North American Plugged '98 Tour
Norman, OK
August 29, 1998

Updated August 31, 1998

Check Out The Reviews And Set Lists Page

Tori performed in Norman, OK on August 29, 1998 at the Lloyd Noble Center during the main North American leg of her Plugged '98 tour.



Set List

Tori performed Winter, Mary and Graveyard solo. Thanks to Toriphile Ally for being the first to email me this set list (and Jenifa who called Ally on the phone from Norman with the set list.) Thanks to Jonathan Lee for further clarifying the set list for me.


Precious Things
Little Amsterdam
Surry With the Fringe on Top (Just a tiny bit)
Sugar
Space Dog
Cruel
Pandora's Aquarium
Winter (solo)
Mary (solo)
Graveyard (solo)
Northern Lad
Crucify
Spark
The Waitress

1st Encore:
iieee
Raspberry Swirl

2nd Encore:
Horses



Reviews

The most recently added reviews are first.

From Travis Standridge

August 31, 1998 - Well, we arrived at the meet and greet and stood for about an hour with around fifty other fans for the goddess to show up. Imagine my excitement when she pulled up in her limo. Although I did not get close enough to meet her or take a picture with her, the fellow ewf were kind enough to pass forward my LE cd booklet which she signed (thanks guys....I'll treasure it forever)

Tori was wonderful and sweet with everyone. This was the first meet and greet I have ever been to and everyone was very calm and polite. I was impressed. Tori was so nice, standing in the heat for about 20 minutes talking with everyone.

I got lots of wonderful pics at the meet and greet which I wish I had a scanner to post on the net. The concert that followed was a new Tori experience for me. I had only previously seen her DDI tour in Little Rock. That concert was incredible.

In some ways, I miss the old girl and piano Tori. One thing that made me miss it more was the hit and miss sound in Norman. I don't know if it was the venue or the mixer, but there were some sections where all I wanted to hear was Tori giving it her best (she was really into the show---our seats were very close and I could see all of her intensity. It was the best) and all I could hear was her beautiful voice drowned out by guitars and drums. Nothing against the other members of her band, who did excellent jobs, but I paid to hear that gossamer sweet voice with perfect clarity and emotion like before.

I can miss the old concerts, but she definitely rocks. Her catalog of songs take on new meaning when backed by a band. It was just incredible. She made me fall in love with two songs that I just hadn't taken a shine to yet. The version of Space Dog and Pandora's Aquarium live is unbelievable. What I previously thought was wasted CD space is now something that plays nonstop on my car stereo.

I was excited to hear Mary, which I had never heard before, and Winter (a favorite---I didn't get to hear that at the previous show I had gone to) in the solo time.

My faves of the evening were Precious Things (very powerful with the band), Northern Lad, Spark and the afformentioned songs. I was only disappointed that she didn't play two of my faves off FTCH Jackie's Strength and Playboy Mommy (if ever a song demanded a sTORItelling video----this is it.)

ALL I CAN SAY IS SHE'S COOL AND SHE ROCKS AND SHE REALLY GIVES ALL TO HER FANS

P.S. Two people got busted next to us for recording the show. Hint: next time put black tape over the red recording light. Nothing serious, they just took away the tape.

If you'd like to talk about the show or if you have a good copy of it, email me at Tnt3897@msn.com.


From Courtney Key

August 31, 1998 - This was my first Tori concert ever, since I had the bad luck to really get into her music AFTER the last tour, and I must say it completely blew me away. My Tori experience actually began on Friday, when I drove from Austin to my parents' house in Fort Worth, and then set out the next morning for Norman. I got to the Lloyd Noble Center around 1 p.m. (#22!) and hung out with some very cool people from Dallas speculating on Tori's mode of transportation ("Look, it's Tori's tour station wagon!" :-)). Tori came out around 4 p.m., and I got some nice pictures of her before she signed my "Images and Insights" book - I was surprised I remembered how to spell my name when she asked me! I had 18th row seats, but I must admit I did deal with one of the scalper scum outside and traded up for a fourth row seat, which I don't regret at all now. >From the first notes of "Precious Things," I knew this was going to be one of the most amazing concert experiences I've ever had. She had so much passion in every song - the only thing I could compare it to when I talked to my mom later is Stevie Nicks at the end of "Rhiannon" live...a total commitment and abandon to the music. The energy was so great I didn't even mind that she didn't do "Siren" or "Cornflake Girl," which I had been hoping for before the show. Hearing "Mary" was a great treat, since I had only heard of the song before, and Tori even managed to get me to like "Northern Lad" live. Contrary to the previous reviewer's opinion, I thought "The Waitress" was spectacular - I can't compare it to other performances on this tour, but I thought it was awesome.

Overall, a wonderful, wonderful show. I can't wait for Austin!


From Bryan Phillips

August 31, 1998 - The Norman show was really great.Ý She was wearing a red sequin dress over a black outfit.Ý "Precious Things" was spectacular.Ý Whenever she says "grrl" she crossed her arms and sort of fondled herself and then lifted up her dress and clenched onto her crotch like an eagle claw to a salmon.Ý It looked wonderfully obscene.Ý I do not intend to criticize (but that's the whole point of writing a review), because most of the other songs were really great, but Tori is so great that if something is not good, we should just admit that it is bad and "The Waitress" is not good.Ý She kept reaching toward the ceiling as if she was trying to pull the song out from the gutter.Ý After the 25th time she said "Hang ten, hang ten honey.Ý She's the devil," I realized it was not just me.Ý Other than that the show was really good.Ý The meet and greet was sort of silly.Ý The girl in front of me was crying and passing out and I just wanted to slap her.Ý She was obviously emotionally imbalanced.Ý The outside door was not locked and so some people and I got to go in during the sound check unnoticed until a scalper came in from outside and was leaning over the railing and so security noticed him and made us all leave.Ý She practiced "Hotel" for a really long time.Ý At the end of "Hotel" the band broke into the riff >from "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.Ý They also did a great new rendition of "Bells For Her".Ý The highlights of the evening were the waving of the goth looking magic wand thing and 'The Surrey With The Uhhoom On Top' and whenever some sparks came down during the opening number.Ý I thought the sparks looked cool.


From Micha Estlack

August 31, 1998 - Just so you know...

The thing Tori waved around on stage was a small dragon rod puppet called a Drachen Stick. He is sort of a maroon/raspberry black with pink fins and measures roughly 15 inches from nose to tail. He is made from foam rubber and was carved about a year and a half ago. This may be a bit wordy for a description, but I think it works. You see, my sister and I brought the dragon and a copy of the Neverending Story as gifts for Tori. We gave them to security at intermission just after the Devlins finished their set. He said he would get them to her. I was shocked when Tori began waving something around on stage and Brenna, my sister, shouted "It's your dragon!" It was an even greater pleasure to see the puppet I carved resting upon Tori's piano for the duration of the concert. After a failed attempt to meet Tori, I asked a gentleman with the concert staff to tell her "the one who made the puppet for you says thanks." What a marvelous evening!

Hope that clears up some of the confusion. As for me, I can now say my puppets are "Tori-approved!"


From Python King

August 30, 1998 - just a quick note on the Norman setlist, I taped the show and actually she sung "Surry with a Fringe on Top" before "Sugar". the show was great. tori was full of energy. the meet'n'greet was fairly chaotic, though. She doesn't come through Oklahoma too often so people get pretty anxious when she comes, lots of pushing and hyperwords. there was one scary moment during the show when sparks (ha, imagine the irony) flew down from the rafters at the beginning of "cruel". but nothing caught on fire or anything.

matt put on some light-up antennaes during "Rapsberry Swirl" that were fairly interesting.

and poor kenny, always the center of attention.


From Mike Richman (posted to the Precious-Things mailing list)

August 30, 1998 - The Norman show was pretty decent, despite the large venue and marginal accoustics. The meet and greet was great (Thanks, Elyse). Tori looked very relaxed and says she's enjoying married life. We had wonderful seats in the first row center stage (but not floor). I sat 6 inches from Mark immediately behind the soundboard. Here's the setlist (with corrections).

Precious
Amsterdam
Sugar
Space Dog
Cruel
Pandora
Winter
Mary
Lad
Cricify
Spark (mis-spelled Spank on Mark's official list)
Waitress
+++++++++
IIEEE
Swirl
+++++++++
Horses

(Setlist had Twinkle listed before Horses, but it was not played)

Lots's of good music and lots of dancing. The security didn't know what to make of it but everyone was really considerate, so it wasn't an issue.

Just a few notes...band was in synch and sounded very good. Waitress has evolved into something nearly unrecognizable from the original version. It was intense. Precious Things is a good show opener. Tori was clawing at her groin in this version. It was the first time I've seen Space Dog performed (ever), so that was a highlight, as was Pandora. From IEEE on the crowd was on their feet. Lots of dancing!! Not a whole lot of talk with the audience this show. She did make a comment about her parents letting her sing Oklahoma! as a kid, which beat hymns -- she added a bar or two of Surrey with the Fringe on Top.


From Catherine

August 30, 1998 - I was just reading the reviews from the Norman concert and I wanted to clarify the "baseball bat" thing. Tori had a stuffed dragon toy on a stick that looked a lot like a labrys(or maybe it was a bat but it had a rather long neck and tail to be a bat). She took it to the front of the stage and waved it around like she was working magic -- which of course she did with her music.


From Natasha & Chris

August 30, 1998 - My fisnce and I wone one set of RAINN auction tickets to the Norman show, and we though you and other EWF might want to read about our experience. Our original seat were in the 2nd orchestra left section, not on the floor. Chris & I were a little disappointed by this because we'd heard first row comp tickets were released to the box office only to be purchased by a scalper who was trying to sell them outside the venue. At a few minutes after 9 PM, Steve came up to us and offered us seats in the last row in the right section of floor. There were only about 9 or ten rows of folding chairs on the floor, so these seats weren't bad. Steve was really nice; he told us we could return to our original seats if we couldn't see from the floor seats. Thankfully, the people in our section remained seated for most of the show. We were plesantly surprised when Tori appeared wearing a -red- sparkly apron thing instead of the usual silver. Her voice seemed more powerful to me than at the KC show the night before. After the show, Chris ran over to the soundboard behind us to ask Mark some questions about their equipment. He found out their equipment is on the cheap side and that we have higher-quality audio equipment in our house than Tori does in hers! :o Then Joel & STeve herded us backstage into a room that seemed to be their makeshift dining room to wait for Tori to see us. It was really cold in there, which made mynervousness even worse. I concentrated on remembering what I wanted to tell her while we were waiting. Finally we were ushered into her dressing room. All I remember seeing in there was an open trunk full of clothes. Tori had changed into indigo overall and a floral shirt. Her feet were bare. She thanked us for supporting RAINN and asked if we had anything for her to sign. I showed her our Baby Natasha (she's a character on Sesame Street) and explained to her why we wanted her to sign it. I'm afraid I rambled a bit, but I was pretty coherent. =) She asked us if we brought a camera and if we wanted pictures. I produced a camera from my pocket and said, "I smuggled it in!" Tori covered her mouth in mock surprise and smiled. Tori must have been really tired because when Chris & I told her we were getting married in April, she didn't know when April was! Before we left she said, "I have to give you guys a hug!" to Chris and I. Her hair was damp, which made me think she'd taken a shower, but her make-up was completely intact. We kinda wish we'd had more time with her because there was more we wanted to tell her-we were the people who'd bought the first pair of tickets to the July 28th MSG show that were auctioned on rec.music.tori-amos to benefit RAINN. And we didn't even get to meet Tori at that show. But it was still worth all the traveling expenses (we live in Kansas!). That's how RAINN got the idea to auction off tickets to every show. As a result, we've donated over $1000 to RAINN this year. If we could afford it, we'd give more. =) Tori's influence has changed both of our lives for the better, and we are grateful for that.


From Jonathan Lee (Posted to the ToriNews mailing list)

August 30, 1998 - began around 9:30 pm

Precious Things
Little Amsterdam
Sugar
Space Dog (they really nailed it!)
Surry With the Fringe on Top (I think this came here. "Last night on
the bus from Kansas City, did you guys hear us in the back?" Guys all
shrug. She sings the song. "I had Tim rent Oklahoma, I swear to
Christ. When I was growing up I could only play religious music, but
they let me play music from Oklahoma, thank God!" She's played this
every time I've seen her here, all the way back to LE tour in '92 It's
cool.)
Cruel
Pandora

guys leave

Winter
Mary
(no stories told with these, but my wife (Mary) was psyched anyway :-} )

guys return

Graveyard
Northern Lad
Crucify
Spark
Waitress

Encore I

iieee
Raspberry Swirl

Encore II

Horses

I was happy last night in Kanas City, but *this* was the show I really wanted. Thank you Tori! The sound wasn't as good, but that's because I was sitting almost in front of the speaker stack on the left side, but being in the second row was worth having one ear ring more than the other. Just before the show the Kenny doll was raised up by a cable around his neck (you bastards!).

I went to see some flamenco dancers in Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago when I was on vacation. One of the musicians was sitting on a black box which he played like a bongo but sounded like it had sand inside it (don't know what it's called). Tonite I was able to see that this is the same thing that Matt beats the crap out of during Raspberry Swirl. News? Probably not but I can put in some trivial bits if I post a set list :P [moderator's note: true :) and if anyone knows the name of this instrument, it would be news as well since we know Matt is playing one on Raspberry Swirl...] Here's one last one. If you have the CD "Karma" by Delerium (note the tenuous Neil connection here) listen to the last track, "til the end of time". Drums sound familiar? Sounds an awful lot like Caught a Light Sneeze to me. Is it a sample or a swipe? Again, just wondering out loud.


From Ally

August 30, 1998 - hello, jenifa just called me with the set list and stuff:

precious things
little amsterdam
sugar
space dog
cruel - caton had a bug fly in his hair?
pandora
winter (solo)
mary (solo) - she did the "nananana" part which she hadn't done in 96
graveyard(solo)
northern lad
cruel [Note from Mikewhy: I think this should be Crucify ]
spark
waitress (went off with i believe she's a bitch, i believe she's the devil
for several minutes)

encore 1
i i e e e
raspberry swirl

encore 2
horses

jenifa and danielle said that there was alot of spit coming from tori :) she also sung the begining of "oklahoma" and went around on stage with a baseball bat pretending to kill people :)

also, she killed kenny - fateful stage accident

sorry guys, no MMMBOP!

Ally also said she received a call from her friend Jenifa who told her that Tori was practicing "Hotel" during the soundcheck today for a very long time. It should be making an appearance at a concert near you...soon!



Go Back To The Reviews And Set Lists Page


Please give me feedback, comments, or suggestions about my site. Email me (Michael Whitehead) at mikewhy@iglou.com