http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/inde...how/?rand=14847
Full Version: RS review of SF Show 6/23
Rolling Stone loved Liz. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/inde...how/?rand=14847
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/inde...how/?rand=14847
just gonna post it here. i got a not found error.
QUOTE
Liz Phair Marks 15th Anniversary of “Exile in Guyville” With First Full-Album Show
6/24/08, 8:44 am EST
For the first show on her three-city tour to promote the 15th anniversary reissue of Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair walked silently onto San Francisco’s Fillmore stage and launched into her landmark debut album’s conflicted opening rocker, “6′ 1″.” “I loved my life,” she sang, “and I hated you.” This would be the first of many lyrics to set off screams of remembrance and approval.
As she moved through each one of Guyville’s 18 tracks in their original, perfectly paced sequence, Phair gained confidence, worrying less about her notes and connecting deeper with her sentiments. There were times when she appeared to be feeling them so strongly that the singer seemed to morph into the bold but vulnerable younger version of herself who crafted one of the key albums of the ’90s, one that opened the door to many women musicians and listeners previously locked outside of rock’s fraternity. Her eyes would wince in resentment as she’d sing the most wounded lines of “Canary,” or she’d swing her right arm against her guitar streings a little harder while emphasizing the most swaggering boasts of “Girls! Girls! Girls!”
At the time of Guyville’s original release, Phair was an inexperienced performer dwarfed by the power of her own material. She’s now a far better singer and guitarist, and although it was clear Monday night that she and her three-piece backing band had rehearsed extensively, there was nevertheless a tangible moment-to-moment anticipation as they pieced her masterwork together. “I didn’t know if I could measure up, but it’s actually pretty great,” she admitted while addressing the raptly attentive crowd after “Glory.” For “Flower,” she propped her guitar between legs wrapped tight in white stockings and short denim cutoffs, swaying side to side while delivering immortal lines like “I’ll fuck you and your minions too.”
Although she returned solo for an improvised encore that sandwiched a tough new song between loose renditions of “Chopsticks” and “Polyester Bride,” nothing could match Phair’s smile as she hit the last chord of Guyville’s concluding track, “Strange Loop.” If she’s ever been this satisfied, she’s never showed it.
6/24/08, 8:44 am EST
For the first show on her three-city tour to promote the 15th anniversary reissue of Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair walked silently onto San Francisco’s Fillmore stage and launched into her landmark debut album’s conflicted opening rocker, “6′ 1″.” “I loved my life,” she sang, “and I hated you.” This would be the first of many lyrics to set off screams of remembrance and approval.
As she moved through each one of Guyville’s 18 tracks in their original, perfectly paced sequence, Phair gained confidence, worrying less about her notes and connecting deeper with her sentiments. There were times when she appeared to be feeling them so strongly that the singer seemed to morph into the bold but vulnerable younger version of herself who crafted one of the key albums of the ’90s, one that opened the door to many women musicians and listeners previously locked outside of rock’s fraternity. Her eyes would wince in resentment as she’d sing the most wounded lines of “Canary,” or she’d swing her right arm against her guitar streings a little harder while emphasizing the most swaggering boasts of “Girls! Girls! Girls!”
At the time of Guyville’s original release, Phair was an inexperienced performer dwarfed by the power of her own material. She’s now a far better singer and guitarist, and although it was clear Monday night that she and her three-piece backing band had rehearsed extensively, there was nevertheless a tangible moment-to-moment anticipation as they pieced her masterwork together. “I didn’t know if I could measure up, but it’s actually pretty great,” she admitted while addressing the raptly attentive crowd after “Glory.” For “Flower,” she propped her guitar between legs wrapped tight in white stockings and short denim cutoffs, swaying side to side while delivering immortal lines like “I’ll fuck you and your minions too.”
Although she returned solo for an improvised encore that sandwiched a tough new song between loose renditions of “Chopsticks” and “Polyester Bride,” nothing could match Phair’s smile as she hit the last chord of Guyville’s concluding track, “Strange Loop.” If she’s ever been this satisfied, she’s never showed it.
Lovely! I feel all warm inside.
I love her so much.
the review from SF weekly
Liz Phair
June 23, 2008
The Fillmore
By Jennifer Maerz
Photo by Chrissy Loader
Better Than: Seeing Liz Phair in 1993.
So the story goes that Liz Phair was such a terrible performer in 1993, the year that Exile in Guyville came out, that Ira Glass wrote her a scathing letter critiquing one of her Chicago performances. Ira Glass, as in Ira Glass from This American Life. He hated her show so much he sent a personal note to the band. I can’t remember why exactly – the details are in the DVD portion of the re-released Exile, which comes out today. But it had something to do with Phair not knowing how to translate those loose recordings into a tight show.
Fifteen years after the fact, Phair knows how to play those Exile songs perfectly. She might be kinda rusty on the material outside of that, but last night at the Fillmore she nailed those singular songs better than she nails the blowjob in “Flower.” She gave the sold out house of 30 and 40-somethings the show they’d all dreamed about when they first got their meaty paws on Guyville’s songs for the sexually-aggressive romantic. And hey, if it came a decade and change late, that’s cool with me. I never saw her the first round, and her voice now has a strength and confidence that the recording couldn’t touch.
But really, with this Fillmore crowd, Phair could do no wrong. Men and women were screaming for her from the minute she took the stage with a fervency I haven’t seen since, well, a couple weeks back when the ladies wet their panties for Flight of the Conchords. They also yelled out requests, until Phair – clad in a very ‘90s look of white leggings under cut off jean shorts – said, “This is one of those shows where you can be assured I’ll play your song.” She grinned and added, “If it’s on the record, I’ll play it, in order.”
And she ran through all the hits, starting with “6ft 1in” through “Fuck and Run” and “Divorce Song” and “Strange Loop.” She started out kinda shy, beginning one song as soon as the last one ended. But the crowd filled every silence with a cheer or a vote of confidence like “We love you” and her backing band of indie dudes punched out every last track.
By the fourth or fifth song, she was even telling stories. Before she played “Explain It To Me,” she briefed the crowd. “This song was a big fat heartbreaker for me,” she said. “It still kinda is … [The guy it’s about] is still alive and well, amazingly. If you watch the DVD you’ll know who this is about.” (That dude is Urge Overkill’s Nash Kato, Phair’s inspiration for much of Exile.) When she finished the song, she added more: “I stayed in my apartment one summer getting stoned … I sat there listening to Exile on Main St. and stewing over my failed relationship. Only a girl would understand,” she added with another of her many beaming smiles. But this being San Francisco, the ladies weren’t the only ones feeling sympathetic. The entire front row was packed in with gay men, and one of them piped up to the “only a girl” comment with: “And a gay male!”
There was much crowd participation at the show, from the dude in front of me air guitaring to every other song (hey man, that’s Wednesday night), to another guy giving Phair the “Number One!” pointer finger. I was surprised how many men were there, especially since one of my guy friends begged to come along (he said none of the guys he palled around with would dare to listen to Phair’s explicit encounters).
But that’s the thing about Phair -- and probably the main reason why there were so many guys in the audience – she doesn’t come off as preachy, or didactic, or a know it all. She comes off as honest, and she takes herself to task as much as she takes the dudes down for their actions. There’s a wanting in there pushing up against her frustrations, and it’s still pretty raw all these years later.
Her vulnerability is also raw in her performance, but it never became distracting. It was more endearing. Case in point: her encore. Once she ran through all of Exile, the crowd wouldn’t let her go. They were stomping and clapping and stomping a little more. But she claimed to not have a whole lot more to give. “This is so me, but I didn’t practice anything else,” she said, half-apologetically. “I’m technically shitty,” she continued, saying she’d just fuck around for a bit.
And fuck around she did, playing “Chopsticks” (off Whip-Smart) on the keyboards. She talked about her anxiety dreams about being locked in a building with a big crowd. She played a new song – which, like her other new songs for the past couple albums, just doesn’t match up (she sticks to too many abstract ideas and rock clichés—this time it was a chorus about “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” some guy going to hell, and cringer, “Hang yourself for rock ‘n’ roll.”) But even there the fans gave her applause, so she trotted out one more that she definitely hadn’t practiced, but was charming nonetheless. She answered a shout to play “Polyester Bride” (off Whitechocolatespaceegg). It was in the wrong key (she kept shifting key throughout the song, finally just skipping to the bridge). But it was, again, fun and charming and the crowd sang along and it made her seem less like some indie rock icon and more like the girl at the next barstool over – the same gal who made Exile such a great listen in the first place.
So this show was less a nostalgia play than it was Phair coming full circle. She may still lack some stage confidence and be kinda loose on her performances, but the sentiment in those songs rings loud, clear and confident, keeping Guyville populated with all her fans (gay, straight, and otherwise) for years to come.
By the way: Phair is wrapping up work on a new record, which is supposed to come out later this year.
And you can watch a video clip from Phair’s DVD (where she interviews Chicago pals and peers ranging from John Cusack to Steve Albini and that Nash Kato character) here.
source
Liz Phair
June 23, 2008
The Fillmore
By Jennifer Maerz
Photo by Chrissy Loader
Better Than: Seeing Liz Phair in 1993.
So the story goes that Liz Phair was such a terrible performer in 1993, the year that Exile in Guyville came out, that Ira Glass wrote her a scathing letter critiquing one of her Chicago performances. Ira Glass, as in Ira Glass from This American Life. He hated her show so much he sent a personal note to the band. I can’t remember why exactly – the details are in the DVD portion of the re-released Exile, which comes out today. But it had something to do with Phair not knowing how to translate those loose recordings into a tight show.
Fifteen years after the fact, Phair knows how to play those Exile songs perfectly. She might be kinda rusty on the material outside of that, but last night at the Fillmore she nailed those singular songs better than she nails the blowjob in “Flower.” She gave the sold out house of 30 and 40-somethings the show they’d all dreamed about when they first got their meaty paws on Guyville’s songs for the sexually-aggressive romantic. And hey, if it came a decade and change late, that’s cool with me. I never saw her the first round, and her voice now has a strength and confidence that the recording couldn’t touch.
But really, with this Fillmore crowd, Phair could do no wrong. Men and women were screaming for her from the minute she took the stage with a fervency I haven’t seen since, well, a couple weeks back when the ladies wet their panties for Flight of the Conchords. They also yelled out requests, until Phair – clad in a very ‘90s look of white leggings under cut off jean shorts – said, “This is one of those shows where you can be assured I’ll play your song.” She grinned and added, “If it’s on the record, I’ll play it, in order.”
And she ran through all the hits, starting with “6ft 1in” through “Fuck and Run” and “Divorce Song” and “Strange Loop.” She started out kinda shy, beginning one song as soon as the last one ended. But the crowd filled every silence with a cheer or a vote of confidence like “We love you” and her backing band of indie dudes punched out every last track.
By the fourth or fifth song, she was even telling stories. Before she played “Explain It To Me,” she briefed the crowd. “This song was a big fat heartbreaker for me,” she said. “It still kinda is … [The guy it’s about] is still alive and well, amazingly. If you watch the DVD you’ll know who this is about.” (That dude is Urge Overkill’s Nash Kato, Phair’s inspiration for much of Exile.) When she finished the song, she added more: “I stayed in my apartment one summer getting stoned … I sat there listening to Exile on Main St. and stewing over my failed relationship. Only a girl would understand,” she added with another of her many beaming smiles. But this being San Francisco, the ladies weren’t the only ones feeling sympathetic. The entire front row was packed in with gay men, and one of them piped up to the “only a girl” comment with: “And a gay male!”
There was much crowd participation at the show, from the dude in front of me air guitaring to every other song (hey man, that’s Wednesday night), to another guy giving Phair the “Number One!” pointer finger. I was surprised how many men were there, especially since one of my guy friends begged to come along (he said none of the guys he palled around with would dare to listen to Phair’s explicit encounters).
But that’s the thing about Phair -- and probably the main reason why there were so many guys in the audience – she doesn’t come off as preachy, or didactic, or a know it all. She comes off as honest, and she takes herself to task as much as she takes the dudes down for their actions. There’s a wanting in there pushing up against her frustrations, and it’s still pretty raw all these years later.
Her vulnerability is also raw in her performance, but it never became distracting. It was more endearing. Case in point: her encore. Once she ran through all of Exile, the crowd wouldn’t let her go. They were stomping and clapping and stomping a little more. But she claimed to not have a whole lot more to give. “This is so me, but I didn’t practice anything else,” she said, half-apologetically. “I’m technically shitty,” she continued, saying she’d just fuck around for a bit.
And fuck around she did, playing “Chopsticks” (off Whip-Smart) on the keyboards. She talked about her anxiety dreams about being locked in a building with a big crowd. She played a new song – which, like her other new songs for the past couple albums, just doesn’t match up (she sticks to too many abstract ideas and rock clichés—this time it was a chorus about “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” some guy going to hell, and cringer, “Hang yourself for rock ‘n’ roll.”) But even there the fans gave her applause, so she trotted out one more that she definitely hadn’t practiced, but was charming nonetheless. She answered a shout to play “Polyester Bride” (off Whitechocolatespaceegg). It was in the wrong key (she kept shifting key throughout the song, finally just skipping to the bridge). But it was, again, fun and charming and the crowd sang along and it made her seem less like some indie rock icon and more like the girl at the next barstool over – the same gal who made Exile such a great listen in the first place.
So this show was less a nostalgia play than it was Phair coming full circle. She may still lack some stage confidence and be kinda loose on her performances, but the sentiment in those songs rings loud, clear and confident, keeping Guyville populated with all her fans (gay, straight, and otherwise) for years to come.
By the way: Phair is wrapping up work on a new record, which is supposed to come out later this year.
And you can watch a video clip from Phair’s DVD (where she interviews Chicago pals and peers ranging from John Cusack to Steve Albini and that Nash Kato character) here.
source
At least at the moment, Liz is the headline news over at RS's website. Complete with one of those leggy photos of her from the SM publicity sessions. So far nothing but positive press.
Spin review
http://www.spin.com/articles/liz-phair-revisits-guyville-sf
Liz Phair has been performing the songs off Exile in Guyville since the album's release in '93, yet she expressed a bit of apprehension last night (June 23) about taking on the entire set live after so many years. "It's pretty incredible to be playing this here tonight," she said onstage at the Fillmore in a show celebrating the re-release of her iconic debut. "I didn't know if I could measure up, but God, it's just like the old days!"
Indeed, the album provided a long-overdue flashback of sorts: Despite having turned from angst-ridden Gen-Xers into a sport coat-wearing set in their 30s, fans sang along to every word -- passionately, frantically, and nostalgically. With stick-straight hair and a leather jacket, Phair played the 18 tracks as they appeared in the liner notes -- from "6'1"" to "Strange Loop." Tunes like "Fuck and Run" and "Girls! Girls! Girls!" featured her traditionally raw, lo-fi rock with the support of a backing band, but she pulled out the big guns -- and a little Stevie Nicks vibrato -- for solo moments on "Help Me, Mary" and "Glory."
The downfall of artists touring with a single album? It doesn't leave much room for anything else. Phair admitted to not rehearsing any other songs, but she took the stage like a champ for an appreciated -- if disjointed -- encore that included a heart-breaking rendition of "Chopsticks" on piano and plenty of witty banter. Would you expect anything else from Phair? Nope.
http://www.spin.com/articles/liz-phair-revisits-guyville-sf
Liz Phair has been performing the songs off Exile in Guyville since the album's release in '93, yet she expressed a bit of apprehension last night (June 23) about taking on the entire set live after so many years. "It's pretty incredible to be playing this here tonight," she said onstage at the Fillmore in a show celebrating the re-release of her iconic debut. "I didn't know if I could measure up, but God, it's just like the old days!"
Indeed, the album provided a long-overdue flashback of sorts: Despite having turned from angst-ridden Gen-Xers into a sport coat-wearing set in their 30s, fans sang along to every word -- passionately, frantically, and nostalgically. With stick-straight hair and a leather jacket, Phair played the 18 tracks as they appeared in the liner notes -- from "6'1"" to "Strange Loop." Tunes like "Fuck and Run" and "Girls! Girls! Girls!" featured her traditionally raw, lo-fi rock with the support of a backing band, but she pulled out the big guns -- and a little Stevie Nicks vibrato -- for solo moments on "Help Me, Mary" and "Glory."
The downfall of artists touring with a single album? It doesn't leave much room for anything else. Phair admitted to not rehearsing any other songs, but she took the stage like a champ for an appreciated -- if disjointed -- encore that included a heart-breaking rendition of "Chopsticks" on piano and plenty of witty banter. Would you expect anything else from Phair? Nope.
Since reviews and other misc. shit concerning Liz seems to be accumulating here, here's a few other tidbits: Here's a picture of the Fillmore show poster of Liz's concert last night. The Fillmore show posters are very unique. Found this over at Flickr.com along with assorted photos from fans at the show. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joellejaffe/2606220769 Also found this link to a WNYC Radio - New York Soundcheck interview with Liz back on 6/20. 25 minutes long. http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2008/06/20
It's good to see her back on top.
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