All Tori, All the Time

Saturday was the day Tori Amos was performing in Syracuse.
And lucky (and now broke) us got to go see her.
It's been 10 years since we've seen her live and she only continues to improve.
(I won't throw out that "like fine wine" analogy because it is sooo overused.)
We got to the theatre before our appointed 4:30 showtime. We paid extra for our tickets so we could watch her soundcheck - some people paid extra for the soundcheck and the meet and greet. I don't make that much money.
From this picture the marquee and the theatre look a little skeevy, eh.

But inside it was gorgeous.
Parking was great - and cheap!
Only $6 for all day.
We could see Tori's tour bus and trucks parked in the street behind the theatre. Of course I had to have a picture.
Of course.
Apparently it was homecoming weekend for SU and since the theatre is so close to the Carrier Dome we saw lots and lots of Orange going by. With coolers.
At 4:30 we were welcomed to the Crazy World of Rock and Roll! (thanks to Kelly the semi-bitchy tour rep) and told to come back at 5:00.
After a pint of Guiness at the pub next door (served at 52 degrees exactly)...

...we went back and were welcomed once again to that Crazy World and told to come back in another half hour.
This time we spent our time in CVS just down the street buying gum, a sharpie and paper.
Our goal? Besides writing down all the things crazy people say ("Oh my God, I'm such a bad person!" "I'll have a white Zinfandel on the rocks") we wanted to make sure we wrote down her set list.
Back to the theatre and finally we were in!
And these two guys were in line with us and in my usual style I completely embarrassed DN1 and made her take a picture with them.

Always on the lookout for a potential son-in-law.
Or just to be annoying.
Yeah, that's it.
They gave us our special VIPosse bags, we got our tickets, spent an enormous amount of money at the t-shirt table and then finally were able to go in to the soundcheck. Now while we were standing in the lobby we could hear her playing and see the lights and it was AWFUL having to wait to go in!
But then in we went -- only to stay for 2 songs. That was our limit.
They were, however, an amazing 2 songs.
Two of my favorites - "Concertina" and "Taxi Ride". (For the record "Taxi Ride" is the ringtone I have on my cell for when SN2 calls me - cause he's always looking for a ride. DN1 has "A Sorta Fairytale". DH has the Beach Boys "God Only Knows". I don't know why I'm sharing this, just thought you might want to know.)
It was actually quite emotional believe it or not.
After the 2 songs we had to exit the theatre and were told to wait with the other common folk for the concert to start at 8:00.
So we went to eat at a pub (a different one) and had to share a table -- it was that crowded.
Who did we sit with? People from Rochester.
Damn it's a small world.
Finally we got into the concert and it was even more amazing than we expected.
It was complete perfection.
Here is some of what we saw:





It was truly a perfect concert. Tori played for almost 2 1/2 hours and sang many of my favorites ("Tear in Your Hand" "Yes, Anastasia" - even "Northern Lad"! -- and our family song "Spark" -- it's 6:58 are you sure where my spark is)
She's playing in Buffalo on the 24th.
Who knows, maybe we'll go again!
In the meantime, "maybe it's time...to wave good-bye now."