I never got around to listen to Liz Phair's self-titled major label debut. Having heard that album's single "Why Can't I?" and reading the harsh criticsm directed to the album, it wasn't difficult to be discouraged. I won't say that "Why Can't I?" is a bad song. It's not a great song. At best, it's a pleasant pop song which suffers from glossy production. From what I've read about her new album "Somebody's Miracle", Liz continues her quest for mainstream pop acceptance but with a better selection of songs to assist her this time. I've heard a handful of songs off the new album, including "Everything To Me" and "Stars and Planets" which are more convincing. To be honest, I didn't initially warm up to "Everything To Me" because I found it lyrically a bit corny, but that aside, melodically it started to sink in after several listens. I think I'm pretty open-minded about music and I was more than willing to give Liz a chance live to prove herself(and the new songs) to me. Openers Matt Pond PA performed a great set of their energetic cello-laden pop music. I guess they are still wallowing in obscurity since, save for a loyal group of music fans at the front of the stage, there wasn't any mad rush by the rest of the crowd when Matt Pond PA subtly began their set. New cellist Dana Feder was outstanding and showed herself to be a more than capable replacement for previous cellist Eve Miller. They began their set with "Halloween" off the new record "Several Arrows Later". I was disappointed they didn't play "Grave's Disease", but thankfully they ended their brief but spectactular set with two surefire winners, a song off of "Measure"(can someone help me with the name of the song - it has a great chorus that features a snazzy punctuated cello arrangement) and "Closest" off of "Emblems". Wonderful.
While Liz Phair may have made a conscious decision to pursue a more mainstream pop direction(to the disappointment of some fans), she proved live that she has a kick-ass back catalogue to fall back on. Liz started off the set on acoustic guitar with an additional guitarist to perform a couple of songs, before her and her band launched into a dynamic set of songs. She may no longer possess the same emotional intent which drove her career in the past but she performed no less potent versions of such classics like "Fuck and Run" and "Flower". She performed a good number of songs from "Exile In Guyfille", which in addition to the aforementioned ones, also included "6'1"", "Help Me Mary", "Never Said", "Soap Star Joe", and "Mesmerizing". I recognized a couple from "Whip-Smart", including "Cinco De Mayo", and "Supernova" and at least three from Whitechocolatespaceegg" which included "Polyster Bride", "Shitloads of Money", and "Girls' Room". I'm not familiar with her two major label releases although I know she played "Why Can't I?" and "Rock Me" from her self-titled release and "Somebody's Miracle" off her newest album of the same name.
The crowd enthusiastically sang along with many songs, showing that her Toronto fanbase was very strong. While I can't necessarily fault fans who sang along with Liz, there were a few fans who sang a little TOO loud. Yeah, we all know you're Liz's BIGGEST fan, so why don't you tone it down just a tad? Fans also got a little over-zealous at times with the song requests. Normally, you'd shout out song requests during an encore or if the artist prompted for requests. However, especially during the second half of the set, between songs, fans CONTINUALLY bleated out song requests. It just became annoying after awhile. I know you want Liz to play "Whitechocolatespaceegg", but fuck, how about giving us all a break with having to hear you repeat it ad nauseum.
While there were a number of songs in the set I didn't recognize, I wasn't sure whether they were the newer songs. Conspicuously absent in the setlist was Liz's first single "Everything To Me" off the new album, and "Stars and Planets", also off the new album, which I'd both thought would have been a surefire setlist additions. It's too bad she didn't play these songs because I was really interested to hear how these songs would come across live.
Liz was in good spirits for the entire night. Liz made a sly reference to her performance of "God Bless America" at the World Series the night before even joking with audience whether she should break out into a rendition of it right then. Somewhat yelled out for her to play "O, Canada" which actually prompted Liz for a moment to try to figure out the chords and lyrics, but to no avail. I remember reading way back in the 90's about her first gig in Toronto, which if I recall correctly, was at the El Mocambo. It's no secret how inexperienced and nervous she was back then. It was very satisfying to see how confident a performer she's become. Even a song like the slinky rock of "Rock Me", which usually wouldn't be a song I'd be drawn to, had a certain charm as Liz cozied up to the mic, swaying sexily. So while the new songs may not measure up to the standards of the older ones, Liz proved herself to be a very worthy live act to check out. And she's damn adorable too.
[photos from the show]
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