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. 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