Tori at the Cellar Door

In 1981, on June 11 and December 29, Tori performed at the prestigious Cellar Door in Georgetown, Washington D.C, at the corner of 34th & M Streets. On June, she was booked as the opening act for Tom Rush while she came back as the headliner on December. Artists such as Miles Davis, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris and many others performed at the Cellar Door, so it was an important step for Tori to play there.

Tori already had a personal archivist at the time —a family’s friend— who recorded her shows and archived her setlists and in an interview for the fanzine Little Blue World in 2006, he revealed both shows respective setlists. We reproduced them here for your pleasure:

June 11, 1981

Stay with Me Tonight
As I Look at You
Hard Lovin’ Woman
How Can I Touch You Again
Serenade Me
All the Mothers in Town
Just Ellen
A Moment in Time
Carry Me On.

December 29, 1981

The Long and Winding Road
Piano Man
Love Has No Pride
Landslide
Don’t It Make My Eyes Blue/Desperado
Shadow of a Lonely Man
You Needed Me
Do It Again/Evergreen
First Love
Send in the Clowns
Dreamin’
Midnight Blue
Someone to Lay Down Beside Me
Just Ellen
Love is a Rose
Help Me Make It Through the Night
Something in the Way She Moves
The Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be
Tomorrow at Noon
Lose Again
Songbird
More Than Just a Friend.

When Tori returned to the club for her second and last show, it was now simply called The Door and a funny thing that occured is that Tori’s show was the last performance there ever by any artist because the club closed permanently the next morning. Which makes this December 29 show an historical performance! “...interestingly enough,” said Tori’s personal archivist to LBW, “they still owe Tori a paycheck to this day, as she was never paid for her show that night.”

information sources

Little Blue World vol.6 n°3 fall 2006.
Little Blue World vol. 6 n°4 winter 2006.