Here is Sacramento 9/9/94. -Greg Here is my report for the Tori Amos concert in Sacramento on Friday, September 9, 1994. I left work at 4:30 and drove up to Berkeley to pick up the lovely and charming Lila. (Hi Lila!) It was another 90 minute drive North to Sacramento and we arrived just before 8pm. We entered the theater and found our seats - in the center of the very first row! :) :) :) We then wondered why Bill Miller was already on stage. Oops, the concert actually started at 7:30pm! I'd been going to so many 8pm Tori concerts... :) Well, as usual Bill was great and the crowd loved him. In fact, most of the audience gave him a standing ovation and he came back out and waved to the crowd. Go Bill!!! After a 30 minute break Tori came out on stage and the crowd went wild, giving her a standing ovation. A camera flash went off and I saw the security guy dart into the crowd. Tori performed: Honey -- ooh, great song and not one she plays very often. She did a very good version and this was a great way to open the concert. Happy Phantom -- much better than at the San Jose concert, this one actually sounded happy. Yes, I realized the lyrics are about death, but I think the music is supposed to sound cheerful as a contrast to that. Space Dog -- Ah, one of Lila's favorites. Tori must have known we were gonna be there. :) As usual, she played the "extra" introductory verse to this song. Before playing Tori told how she was down in New Mexico and an old Indian guy came up to her and said, "Tori, the mountain doesn't like you." And Tori put her hands on her hips and replied, "Well too bad!" Precious Things -- Sounding good Tori! The Waitress -- She is really cute when she plays this. Sitting up front I became very aware of all Tori's hand movements that she makes when she plays. She'll often put both hands under the keyboard and pull upwards. Sometimes when one hand is free she'll rest the back of it against the part above the keys. Or play a phrase, touch two fingers to the piano above the keys, and then play another phrase. Just a lot of little non-playing hand motions that are interesting to watch. God -- Fortunately the monitor by her feet prevented me from being blinded by the light behind her. Silent All These Years -- Throughout the concert the audience was quite vocal. Why do some people have to scream during every song? And why is it at every concert a group of women will yell out in unison, "We love you Tori"? During this song there was a lot of yelling going on. After every other line somebody would should "OW!!!" Finally the guy next to me yelled, "Shut up!!!" and we all laughed, including Tori. After the song Tori said that she understands that sometimes people just have to let it out. Great, this audience did NOT need the encouragement... story -- Tori told a story about she had the same size lips when she was nine years old. All the boys used to make fun of her. "But", she added, "nine-year-old boys don't know what lips like this can do..." The crowd burst into laughter. "Hey guys", Tori continued, "those nerdy girls that you make fun of when you're young? Well, ten years later you're gonna be crawling after them." :) Tori then continued her story about how she liked this one guy and pretended to be better in math than she really was ("Of course his homework didn't come out so great"). Finally one day he had a party. "A parents- are-out-of-town party. The kind where when you hear this [plays the intro to "Stairway To Heaven] you know you're gonna be making out for 15 minutes." Well, Tori was all ready for this guy to come and ask her to dance. She had on her new bra and her Kissing Potion lip gloss. And he walked across the room over to where she sat...and asked her best friend to dance. :( She was just thinking it was time to go get some pizza when she heard this song: Angie -- wow, the story must have brought back a strong memory because Tori played a GREAT version of this. Her voice was the strongest I've ever heard it. Amazing! Bells For Her -- there was still some screaming from the audience during this song. And by now the security people had given up on trying to stop all the flash photography. It was great that this audience was into the concert and give Tori lots of response, but it bordered on rudeness. Me And A Gun -- a lot more yelling and screaming while Tori took a moment to prepare herself for this song. But she delivered it with the same emotional intensity as always and it was very pwerful. Fortunately the audience didn't make any noise while she sang. Icicle -- No story but the same great song. Alas, the end of the main set. Tori came back and did: Cornflake Girl -- even more fun to watch from up close. Here. In My Head -- ah, for the second night in a row; what a treat! And for the second encore Tori performed: Past The Mission -- A very good performance of this song. Cloud On My Tongue -- And this one too. She seemed to be in some sort of mood tonight, but I couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was. Tori departed the stage and the crowd was on its feet. She came back and did: China -- wow, the second time she'd played it recently. I had read in this very digest that she wouldn't perform it anymore. Lila and I were pleasantly surprised. Song For Eric -- and that surprise turned to shock! We certainly didn't expect to hear this song. Wow, what a combination! Tori put a LOT of emotion into the song and it was both beautiful and very moving to hear. Then the concert was over and we all reluctantly left. Lila and I walked back to the car; I got my camera and Lila picked up a book she'd brought for Tori. We returned to the theater and walked around back. Wow, there was a HUGE crowd waiting for Tori to come out. The security people were really cool, though, and kept the crowd orderly. After a while Tori came out and slowly made her way down the line. She really took her time to greet the people and give hugs. She saw Lila and asked, "Whatcha reading hon?" Lila told Tori that it was a book of e.e. cummings poetry that she'd brought for her. "Oh, fucking fantastic!" was Tori's reply as she accepted the book and gave Lila a hug. She said "hi" to me, as I was standing behind Lila. Tori then got in the limo and departed. We returned to the car for a long drive home, both very happy. NEXT: Tori plays Berkeley, my final concert.