Here's my review of the San Jose concert on August 30.
 
                                                -Greg


	Last night (August 30) Tori did a concert at the Center for Performing 
Arts in downtown San Jose.  The theater seats maybe 1500 and includes a large
balcony.  There were a number of people selling tickets outside but I did not
inquire as to prices.  Tickets were still on sale at the theater box office.
My seat was in the direct center of row 18 (thanks Lila) and I wish they would
put in a center aisle so that I didn't have to step all over everybody's feet
while entering or exiting my seat.  I like that the seating was sloped so that
I didn't have to look over everybody's head in order to see the stage.  The
Bosendorfer was at its usual place in center stage.  To the right of it 
(facing the stage) was the prepared "Bells for Her" piano.  She had a little
bird and a rose on top of the piano.  

	Bill Miller took the stage at about 8pm.  Hans was with him and they
were great.  He was hilarious and told funny stories and did music jokes such
as breaking into the intro to "Stairway To Heaven" during one song!  He played
a little flute and a lot of acoustic guitar while Hans handled the bass and
mandolin.  I'd highly recommend buying his CD "The Red Road".  Look for it in
the "Miller" section :)

	Tori came on stage shortly after 9pm.  Here is the set list:

		Main set:
			She's Leaving Home (Beatles)
			Precious Things
			Greg story->Pretty Good Year
			The Waitress
			Happy Phantom
			God
			Silent All These Years
			Leather
			Bells For Her
			Me And A Gun
			Baker Baker
		Encore:
			Cornflake Girl
			American Pie/Smells Like Teen Spirit
		Encore:
			Past The Mission
			Winter

	[ First of all, I'd like to say that I am a big Tori fan and seeing her
live is ALWAYS a great experience.  She's always a lot of fun and emotionally
moving.  My following comments have to be put into that perspective. ]

	Wow, I'd never herad of Tori doing "She's Leaving Home".  I liked her
version very much, it was a great way to open the show.  However, I thought
"Precious Things" was not very good.  Earlier that day she had said that she
would never open with "Precious Things" because it requires a lot and she has
to build to it.  Well, doing it second was probably still too soon.  The music
was very uneven and choppy and she didn't put the usual emotional power into
it.  Next Tori told a story about how when she was young and eating spaghetti
she'd play "Do You Know The Way To San Jose" and think about going there and
meeting Burt Bacharach.  She played a little of that song and we all had a
good laugh.  Then she told the "Greg" story and played a very good version of
"Pretty Good Year".  She followed this with a good version of "The Waitress".
She seemed to be really into both songs and was clearly having a good time.
Unfortunately that didn't seem to last into "Happy Phantom" which was played
much too slow for such a cheerful song.  Next Tori did "God" and the lights
were still quite annoying.  Maybe its just me, but I don't like having to
look away every few seconds to avoid being blinded by a bright light in my
eyes.  Next up was a version "Silent All These Years".  I don't mind Tori
changing tempo or rhythms if that's her mood, but in this song it seemed much
too exaggerated.   "Leather" was somewhat slower than usual and it felt like
she wasn't too into it.  "Bells For Her" was great, the prepared piano sounds
quite different now.  "Me and a Gun" and "Baker Baker" closed the show.

	Tori did the usual version of "Cornflake Girl" as her first encore.
I could hear some murmers of recognition as she played "American Pie", and
a big cheer went up as she started "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  After the
first encore the crowd was on its feet and so Tori came back out and did
"Past The Mission".  She then did a very beautiful performance of "Winter",
perhaps one of the best and most touching that I've heard her do.  The
crowd was on its feet again but they turned on the house lights and the
show was over.

	The crowd was well behaved.  There was a wide range of people from
mid-thirties down to high-school kids.  Nobody really yelled out much and
there was little noise during the songs.  Only one or two flashes went off
during the concert. 

	After the show I waited outside near the performer's exit.  There
is a sloped driveway that runs from the street to the basement, and the
large truck and limo were parked there.  The security guards came out and
tried to shoo us away but we only retreated to the sidewalk.  The crowd
grew to about 20 people.  After an hour Tori came out and got directly into
the limo.  As it drove past the crowd it stopped.  Tori rolled down the
window and said a big "hi guys" to all the crowd.  She invited us all to
the San Francisco show and then departed.  As she had been up early and
still had to drive to San Francisco, perhaps she really didn't have the
time or energy to spend more time.

	Well, its almost time to hit the road.  Tomorrow: Tori performs at
the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, a concert review.

						-Greg