CONCERT REVIEW: Liz Phair @ TLA, 12/16

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CONCERT REVIEW: Liz Phair @ TLA, 12/16

POSTED: Friday, December 17, 2010, 7:30 PM

Filed Under: Music Concert Review

words by M.J. Fine | photo by Chris Sikich

Most Liz Phair songs are, at root, about knowing what you want but not how to get it. Thursday night, she showed she knew what the smallish crowd wanted, and exactly how to give it to them. She's released three albums in the past decade, but you'd hardly know it from the setlist, which included just a pair of songs apiece from this year's Funstyle (the needy "Oh, Bangladesh!" and a rockin' "And He Slayed Her") and 2003's Liz Phair (Top 40 hits "Extraordinary" and "Why Can't I?"), and nothing at all from '05 dud Somebody's Miracle. Instead, she drew heavily on earlier material, especially her 1993 debut, Exile in Guyville, which provided nine of the show's 19 numbers. And the fans hung on her every word, heartily singing along with "6'1"" and "Fuck and Run," pumping their fists to "Divorce Song," helping Phair remember the lyrics to "Soap Star Joe," and clamoring to join her on stage to sing the high part of "Flower." (The lucky volunteer, Ashley — who performed ably if not as memorably as the guy who got the job a few years back — returned to the pit to back pats and a cry of "I wanna be you right now!") But Phair was the average, everyday sane-psycho supergoddess people had paid to see, and she was eating it up. Backed by a competent but generic band, she was clearly having a good time, engaged in the songs and the audience in a way she wasn't able to the first time around. A self-deprecating story about admiring opener Chris Brokaw from afar when they were undergraduates at Oberlin was eagerly received, as was her appreciation for the blurters in the room. And the set's shortcomings only further endeared her to the crowd. Her voice sounded thin in spots, and she struggled to get in key for "Why Can't I?" A shouted-out request for "Shitloads of Money" was obliged on the spot, though the band hadn't rehearsed it, and Phair pulled it off with her sheer charisma. No doubt a few loyalists were rooting for a scrap or two from her Girlysound demos, a couple more selections from Whip-smart and whitechocolatespaceegg, or even an OMG moment from Funstyle. Those people didn't necessarily get all they'd sought. But for once, to paraphrase one of Phair's contemporaries, everyone wanted what they got. See Also: Reconsider Me: Liz Phair

nick

Posted 2010-12-17 18:14:47

Nice review; spot on.

Ken

Posted 2010-12-20 20:46:39

Do you happen to remember the entire setlist Liz played that evening?

Steve

Posted 2010-12-21 00:13:16

The concert was a blast. I was expecting some acoustical work from Liz, but this was all electric. Very fast paced concert. The only two down tempo songs were Mesmerizing and Perfect World. 

Liz is a major crush of mine, which may explain why I enjoy all her music, including that "dud", Somebody's Miracle. I would have liked something from that album thrown in. I also wanted more of Funstyle. But I was happy with what I got, as were the fans.

BTW: I thought the sound system at the TLA was great. I love the tone of Liz's voice but I thought for sure it would get drowned out by the instruments. Not to worry, her vocals came through very strong.

Howard

Posted 2010-12-29 15:37:43

Steve, glad to hear the sound was good where you were. I was right up front and couldn't hear a word. 

And FYI, I was the guy who sang "Flower" with Liz back in '08, as the article references. That was a nice surprise :-)

Charlotte

Posted 2011-01-23 17:01:50

great review. 

slightly disappointed that nothing was played from Somebody's Miracle and very little from her Liz Phair album. The concert was really fast paced and it seemed to fly by.

she was fantastic as always, she even gave me an autograph after the show

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