New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)

Gotta, gotta, gotta have was the first thing I thought when I went through the door. I saw Tori posters and Tori shirts. I saw the bitch shirt, but I thought that was not me. I got the "listen to me" shirt. I thought it was more me. In addition, I got a programme to entertain me before the show. I decided to wear the shirt later rather than take off my Death T-shirt.

Suspense was the main key. I kept listening to the opening act with my attention wandering around and saying "Where's Tori?" Though impatient, I was glad the opening act was there because the doors in the back kept opening and the concert became very distracting. After I listened to him for a while, I thought he was very good and I started to wish people would stop coming in and distract others who came to listen. Sean, seated to my left, enjoyed the opening singer because of his whity humor. In one song, he led his guitar solo into Stairway to Heaven. He also did a blues song that was very good; his name was Bill Miller. His concert lasted for three quarters of an hour. The intermission came, distractions faded, and the magic began at nine and lasted for seven quarters of an hour.

When she appeared on stage, I was overwhelmed and so was the crowd. She was wearing tights, tanktop, and cutoff jeans. Her performance was spectacular as she sang to her friend, the Bösendorfer. The songs she performed, as well as I can remember, are in the following order:
Little Earthquakes/ Happy Phantom/ Icicle/ Leather/ Space Dog/ Waitress/ God/ Precious Things/ Bells For Her/ Me And A Gun/ Baker Baker/ Cornflake Girl/ Silent All These Years/ Smells Like Teen Spirit/ Sugar/Angie/ Winter/ Little Earthquakes
I was quite pleased because this is most that she would usually play at a concert. During the concert, there was lighting effects and once and a while I would be blinded for a second.

At one point in the beginning of the concert, Tori made comments to the crowd. She talked about the wonderful town of New Orleans and eventually she explained how she was the only child in her family that was not a minister. She told about how her parents would be downstairs and she would be upstairs, moaning, and well, you know. With this thought in mind, she led the audience into Icicles.

The Waitress song was one I never liked. I did not like the style or maybe the repetitious usage of the word "bitch". The word bothered me; but when I heard her at the concert, my reaction changed. When she started the verse the second time, "so, I want to kill...", or maybe it was the third ? , anyway, I felt different. I saw the child that was inside her that had a killing wish (sort of like a shopping and hunting spree); I began to understand. Now, I love the Waitress song more than I did before.

I am fond of practically all of Tori's songs. She had a backup tape with technobass for God and Cornflake Girl which was spectacular in lighting effects. When Sean and I were driving towards the concert, he told me how he liked Tori's rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit; Sean was happy when he was able to hear her do it live. The only disappointment was that she cut it short, but I did not notice and it did not bother him that much. I guess I was drowned in the excitement of the evening because this is only the second rock concert I have ever been to.

Happy, happy, happy. The one song that grabbed me the most was Angie. I do not know why, but ever since I heard Tori's rendition on the singles CD, I have been drawn to love the song. Tori is a great live performer and I can not wait to hear her on her next tour. To be honest, the magic lasted before and after the concert. The energy from the concert is a hard to keep feeling because you experience the songs one way and the next time will be different. The magic of Toris concerts only comes once in a life time.

~Jase.


"Drops of Ivory",since July 1997