When th pedestrlans take over
The Ann Arbor Art Fair is Wednesday
through Saturday, and The Daily will be
covering this literally and figuratively Monday
traffic-stopping event next week.
July 13, 199S
Lilith
ihts u
By A
Ii seem 5( s likevc~ aii the
TwO wmen o the amehill? No oe
wii ir si i ill shviw us u
Su people did show sip - and in
such large numbers that Lilith hair was
the most successful tou of the summer
of 97. Featuring only female-headed
bands, the tour
sold out venues
across the coun-
iry.
Lilith This year, Sarah
Met achlan's
Fair braischild is back,
Pine Knob and when the festi-
July 6s val passed through
Detroit last
Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesda;
the sold-out show
gave no signs of
slowing dowun. In
fact, organizers
had worked to
make this year's lair e\ eii a little hetter
than last iears
& The '98 lineup was slightly more
diverse than last simmier s. which con-
sisted almost entirely of two groups of
people - pop stars such as Paula Cole
*V7-
AP PHOTO
Sinead O'Conner's beautiful voice filled the air at Pine Knob last week, where she
was just one of a talented group of Lilith Fair performers.
and Shawn Colvin and soft-spoken,
acoustic guitar players such as Patty
Griffin and Beth Orton.
As superbly as these artists per-
forned, it was good to see Lilith Fair
embrace music from more genres this
time around. Litany and Sister 7 filled
the second stage with a harder sound,
while Imani Coppola gave a unique,
danceable sound with hints of R&B.
he best addition to the Pine Knob
show was country favorite Bonnie Raitt.
Many concert-goers who weren't coun-
try fans at the beginning of the day
changed their minds once tley saw Raitt
bning the place to its feet with upbeat
rhythms and amazing slide guitar.
All the big names gave commend-
able performances on the main stage.
Sinead O'Connor proved herself to be
more than a one-hit wonder as she
played appealing new material filled
with inviting melodies and thought-
provoking lyrics.
The Indigo Girls, who last year played
only old hits and new songs to promote
their most recent album, refreshingly
changed things around this year. The
girls branched out and lost their com-
mercial motivation by playing songs
such as "Chickenman," "I Don't Wanna
Know" and even their cover of the Neil
Young classic "Down by the River."
Natalie Merchant won the prize for
best entertainer when she hopped onto
the stage wearing bright clothes and
carrying a tray of snacks which she
passed out to the crowd. Her energy
made her performance the most fun -
she sang on a colorfully decorated
platform, talked intimately with the
crowd and improvised on the hit song
"Kind and Generous," handing the
microphone off to random audience
members to allow them to sing the
chorus.
But the crowd favorite was
McLachlan, who headlined each night
with a strong setlist, perfectly combining
old and new tunes. McLachlan was the
only artist to come out for an encore, dur-
ing which she drove the crowd wild by
playing a remarkable version of "Adia."
Each night ended when all the day's
performers crowded onto the stage to
sing one final, upbeat song together,
allowing concert-goers to leave on a
happy note.
But the end of the night wasn't the
only time different groups performed
with each other One of the greatest parts
of Lilith Fair was the sense of commu-
nity between the performers. There was-
n't a single set by a main stage per-
former that didn't include the addition of
a member from another band.
Raitt did an incredible job singing a
verse of the Indigo Girls' "Closer to
Fine" and the lead singer of Sister 7
came up at the last second to take over
vocals for Natalie Merchant on "Kind
and Generous."
The sense of community and diver-
sity of Lilith Fair wasn't just present in
the performers. Walking through Pine
Knob was like walking through a
small town where everyone's standing
outside their door, just waiting to talk
to you. Booths were set up everywhere
See LILITH, Page 10
ms-c 5 ii a i
ture u oNssse
sus rltg mes
tinged psy ee smashing
delia.
Somehow, the Pumpkins
band managed to State Theater
transcend the uly 8
angst-ridden,
anti-establish-
ment rock ethics
popularized by
twin titans
Nirvana and
Pearl Jam, prov-
ing it was possi-
ble to simultaneously produce intelli-
gent music and attain widespread popu-
larity.
With four albums to their credit, all
of which have met with huge commer-
cial and critical success, the Pumpkins
have launched themselves into the U2/
R E.M. rock-god stratosphere. But
%xiht-ilfc all-mim "At"^ " C - ra
hs .e. cd h ve redecs
theirplag,,destseagedhea-nd'cs prndi
blak-csia wdrk it siip) pid hautin-
slly as at lopeerTol "
Tha s inh kpppre mhev, ehwthe
thepnetwsosh"ehld eshtheighew
an "ug," moth ronahchvetuedanthe
pbz w e iirtc oC r
asuilms y I
oeiuing die isidiesae (sa disere is
of drsken s-eys 12-cr-nsleis i
their parents, aged headnbaers ind
black-clad altemateens) awid the beats-
fully delicaite album-opener "Tis Shieil,"
the guys wvere off to a fairly trinquill
start.
That soon changed, however, with
the next two songs, "Behold the Night
and "Pug," both of which featured the
twin buzz-saw guitar attack of Corgan
and James tha.
Continuing on with a steady string of
new songs, the Pumpkins pummeled
the crowd with carmonballs in the
shape of guitar chords and drum beits
(the band featured not one, not twobut
three percussionists).
"Tear," a song that is outshined by the
others on the album, became one uf she
night's high points. A heroic hook sisg-
mented by arm sWaths of syntheseier
and catchy voesls, "fear" wss trans-
fsrmed into a sweeping epic by lsisil
piaoan d outer-space guitar work.
Two sisngs from the I 995 album
"Melancholy and the Infinite Sadness"
appeared -- "Tonight, Tonight" and
"Bullet with Butterfly Wings." White
"Tonight, Tonight" was stripped dowun
spare and played acoustically, "Bullet
with Butterfly WIngs" was given a
sereaming rebirth with an enormous
tribal dnan intro.
Amidst pounding rhythmic spasms,
Corgan unleashed barbed wire guitar
and babbled about being "a rat in a
cage." What with his black suit and
shaved head, he resembled a raving
cross between Mr. Clean and Lucifer
himself.
The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan
rah McLachlan gives a breathtaking
rformance.
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9pm - close
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