On the fourth and final night of hermulti-city sold-out Exile in Guyville performances, Liz Phair exudedcool effervescence through her skintight vest and tousled hair. Quietlyconfident, amid reactions from critics that her recentstring of shows were anti-climactic and stiff, Phair casually breezed through all eighteen songs fromthealbum and few other precious gems during a short encore.
Admittedly, afterreading a few less-than-stellar reviews of Phair’s show in Chicago, Ihad lowered expectations stepping into the Hiro Ballroom a few minutesbefore she took the stage. But as the first few chords of "6′1" rangout, a huge smile stretched across my face, one I saw plastered acrossevery otherperson in the crowd. At times out of tune or mired inlyrical fogginess, the hour and a halflongset was fun yet surprisingly bittersweet. Was it really 15 yearsago thatExile came out? (I feel old. And I’m not even 30 yet!)
Singingalong to every single song, I couldn’t care less about whatever her motivations were: whether she was there tocash in on the recent wave of early ’90s nostalgia, revive hertrying-to-stay-relevant career, or merely market copies of her newreissue. To hear one of your all-time favorite albums performed live in itsentirety is a once in a lifetime opportunity, one especially personal to me since Exile hasretained significance in my life, contributing to my sexual development in awkward teenageyears and even now providing perspective on the recent dissolution of arelationship. Its timeless lyrics and themes make me wonder how youngwomen react hearing it for thefirst time in this day and age, or if they react at all. Is a song like "Flower" stillprovocative in the age of Tila Tequila and Pussycat Dolls? And where have all the brutally honest, whip-smartfemale singer-songwriters gone?
For those who missed the show, here’s a short clip from "Divorce Song," one of many crowd favorites from last night. (Warning: Some NSFW language.)
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I was there on Wednesday night, and it was a blast. I too had read the Chicago review, but perhaps New York just brought out her best. The album sounded great, and though her encore was short, it sounded and felt like the entire crowd had a blast, at least from my perspective, 5 feet from the stage.
I wish I could have gone!!! This review makes me so jealous!!!
Few artists have managed to remain awesome over the years the way Liz Phair has. Wish I could have made it to that gig.
Don’t listen to the Chicago reviewers. They take great pleasure in bashing Liz. As someone at the Chicago show, whose agenda was merely to listen to music (imagine that!), I can assure you, she was incredible.
ugh, i am so jealous but i’m glad for everyone who saw it. never gonna happen again.. but hey, she’s on an indie label again and if her new album is a quarter of an inch as fabulous as exile in guyville, good time will be had by all. liz stands alone in her own quirky place in rock. no one can touch her. she dances on the grave of katy perry.
“brutally honest, whip-smart female singer-songwriters gone?”
there’s a new wave of female singer-songwriters, and although they don’t compare to Ms. Phair they do pack a certain punch…like Sara Bareilles, Nicole Atkins, Katy Perry, Adele
It was a Ph-enomenal show. It was such a trip to go through every song. You can’t ever hear an album for the first time again, but this was as close as possible to it. The silence during the end of “Gunshy” shows how much everyone was into it as the hushed words “gunshy” and “wife” faded into the air. The New York crowds were soooooooo into it.
LK–sorry but those girls you just mentioned could never hold a candle to Liz, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple or even Alanis Morissette. Today we got girls who might be good songwriters, but don’t have the grit, backbone, and adventurousness of the 90s female-singer songwriters. Today is just a different time, and a more mainstream (less interesting?) kind of girl.
I’m so jealous! As a 40 year old who spends most of her time either being a mom or thinking about work, it was hard to swallow the fact that Exile in Guyville has been reissued, since I bought it the first week it was released. I saw Liz once at an Austin City Limits festival, and with all festival shows, if you love an act, the shorter performance is never enough. Maybe she’ll change her mind and add some more tour dates. Or I’ll just live vicariously through YouTube. I’m going to make my two boys (many years from now when they’re teens) listen to Liz’s music and make sure that they get the point. Such important and awesome songwriting that still resonates.
“And where have all the brutally honest, whip-smart female singer-songwriters gone?”
They got overran by a bunch of anorexic, urban, skanky, no-talent, strippers like PCD, Fergie, etc. That’s what happened to them, sad to say.