From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V8 #137 Reply-To: support-system@smoe.org Sender: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk support-system-digest Sunday, October 16 2005 Volume 08 : Number 137 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] DC Show Report [Jennifer Luu ] [support-system] Fillmore show? [rachel ] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Creative Loafing) [Kenneth Le] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Washington Post) [Kenneth Lee] [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (75 or Less) [Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] DC Show Report Lani wrote: "did anyone go to her last few shows? didn't she start touring again?" I went to her show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC on Wednesday, October 12. I figured someone else would post about it, but since no one has, here's the report... As always, she was amazing. I read the previous post about her show in Orlando, and it seems fairly similar. Except, she switched two Whitechocolatespaceegg songs for others. The setlist: Fine Again Jeremy Engle Soap Star Joe Baby Got Going Stars and Planets Lazy Dreamer Everything to Me Extraordinary Why Can't I? Rock Me H.W.C. Bionic Eyes 6'1" Glory Mesmerizing Divorce Song Fuck and Run Flower Cinco de Mayo Supernova The first six songs on the list are in the order she actually played them. And she did close with Supernova. She did the first four songs acoustic, and said something about how her last tour has ignited a newfound love for performing her songs acoustically. She did Fine Again by herself, but for the last three acoustic songs, Loverboy Dino came out. At some time during her acoustic set, she said something like, "We'll start with the absurd songs, and then move into the more familiar ones..." I took that on several different levels, and thought it was funny. According to the previous post about the Orlando show, she only played three songs from Somebody's Miracle, and she did that again this time. She played the same Exile songs in Orlando and DC, except in DC, she played Glory instead of Stratford-on-Guy. I was really happy to see her play Cinco de Mayo, and do wish she wouldn't shun Whipsmart so much. But I'm thinking that when she goes to play her "old" stuff, it's just much more likely to be from Exile than from Whipsmart. I mean, I'm not complaining about six songs from Exile. Her arrangement on Flower was really big and the intro was really drawn out, with flashing lights and the like. It was amazing. She had to switch guitars in the middle of Supernova because a string broke on the first one she was using, and she handled it nicely with grace and humor. I can't get over how comfortable and happy she is whenever I see her these days. It's infectious. She is very comfortable talking to the crowd, and there is no doubt that her voice is the best it's ever been. On her trademark octave switch that she's got going on in so many of her songs, she does it now with such frickin' ease! It's just nothing to her. I'm into the rock, so I see a lot of male vocalists wimp out on the high parts in their songs when they play them live. They just sing in a lower key. And it's very disappointing, because those high parts are usually some of the best parts of the song. And it's just awesome to see Liz-- who is regularly criticized for her subpar vocals, and her inability to sing on-key-- handle those octave changes so easily. It makes me really want to hear Go West or Dance of the Seven Veils. Or Count on My Love, for that matter. If I heard her hit those notes live, I'd lose my shit. Also, she wore a ring on her left ring finger. Some loud drunk girls next to me yelled, "LIz, are you married!?!?" And Liz batted back, "No!" with an "of course not, silly!" tone. Also cute and funny...but I do wonder why she wears that ring. Perhaps she just does not attribute the matrimonial significance to that finger that most do. Anyway, I'm going to see her again in New York this coming week. I can't wait. I shall report back then if no one else does. Jennifer - --------------------------------- Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:48:52 -0700 From: rachel Subject: [support-system] Fillmore show? I'm sitting here listening to "Somebody's Miracle" for the first time - - I can't believe I held out this long. I guess I just don't care as much as I used to...sad. Anyway, I'm curious to know if anyone's going to the Fillmore show in San Francisco on Nov. 8. I'm debating whether I should go or not - I haven't seen Liz since she was opening for Jason Mraz at the 9:30 Club right after "LP" came out. The tickets are a little pricey, I'm not quite sure who I'll go with, but...it's Liz. If anyone's going, please let me know! (you can e-mail me off-list) - -Rachel ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 17:46:01 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Creative Loafing) From Creative Loafing: (http://clnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051005/ATLMUSIC10/510050390/-1/ATLMUSIC) Liz Phair "Somebody's Miracle" By Lee Valentine Smith Nowadays, when Liz Phair looks back on her excellent 1993 debut, "Exile in Guyville", she claims she based her ideas on the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main St." because she didn't know how to make a record. On the release of her fifth album, 12 years later, the formerly lo-fi indie poster girl claims that "Somebody's Miracle" is a song-by-song answer to Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life". Like nearly half of the Wonder album, "Somebody's Miracle" dwells on love and relationships. The collection, produced by John Alagia (John Mayer) and John Shanks (Sheryl Crow), places the singer in a Phairytale of nonserrated confections that certainly wouldn't be out of place on a Crow album. But unlike the future Mrs. Armstrong, Phair was once lauded for imperfect vocals and literate, literal lyrics that featured the truth and consequences of fucking. As with 2003's Liz Phair, the disc features the shiny, slightly happier model of the singer/songwriter. If the 38-year-old still spewed her salty bile, folks would probably criticize her for staying in a rut and refusing to change. Look at "Somebody's Miracle" for what it is: an unapologetically slick, well-made adult contemporary record filled with great songs and melodies. This is pop. If you want "Fuck and Run," listen to the old stuff or see her live. Liz Phair plays the Roxy Theatre, with Matt Pond PA, Mon., Oct. 10, 8 p.m. $21-$25. 3110 Roswell Road. 404-249-6400. www.atlantaconcerts.com/roxy.html. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:03:33 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Washington Post) From The Washington Post: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101697.html) "SOMEBODY'S MIRACLE" Liz Phair In 2003, Liz Phair -- everyone's favorite potty-mouthed indie-rocker -- received a trip to the rock-crit woodshed. On that year's self-titled CD, she made like Avril Lavigne's stepmom, teaming with the younger singer's schlock-rock song doctors the Matrix, scoring a saccharine semi-hit with "Why Can't I?" and, to judge from the disc's album-art, spending serious quality time shopping the Delia's catalogue for wardrobe. Dumped on though the album widely was, it still included a clutch of keepers. And Phair's charmingly palpable desire to navigate mainstream tastes added a sense of adventure to what many dismissed as a sellout. Now comes "Somebody's Miracle", and it's, well, more of the same. Pop rockers such as the title track and "Stars and Planets" are pithy, smart and accessible. And while the overwrought "Everything to Me" does veer dangerously close to power-ballad territory, the tune ultimately owes far more to pre-indie icons Big Star than Celine Dion. Meanwhile, tracks like the groove-oriented "Lazy Dreamer" and the jangly set-opener "Leap of Innocence" find Phair in full command of her not-so-secret weapons: lyrics that border on the embarrassingly honest paired with fat pop hooks. The latter track, for instance, finds Phair confessing to a former lover that her biggest mistake "was being already married" over an outsize catchy part that's half ELO, half "Turning Japanese". Will Phair ever make a better record than the thrill-ride great ones she cranked out in the 1990s? Not likely. Still, she's an engaging careerist, one who ought to take a rock critic or two over her knee if and when "Somebody's Miracle" finally yields the chart-topper she richly deserves. - -- Shannon Zimmerman Liz Phair will perform tonight at the 9:30 club. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:44:51 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (75 or Less) From 75 or Less: (http://www.75orless.com/?/archive/2005/10/liz_phair_someb.php) Liz Phair - "Somebody's Miracle" (Capitol) Music probably means more to you than it does to Liz Phair. She's just always happened to be at the right place at the right time. Early on, she sold pre-packaged feminine rage to disaffected college freshmen. And when she could sell highly manicured metaphysical pop to critics, she did it. Now that she's targeting desperate housewives and the Starbucks faithful, it seems to be working as well. I won't fault her for being a savvy operator, but I can't forgive her for embracing banality. - - paul - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 18:34:06 -0700 From: Kenneth Lee Subject: [support-system] Somebody's Miracle review (Knoxville News Sentinel) From The Knoxville News Sentinel: (http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/entertainment_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_360_4152778,00.html) Singer grows, despite demystified aura By CHUCK CAMPBELL "Somebody's Miracle" Liz Phair (Capitol) Rating: *** 1/2 (three and a half stars) Rock critics love to play amateur psychologists, and one of their favorite subjects has been Liz Phair - probably because she hit the scene in such sexy style with 1993's "Exit in Guyville" and most rock critics are male. Phair's march into major-label conventionalism, which peaked with 2003's pop album "Liz Phair," has frustrated overanalyzing critics and fans alike. But it takes Phair about six minutes to shrug them off on a DVD that accompanies her new "Somebody's Miracle". She explains that she didn't really know what she was doing when she recorded "Guyville" and plainly says, in an album-by-album breakdown, that she pretty much always does what she wants to do. So she's a true independent. Deal with it. Those who were devastated by the unmysterious "Liz Phair", which was largely produced by hitmeisters The Matrix, may find solace in her dirtier sound on "Somebody's Miracle". However, that's actually the release's downfall as the distractingly murky music muddles her clear-minded lyrics, the well-articulated thoughts of a 38-year-old divorced mother who's getting a grip on life's complications. "Maybe I'm just too naive to have such faith in myself," she muses on the title track that finds her wondering how to stay in love. On the somewhat rambling "Leap of Innocence," she guiltily offers, "I feel bad for not making our dreams come true," and with a little country twang for support on "Wind and the Mountain," she moans, "There are days when I'm just too tired." "Somebody's Miracle" isn't all cynicism and regret, but up-tempo songs such as "Stars and Planets" and "Can't Get Out of What I'm Into" tend to be uninvitingly raw. (The sweeping closer "Giving It All to You" is a life-affirming exception.) Besides, the vulnerable-voiced singer is most compelling when she's in confessional mode, like when she admits to being "amazingly dishonest" on "Why I Lie" and when she confronts her drinking problem on the waltzing "Table for One" and concludes, "I want to bring down all those people who drank with me, watching happily my humiliation." Turns out the best person to analyze Liz Phair is Liz Phair. - -Ken kenmlee@ix.netcom.com MeSmErIzInG - AnOtHeR LiZ PhAiR WeBsItE http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/2471/ ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V8 #137 ************************************