heard since the studio version. Very emotional.

- The new arrangement of “Bells for Her” sounds very haunting and childlike.

- The improv for T&BO started out about Glam Squad member Barry, and went into the story she told on the TBK DVD about her mother looking in the mirror. I thought this improv would go into either “Jackie’s Strength” or “Mother.” But it went into “Winter.”

- To the fans screaming during “Winter”: we are trying to commune with Tori, Tori is trying to commune with the muse – no one gives a flying crap about who YOU are trying to commune with, so shut the hell up!

- “Code Red” sounds a bit messy, but it must look really cool up close (I was in the nosebleed section).

Well, that’s all from me tonight. I won’t be at tomorrow’s show, but I’ll be there on Sunday night. If you wanna chat, look for an Asian guy in jeans, gray raincoat, t-shirt with Pilipino alphabet characters, and a black San Francisco Giants beanie.

Personally, I’m hoping for a Pip show this Sunday!
spacedog says:

wow! a parody of tori going through the motions. an “edited for dvd” performance. tonight’s show, as well as tomorrow’s, is being filmed for an american doll posse tour dvd. if you want a censored tori, you got it!
dan says:

hmmm….

well i kinda feel like i was kicked, then kissed, then kicked again.

believe me when i say that i am a huge, and true tori fan. the concert was, well, “eh”. there were great parts and great songs, but the sound was overproduced and you could barely hear her or the piano, and this is in the 4th row.

now during “cooling” i did want to curl up in the fetal position and call on a wet nurse (amazing). and “crucify” was great too. “winter”, “hey jupiter”, and “sugar” were also highlights. the funny thing is that i love ADP but the songs in the concert did not do the album any justice.

love love love the woman and every song she sings so this is not a slam, just a “ah, man…” i hope that the next 2 SF shows bring some of the magic that i’ve seen in the thirty some shows that i’ve seen of her in the past.

then again, maybe i just don’t like santa? she was a crazy white woman last night…
Lauren says:

This was my first ever Tori show… and it was the best night of my life.

They let us (non VIP peeps) into the venue at about 7, and Tori was still soundchecking. I heard “Tear in your Hand” and “Lust” through the door. I started crying when I heard “Tear in your Hand”... doesn’t matter that she didn’t play it during the actual set, hearing it at soundcheck made me happy enough. :)

Yoav started at about 8:00, and he played an incredible 5-song set, and after his first song, his guitar stand fell over and he gave us a coy look and said, “Oh, f*ck it.” After two more songs he talked about how wonderful it is to tour our country and work with Tori etc. I was blown away by his performance.

Then they tested the lights, and the cameras started rolling, everyone was screaming, the guys came out, and then Body and Soul started and my mom and I screamed, “Santa!” And then Santa came. She was adorable in a little black cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline, black tights, and red stilettos. “She’s Your Cocaine” was mind-blowingly fabulous. The lights were breathtaking and really added to the performance… Santa poured drinks before “Hoochie Woman” and after ward she was exaggeratively wiping the stickiness off of her hands. :) She’s so adorable. All of the Santa songs were high energy, and although “Dragon” is my favorite off ADP, I understand why she took it out because it wouldn’t have fit in with the other high energy songs.

“Professional Widow”- It was nice to have one song to be able to focus on the guys and not worry about watching Tori every second in order to not miss a blessed thing! :) They removed the “starf*cker” part of the vocal but left everything else in…

“Big Wheel”- Never one of my favorites, but Tori looked to be having lots of fun, and may I just say that the jumpsuit looks beautiful in person (I hadn’t really thought much of them from photos I’d seen, but in person, if looked great.) It was the darker gold one.

“Crucify”- Beautiful intro, as usual!

“Sugar”- The energy and anger in Tori’s voice was incredible. She took the “Very well, I know” part in the upper octave, and it was ringing and I got chills.
“Cornflake Girl”- Before intoducing the band, Tori said something to the effect of, “We’re telling a story tonight, and you are a part of the story, therefore you’re a part of my heart.” It was lovely. This was a crowd pleaser, and I was blown away to watch this woman playing those piano solos live. I’ve heard them 200 times on CD, legs and boots, etc, but it’s really something to be there! :)

Bells for Her- This had a long intro like she’s been doing, and it was absolutely heartwrenchingly beautiful.

Caught a Lite Sneeze- I’d been hoping for this one and I’m so glad she played it. The piano was fab.

Then the T and Bo sign was projected onto the curtain, and Barry-the-glam-squad came out to fix Tori’s wig and makeup and she talked about how when the tour ends she won’t be able to do her own makeup and people will say, “Hey you kinda look like that singer!” and she’ll say, “No, not really!” Then she went into a beautiful and touching improv about looking in the mirror with her mother and not recognizing the women they saw. It was a highlight for me! Then she played a heartfelt and beautiful version of “Winter” and I was so happy to hear this song. “Cooling” followed, another of my favorite songs, and did a piano improv, then began the song, and she did play the brambles bridge, and it was so amazingly gorgeous and probably the best version I’ve ever heard!

The band came back and they did “Virginia” one of my favorite Scarlet’s Walk songs, and I was so happy to hear it. At the end of the song, “You can’t remember your name, your naaaaame,” the lights turned out onto the audience and receded toward the balcony and I started crying… It was too beautiful.

“Hotel” followed, which is absolutely one of my favorites, and boy did she nail it. No flubs, and the “Give me more” part was intense and fluid-sounding.
I was a little sad when Code Red started, because I knew it was the last song of the main set and I didn’t want it to ever end! Code Red was fierce and so much better live!

Precious Things- I knew we’d be hearing it, and boy was I glad to! It was… breathtaking.

Bouncing off Clouds- So happy to hear this one. Everyone was dancing and having a good old time!

Hey Jupiter- there are no words to describe the perfection of this version. It was the perfect song to end on.

All of the fans were respectful. They got up and danced through out Raspberry Swirl and Pro Widow but promptly sat down for Big Wheel. They screamed and applauded at appropriate times. It was nice to talk to some of you.

Yes, they were filming, and Tori acknoledged the fact that the cameras were filming for a dvd during her little speech right before Cornflake Girl. The cameras didn’t distract me, not even that swinging crane thingy.

A note: Tori said “f*ck” twice even though there were cameras… I guess it’s just a habit lol, but I was surprised and thought she wouldn’t curse due to the filming for a dvd, but I’m happy that she did because it’s just a part of the experience.

Also, after the show, a women who’d managed to get the setlist allowed me a glance at it, and nothing was changed from the final version.

To anyone who is unhappy that we already have Crucify, Sugar, Cornflake Girl, Bells for Her, Cooling, Precious Things, and Hey Jupiter on a dvd… they were all amazing, and Crucify, Bells for her, Cooling and Jupiter were all significantly different then their Welcome to Sunny Florida counterparts!!! :)

My first ever show, it was amazing… looking forward to tonight’s and Sunday’s shows, and LA!!!!
Thea and Barbara says:

Hi All,

This is Barbara and Thea. Thea has been frequenting the Dent and its later incarnation Undented since 1996. However, this is my (Thea) first time posting anything. I guess I am stepping out of my shell as a silent online Toriphile. Yay!

OK, so this the 7th show I have seen since 96. Her voice was excellent- healthy. She’s in good shape. THe lighting was fantabulously designed. Costuming: LOVE the sequin jumpsuit. she looks like a sinouy sequin raindrop next to the Bosey. Glam Squad is talented.

Sound: here was the problem. I was in the upper balcony and Santa’s set sounded muted. It was like a wall of muffle stopped the sound from reaching the back of the venue. Things improved by T & Bo. I don’t attribute the sound issues to Tori and the Band’s playing- rather to some sound engineering issues (Mark- come on, get the sound to the rafters!)

I didn’t have money for tickets to Sat and Sunday night, so I look forward to reading reviews online.

Her sonic structures flipped, kicked and soared.
Frank Paul says:

So, last night was the 10th time I have seen Tori Amos live. Overall, it seemed to me, more of a show for newbies to Tori’s live experience.

First, the venue…absolutely amazing. Decked out in deco accents, for some reason, the third floor gave me the feeling that I was hanging out on the Titanic. I’d say it was more of Egyptian-influenced design and it was just stunning to look at everything.
,p>I skipped Yoav and instead, enjoyed a couple shots of Champagne. “Shots?” Yes, for 6 bucks you got the most tiny little cup of the bubbly…but I was just happy to have the opportunity to buy some alcohol…the area surrounding the venue doesn’t really have any bars nearby or much life to it at all…I totally see Oakland as one of those cities that seems to close down by 7pm at the latest…it’s just nothing like San Francisco. And while I’m not a big drinker, I somehow knew all along that Santa would open Tori’s 3 nite stand at the Paramount so I definitely wanted to have a nice buzz…lol!

Sure enough, Santa came onto the stage to spread around the holiday cheer and started the set with Body and Soul. This song sounded absolutely fantastic live…Tori as Santa equals sexy sexy sexy! Her body movements were so narcissistic and screamed look at me, adore me and listen to me…I want to take you away in song. And it was a total success as that the first act ROCKED.
,p>She’s Your Cocaine kept the energy flowing and the audience ate it up. Speaking of the audience, they were awesome last night. As that this was my 10th live Tori Amos show, I can say with credibility that some of the live shows I’ve been at have turned out a crowd comprised of lifeless, reserved and withdrawn yet entranced observants. This was definitely not the case last night.

People were standing up a lot throughout the show (even during Professional Widow remix and towards the end during Hey Jupiter…and people were clapping along throughout the entire set as well. And while I’ve read a lot of negative comments about the Pro Wid remix, I loved it…especially when everyone around me was shouting, “It’s GOTTA BE BIG!!!”

Yes, Last night was totally a musical journey…with Tori as the conductor and medium, after she poured the mojitos for Hoochie Woman, many felt the need to attempt at chorus back up and concentrated on helping Tori to keep the beat. Secret Spell, an ADP track, was addictive live. Her vocal delivery during this song was totally on. People sat down again for You Can Bring Your Dog and it seemed like here, Tori got a little fatigued as that her vocals weren’t as strong as they were during Secret Spell. Still, it was nice to hear back to back ADP songs.

And then Tori Gave us Raspberry Swirl…people got back up on their feet once again and there was a LOT of dancing and singing along. But Tori’s keyboard was not loud enough…you could hardly hear her playing along with the band…although the lighting and energy sort of made up for it. Speaking of lighting, it was definitely the BEST during the Professional Widow remix and I will never forget those pulsing red and green lights cascading onto the curtains of the set.

Big Wheel was totally fun…the sold out crowd heartily clapped during the countdown and screamed the MILF part as Tori requested through her directive hand motions. Then, the energy went way way down as Tori did a very beautiful intro to Crucify. The collective consciousness of the crowd became far more introspective here and many people’s mental focus began to travel like waves and started taking a far more personal path of experience.

But Sugar brought everyone back together. The song completely captivated nearly everyone in the theatre. This was probably the highlight of the show. Tori was so into it and as expressed by her facial expressions, so filled with emotion …she sang with a particular intensity, “Bring me SUGAR!”

So, Tori finishes up Sugar and finally chats with the audience. She reminds us that as these minutes are passing by, we’re totally becoming a part of history and then she says that she is so happy to be in the theatre with us and how it warms her heart…or something along those lines…it was a very sincere little speech.

And then, as is usually the case when Tori pulls Cornflake Girl out of her music catalog, the crowd goes wild. I’ve heard this song at 6/10 shows I’ve been to and it seems to me like even the die-hard fans never get tired of this one. My favorite part about Cornflake Girl is how much Tori seems to enjoy playing the piano in it. Yes, even Tori seems to never grow tired of playing/singing Cornflake Girl…probably because the song is such a crowd pleaser.

Before the show, I kept saying to myself, PLEASE don’t play Bells for Her! Please!!! I’m so tired of hearing it live! Noooo! But then Tori started to play it…and as usual, she totally reworked many parts of it for this tour and since the sound was totally perfect as she played and sang this UTP record, this version gave me a newfound appreciation for the song. Now I’m excited to see how it sounds on the concert DVD since it was being filmed throughout the entire show.

The improv that came next was in my opinion rather forgettable..but I won’t easily forget her little glam story…especially when she said that she would miss getting fixed up by Barry after the tour and how Tash would be asking her to fix her hair because she would look more like a poodle. Totally cute story!

This rendition of Winter didn’t do much for me…I was just kinda waiting for it to be over, wondering what she would do next…Next!

Cooling began what I thought was the most perfectly woven part of the set. Cooling with the brambles bridge was completely on point. Tori sang it slowly and calmly and by the end of the song, the majority of the audience was completely silent and still…hanging on every word that came out of Tori’s mouth…she vocally delivered an absolutely perfect ending and then went right into Virginia. Tori sang as though “Virginia” was sitting right there on her piano with her words, “Virginia! You can’t remember your name!” They came out scoldingly and with conviction…like the way a disapproving mother might speak to her daughter.

I found Hotel to be rather ethereal…thanks in part to the lighting and smoke that began swirling around Tori and pouring out on the stage. It seemed like it was coming out of the piano while a conical spotlight shined down around Tori and sort of encapsulated her in this white smoke. It was then that I said to myself, “Damn! Cooling into Virginia into Hotel…That was soooo hott!!”

And up next, Code Red…blah! Tori sounded a little strained here…seemed a little confused and unsure of her voice during that one…perhaps there were sound problems with Code Red? Since I’ll be at the next 2 shows…when Tori starts this one again, its definitely going to be my que to take a bathroom break since I won’t be missing much there from my p-o-v.

Well, I started getting worried here. Was Tori going to play Bouncing Off Clouds tonight (my favorite ADP track tied with Dragon)?

Not yet, we got Precious Things first. The crowd was loving this one and sang along loudly with Tori as she sang, “So you can make me come…that doesn’t make you Jesus!”

And finally, Bouncing Off Clouds! Unfortunately, there was a little disturbance on the right side of the stage during this one…people who had rushed the stage were being asked first and then commanded to go back to their seats by an incredibly pissy female usher…it was a little distracting and even Tori gave a look over in the direction of the disturbance as she was singing. Thankfully, everyone ended up going back to their seats without much of a struggle and clapped as hard as they could for the second encore. As Hey Jupiter closed out the set, I thought it sounded really nice with the spacey synth but I missed hearing it solo with Tori playing the piano only. End show.

RECAP:

Misses:
1. This crowd wanted energy throughout the whole show. It started off great but Tori took everyone way way down by the end.
2. The majority of Tori’s selections were the safe songs…not a very risky set at all.
3. Code Red.

Hits:
1. Santa’s presence. Tori was sooo in character and loving every minute of her Santa performance.
2. Sugar.
3. Tori’s choice to play Cooling into Virginia and then Hotel. This trio of songs just went together so well!

Well, I hope we get to hear at least one track from the first disc of TVAB at the 12/8 and/or 12/9 shows (I’m going to both) and it would be so nice to hear Mountain or more songs from Scarlet’s Walk. I’m craving me some Pip and her black rubber tights so I can get my groove on to Teenage Hustling…can’t wait for night two at the Paramount!
Ray says:

I was one of the lucky people who had a Platinum VIP ticket. After being let in to the Paramount and doing the crowd free shopping there was a long delay before the sound check party due to the filming production. We could hear Santa going through her whole set, some songs more than once, for the camera crew. We were told by Allie, the VIP organizer, that the sound check was being taped too for the DVD and they were having to play some of the songs more than once, I heard one of my favorites, Body and Soul, twice. After waiting about 45 minutes we were allowed in to see Tori do another 2 songs, Tear in Your Hand and Lust – two of my favorites. The Platinum ticket holders were then escorted to a very small room to the left of the stage to meet Tori. We were told they were running “super late” which was obvious and to please respect Tori’s schedule and just say hello, pose for a photo and have her sign one item. Being a huge fan since the Dew Drop Inn Tour and having never met Tori before, I had been to a few post show meet and greets but always in the background, I wish it all didn’t seemed so rushed. I requested “Baker Baker” and Tori told me the set list was fixed for the Friday and Saturday shows but hopefully she would play in on Sunday. Although, she did not write it on her hand… The show itself was great. YOAV reminded of seeing Howie Day open for Tori. He sounded great and had good energy. Santa played her usual songs. Body and Soul and You Can Bring Your Dog were amazing. I would have love to hear Dragon but I knew it probably was not happened because it was not one the songs we heard while we were waiting for the sound check party. Highlights for me from Tori’s set were Sugar, I have heard this song many times and this was the best version ever, Bells for Her and even though I could not here Baker Baker during T and Bo Winter and Cooling were wonderful. I love Cooling and Tori added an extra verse from another song that I am not familiar with – I had never heard this version before. It was also a treat to here Virginia again! The Encore was a bit predictable, Precious Things, Bouncing Off Clouds and Hey Jupiter. I must also say I was a little disappointed with my VIP seat. It was in the third row but we were way too right of the piano. It was great to see Tori’s face but I have gotten better non VIP seats in the past where I was a little to the left and able to see Tori play.
Jane says:

I’ve been reading these posts since Rome, anxiously awaiting comments and news, until it was our turn to write about our experiences and share them with other fans.

First a very big thank you to the people running “UNDENTED”. I thank all of you for your time and efforts helping us follow the tour, along with other Tori news, while waiting for her and the boys to arrive in our area.

Tori had a lot of fun with “Santa”, was playful and flirty with the camera when she arrived on stage. It should make for entertaining viewing when the DVD comes out.

Tori was spot on last night. She nailed every song, both sonically and lyrically, and you could just tell that performing is something, she has to do. Intense, emotional, spiritual. Phenomenal energy and enthusiasm exude from her every pore. The audience and fans were mostly respectful and better than I had expected after reading about other experiences. I have no complaints with the sound or sound-mix.

Too many highlights for me but if forced to I would say “Sugar” is incredible live, as is “Hotel”. The new intro to “Bells for Her” is indeed haunting with a lovely transition. If I hadn’t previously heard it on legs and boots, I never would of guessed what it was. Tears started with the improv, which continued through “Winter” and got worse with “Cooling”. Glad I brought tissues! The lighting on “Virginia” was amazing as was watching Tori’s hands play on “Precious Things” and “Cornflake Girl”. That surely was beauty of speed!

Amazing night. Anxious to see what’s in store for tonight and tomorrow.
Tomas says:

YAHOOO!!! So I was going to write the first review last night, but I had been up for awhile.

Anyway, Tori was so fantastic last night!

Santa had a lot of energy, and really knew how to move her hips! When Tori came out, she too had a lot of energy, and the crowd really helped with that (although there were a few nutty people that were trying to get attention by acting like morons by where we sat.)

All in all, yes, “very standard” in terms of song choice, but Tori’s delivery, and mood, really made the show dynomite.

I heard “Lust” being soundchecked and that made me happy, and yes, Smitty did tell us NO MEET AND GREETS for all the Oakland shows. That was reallllly disappointing. I have been to several shows, but have never had the chance to meet Tori at the meet and greets. Damn pushy fans.

My only other complaint besides no meet and greets is that the bass in the auditorium was very loud, and you could barely hear the piano, and Tori’s voice at times.

Other than that it was cool to be a part of the ilve dvd thing, and I can’t wait for this evenings performance!

p.s Tori’s improv was funny!
Michelle says:

This was my second Tori show, and I loved every minute of it..I loved how high energy it was the whole way through. Crucify had me almost in tears, along with Winter. I loved all the songs, to me the sound was really good. I read some people were saying it wasn’t, but that wasn’t the case here. Her voice was amazing and Bells For Her was amazing. Precious Things touched my heart, I couldn’t help but scream out! All in all it was a great experience, and I look forward to seeing her again. :)
CAW says:

Tori was definitely in character when she opened as Santa. I would agree with someone else's comment about Tori playing it safe, which may have been due to the fact that they were recording this show. She played the usual Santa songs. I was so hoping for Isabel, but when you think of the theme of the show, Santa was the most appropriate character. I was also hoping that she would play Spark without the band and Dragon. She rocked Body and Soul and You Can Bring Your Dog. She’s Your Cocaine seemed shorter than the album version, probably because the show was running late. It was great to hear Raspberry Swirl again. It really got the crowd moving. The rest of the set was pretty predictable. There were some surprises like Bells For Her, Crucify, and Cooling, which were the best live versions I’ve heard in awhile. All in all it was great concert. I think I was a little disappointed because a lot of songs that she played were on one of the bootlegs I bought. In fact, almost the entire set was on the bootleg. Oh well. At least I got to see her live again.
Lisa071573 says:

Contrary to everyone I was with, I thoroughly enjoyed the first Oakland show. It hadn’t really occurred to me to expect a “standard” set list because of the dvd taping, and I’d heard the rumors about there being two dolls per night for the tapings, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There was a rolling camera rig in front of the first row that ran back and forth for filming, and then a giant boom on the right side of the theatre that pivoted all around.

I was pleased with Santa who is always playful, flirty, sexy and great to watch. I really enjoy Body and Soul much more than the cd version and Hoochie Woman is pretty fun live. For Raspberry Swirl, everyone got up and danced and Santa’s set was nice and solid. Tori came back out wearing the one-armed gold jumpsuit and smiling. Crucify has gotten a bit worn, but it seemed nice and vibrant. Sugar was great as usual. She said hello and thanked us all for being a part of the filming, seemed to get a little teary, and then introduced the band (enough with sentimental crap!). Caught a Lite Sneeze is always nice to hear. For T&Bo, Barry, part of the glam squad, came out to brush the wig and she did a little improv about that and about her mother looking in the mirror and seeing an old woman and not recognizing the face looking back. This appropriately led into Winter, which was crystal clear and very sharp and focused. Cooling was lovely and I was happy to hear it with the reinstated brambles verse. If you’d asked me what songs I’d want to hear during T&Bo, I would never have selected Winter and Cooling, but they actually worked quite nicely together, and she was very “on”. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so lovely. (I’m writing this right after seeing the second Oakland show, and I was completely and utterly shocked that she did Winter again tonight. I assume it was because they had to get another take or she thought the first night’s wasn’t good enough, but night 1 was really one of the best versions of Winter I’ve seen.) Anyway, Virginia was great and Hotel was quite fiery. Code Red kicked some usual ass and the encores, though predictable, were full of energy and surprising in a way, since the main set ended at 11:00 and I was wondering if we were going to get any encores at all because of time! Anyway, I quite enjoyed the show and was really flabbergasted at some of the comments my friends made after the show about it being too “standard.” It’s one thing if she does a standard set of songs but doesn’t seem into the performance (ahem, Oakland #2) but it’s quite a whole other thing when she pulls out songs we’ve all heard a hundred times and makes them seem new and fierce. Overall, a good solid performance.
marcus frank says:

I will keep this short by saying that I agree with just about everyone. It was a good safe show. Nothing unplanned. I really hope the third Oakland show tonight is a bit more upbeat. Thankfully I will be at Anaheim and LA!!!!
Melody says:

Tori nailed everything absolutely perfectly that night. She played my three favourite song in order, and emotional significance, too: Bells for Her, Winter and Cooling. I absolutely cried my eyes out and I had one of my best friends in the whole world holding me the entire time. Tori, you are truly amazing. Thank you so much for playing those.
zephyrsmom says:

I got “upgraded” to a spot on the far right where all I could see was her mouth and knees. I could only really hear Matt and Jon, not much piano, Dan, or Tori. That said, it was fun to see how much she got into You Can Bring Your Dog.

Sneeze was fantastic and a good solid song with nice pace. Virginia is a favorite of mine, but a little slower paced than I am used to hearing. Winter was emotional, even moreso than Saturday.

Much dancing ensued throughout the show. Of the three nights, this was the night that the most people were up out of their seats.
Andrea says:

Well i must say that i loved the show, it was only my second Tori show in all. The last one was her alone, no band. I really enjoyed her alone and was still really looking forward to hearing her with the band. So, i was quite please with Santa, i was hoping for Pip because she plays Cruel, my favorite song, BUT i was very very pleased with the set list, and the energy.

I was surprised with Hoochie Woman, it was never a song i really liked but LIVE it was great.

Highlights for me were of course anything played from Choirgirl and we got three. Made me sooooo happy.

The one thing i was really disappointed with was the SECURITY, i’ve been to a few shows and at not just tori’s but also stevie nicks people like and are allowed to go and rush the stage and it’s great because if you have some crappy seats you at least get to see about three or four songs up much closer than where you were, love that part and was looking forward to it again with tori. So we run up and get to see one song and security comes up with some kind of fierce hate, pushing and pulling, at one point one guy grabbed me and jerked me aside, it was a bad time. They were yelling and telling you to go back to your seats that your expected to find in the dark and of course they’re taken by someone else that was farther back. So, that was my only complaint. Loved Tori. And the opening of Yoav was amazing.
Natalia & Kitka says:

My best friend and I are seeing 6 shows this tour and this was the 1st :) She’s a casual Tori fan while I’m more of a die-hard so we both had different perspectives on the show.

The theater was really beautiful and extremely large; art deco style. Took us about 2 hours w/ traffic to get there; didn’t get too lost :) Found parking ($10) right next to the theater.

Got inside around 7 and checked out the merch;I’m not digging the 70’s design theme. They had the doors closed so no one could go sit yet; I think Tori may have been sound-checking something but it was hard to tell. We went in and found our seats-all the way to the right, row M. A huge crane for the filming was a few rows in front of us. Not too long after we sat down an usher came over and gave us new tickets since they knew the camera would be blocking our view! Awesome, I was totally in shock. We got moved all the way to the left of the theater, row G. So we got upgraded about 6 rows with a much better left side view. I was a little worried because I had given my seat number to someone whom I was going to sell my tickets for the 2nd Oakland show too but we found each other after Yoav’s set :)

Yoav was pretty good and he played what seemed a short set (maybe 5 songs?). Said the Bay Area was his favorite place in the world and that he couldn’t bullshit us since everyone goes to so many shows he can’t say that kind of thing in every city.

Right at 9, Santa sauntered onto stage w/ a short, strapless black dress, footless black nylons and bright red heels. Crotch grabbing, shimmying, grinding, and arse touching ensued throughout Santa’s set. She served the band what looked like sangria. Really played it up to the cameras with a lot of hair/head turning. My friend and I both agreed that anyone other than Tori couldn’t really pull this doll tour concept off, but she’s so into it we can’t help but love it too.

Tori came out with a gold/brown sequin jumpsuit which I still think is the worst thing she’s ever worn on tour; What’s missing from Big Wheel? Such a fun song but we both agreed that it was missing that extra “oomph” live.

Kitka’s (casual Tori fan) favorite songs for the night: Winter, Caught a Lite Sneeze, Bouncing Off Clouds, Secret Spell (we both agreed that we don’t really love the song but it comes across really well live).

Natalia’s (hard core fan) favorite songs for the night: Raspberry Swirl!!!! ( I haven’t seen this one live since my first Tori show during the Plugged 98 tour). I was so happy to hear this but it took me a few minutes to catch on to what it was; the synth she was playing was very subtle-wished it had been a bit more up front or dancy; got everyone off their feet :) Caught a Lite Sneeze is always a favorite and the drums were great. Cooling was beautiful and I always love Hey Jupiter.

We had 2 interpretive dancers in our section; one older man who had the whole row of chairs shaking w/ his seizure style arm flailing; he felt it so much that occasionally he would jump up and run across the aisle to dance in a section where they had removed some chairs. The other was a girl who I first thought was doing sign language but she was dancing too. I can understand dancing in your seat but I can’t help but feel these people are trying to draw attention to themselves and it’s annoying when it’s happening right in front of you.

The crowd over all was ok; not the quietest bunch; I figured everyone would be on their best behaivor for the taping but there were a few instances of people shouting out stuff during the quiet times in the songs. Hope they can edit that stuff out!

The lighting was wonderful; sound was pretty good but I wish the guitar was a little louder. The camera right in front of the stage was a bit annoying; it moved on a track back and forth constantly throughout the show and there were a couple of camera guys on stage (one next to Matt and the other closer to Tori) as well as the huge crane camera. The production/taping team for the DVD had a funny name, like Larry the Plumber or something to that effect.

She talked about how those who were there for the dvd taping were in her heart and we could tell our kids about in in 20 years.

She did a funny “I’m a hussy” improv about her glam guy Barry who brushed her wig during a break; She said that sometimes people in Bude think she looks like “that singer” but she says “not so much” and that “that singer” looks younger, etc. Tash says she looks like a poodle and she want’s Tori to straighten her hair before she gets picked up from school. Turned into a song about how she knows how us girls feel in the morning and not recognizing herself or her mother in the mirror as they are growing old.

Great way to start our tour!

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