From: owner-support-system-digest@smoe.org (support-system-digest) To: support-system-digest@smoe.org Subject: support-system-digest V10 #61 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 Saturday, June 28 2008 Volume 10 : Number 061 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [support-system] Chicago Encore [BBelbis@aol.com] Re: [support-system] Chicago Encore [Jase ] [support-system] YouTube video: "Help Me Mary" from the Chicago show [Jas] [support-system] NYC Hiro Ballroom 6.26.08 ["Steve Kisko" Subject: Re: [support-system] Chicago Encore BBelbis@aol.com wrote: >Question: at the chicago show, why did she say that she didn't do an encore >in SF, when every review says otherwise. in fact, every review lists the SF >encore to include chopsticks, PB, and the new one (ding dong...)? why did >she feel the need to lie to the chicago audience? does she think we're too >stupid not to notice? > >did she do those same songs in nyc? Liz didn't say that she didn't do an encore in San Francisco; only that she hadn't prepared one for that show and had to wing it. She then went on to say that she still hadn't had a chance to prepare a proper encore and was going to wing it again. Her comments are paraphrased in the review at http://faronheit.blogspot.com/2008/06/show-recap-liz-phair-vic-chicago-62408.html: "When we played San Francisco yesterday, the crowd wanted an encore, but I realized I hadn't planned on one, as the album is only the 18 tracks. So I went back on stage and just kind of messed around in a very exploratory fashion and screwed up a bunch of times, but it was fun and a good laugh. The thing is, we hopped on a plane right after the show and spent the day traveling, so I still haven't had time to prepare a legitimate encore. So I'm gonna do what I did last night, and hopefully it'll be just as spontaneous and fun." I don't recall her using the word "spontaneous", but the rest is close to what I remember her saying. In any case, it was an incredible show. Easily in the top 3 Liz shows I've attended. Cheers, Jase ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:11:17 -0400 From: Jase Subject: [support-system] YouTube video: "Help Me Mary" from the Chicago show I just uploaded a short clip I took of Liz performing "Help Me Mary" at the Vic Theatre on Tuesday night. If anyone wants to check it out, the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HmA30E8GA. I took a few other videos at the show, but not all of them turned out as well as I hoped. In any case, I will be uploading the remaining ones sometime this weekend and will send a post to the list with the links. Cheers, Jase ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:21:37 -0500 From: "Steve Kisko" Subject: [support-system] NYC Hiro Ballroom 6.26.08 Ken asked for some New Yawk reflections, so here's what I can remember (it was kind of a blur, as this was the most exhausted I'd ever been at a rock show, I thought I was going to fall face-first into the [rather impressive] pedal board directly in front of me . . . ) Any harsh reviews you may have come across out of Chicago can and should be disregarded. Liz delivered exactly what was promised -- except for that "solo acoustic" thing. Thankfully, they were NOT, because this is a classic rock, electric guitar album, and the band she assembled did an amazing (no, a really *fucking* amazing) job of recreating the arrangements we've grown so accustomed to hearing on the record. Like the 2 snares on "Soap Star Joe," the chorus pedal on "Dance of the Seven Veils," the sleigh bells and lack of bass on "Fuck & Run," the drones of "Explain It To Me" and "Shatter," and all of Brad Wood's idiosyncratic drumming. And the flourishes that her 2nd/lead guitarist (whose name I can't recall) added were really sweet -- much, much, much more palatable and inventive than anything any of her other guitarists have brought to her live shows over the past 10 years. Overall, these guys were the best backing band she's had since 1994. This is to say nothing of the fact that she herself had to painstakingly re-learn half the album in order to do these shows. I'm a big Liz Phair geek from way back, and I'm more than a little embarrassed to say I basically know how to play all of Liz's parts on the album. So naturally I spent a fair amount of time staring intently at her fingers on the fretboard. What really intrigued me was how she managed to recreate the melodies of the more obviously complicated songs, almost note for note, even when she wasn't using the same fingerings as the originals. "Strange Loop" was particularly impressive in this regard; there's already a video up on YouTube of it from Chicago (incorrectly identified as a "first ever" performance of the song). You can't make out exactly what she's playing -- hopefully a clearer, full video bootleg of one of these shows will eventually surface -- but even if you just listen, it's obviously a very authentic adaptation. I'm going to go ahead and say this is the best I've seen her play since ... ever? At least since 1993-1995, which was before I even had the means to attend a Liz Phair show. Other disjointed observations : Liz used her old Duo-Sonic and Musicmaster guitars as well as a natural-finish Telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul. She said Brad & Casey had been really helpful in preparations for this mini-tour, adding that it was Brad who advised: "NO capos!" Wherever a capo was required, she used a guitar that had already been tuned up (one full step or a step and a half, in the cases of the Duo Sonic and the Telecaster, respectively) or down (in the case of the Les Paul -- used only on "Soap Star Joe," to the best of my recollection), just like on the album. The Musicmaster was in standard tuning. She used an open tuning on "Shatter" (which key, I couldn't tell), played on the Duo-Sonic. And she detuned it herself! Imagine that. "Canary" was played on the keyboard with the full intro -- using that same great echo/delay effect -- by her guitarist. Liz stood at the microphone, hands in the pockets of her leather hot pants, looking very pensive (or at least affecting a pensive gaze). Casey Rice's lead guitar part on "Mesmerizing" -- long absent from her live performances of the song since 1998 -- was fortunately resurrected by her new guitarist, and it smoked. Liz broke her high E string halfway through it. I made extensive, thrilling eye-contact with Liz during "Fuck & Run." More on that later. "Shatter," which hadn't been played live since 1994, caused me to turn to my longtime internet buddy Meredith (reunited at last!) and exclaim, "This is blowing my mind." Liz was joined on stage by a female friend (Blake?) who sang the backup vocal on "Flower." "Gunshy" was pretty humorous, with Liz doing double duty on the 'wife/gunshy' part at the end. "Stratford On Guy" was blisteringly, ferociously rocking. I can't quite find the words. It's probably my favorite Liz Phair song, and I don't think I've ever seen her do it with a full band, except maybe once 10 years ago, but I know for a fact it couldn't have been as hardcore as this version. Seriously brutal, in the best possible way. Ditto "Strange Loop": Meredith turned to her boyfriend and said, "This is almost surreal." The powerful breakdown/cleanup at the end of the song, combined with the energy of the crowd, made for a simultaneously chaotic and bittersweet moment as the show was drawing to a close. But! We got a groovy encore, featuring "Chopsticks" (only one note flubbed on the piano), a special-request version of "May Queen" (sloppy but still really, really great to hear), "Wild Thing," and "Polyester Bride." "Wild Thing" needed a little help from the audience, as Liz couldn't remember the last verse. A chivalrous young man, front row center, who'd earlier helped her adjust the height of her mic stand, was actually INVITED ON STAGE, the lucky motherfucker, to help her sing the last verse, but when he said he couldn't remember it either, she handed him her Musicmaster to PLAY HIMSELF, the lucky motherfucker, and with a little help from yours truly ("If there's a lesson to be learned...!"), Liz finished the song to the capacity crowd's immense enthusiasm. I'm also more than a little embarrassed to say that it had long been one of my fantasies to be invited onstage by Liz to help with an old or rarely performed song, I just never would have guessed that it would actually fuckin' happen, nor that I *wouldn't* be the lucky motherfucker who got to do it. But it's just as well, because I probably would have passed out from the trauma anyway. Congratulations to the dude who had the privilege. If you're reading this: you rocked. Video of the entire incident is already available on You Tube. Search for "Liz Phair Wild Thing." It's the one that's over 3 minutes long. Before Liz decided to go through with "Wild Thing," or maybe afterward while she was re-tuning her guitar (the aforementioned lucky motherfucker had apparently been extra aggressive with it), an audience member asked her why it was left off the deluxe reissue. She explained that, as had been speculated, there were publishing/copyright issues that she'd come up against: she would have had to pay for the right to use the song, and the original songwriter would have had to receive full credit, with Liz receiving none. She didn't think that was fair, and decided to leave it off, adding that the parties involved evidently didn't have a sense of humor about it. I waited around for about 20 minutes after the show and sure enough Liz came out with two girlfriends and talked to the throng of fans who were gathered outside the front door of the Hiro Ballroom. In the past, I've been more forward when it came to chatting up the performers after a concert, if I'd wanted to do that sort of thing, but this time, I just kind of stood around, and I'll be damned if Liz didn't approach me herself and say, "Hey! I saw you in the crowd! Thanks for coming..." extending her hand to me. I may have blown whatever chemistry I'd like to believe we had going when I unleashed a boorish torrent of obscenities in my attempt to offer high praise: "You fuckin' rocked, man! Holy shit, I mean, Stratford-On-Guy into Strange Loop? That shit blew my fuckin' mind. Unreal!" Either way, I got her to laugh. I also accidentally ended up following her & her friends down the street to 8th Avenue (and they walked very, very slowly). The subway entrance I needed was at the corner of 16th St. and 8th Ave., and I just kind of stood there, next to Liz Phair, for several moments while they talked about where they were going ("Is it north or south?"), where the best place would be to hail a cab, etc. I considered asking, "Hey, you guys going out somewhere now?" but I was a sweaty mess and feeling more than a little creepy about even contemplating asking, and so I told myself, "Man, you got more than your money's worth. Quit while you're ahead." And then I went home. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:38:19 -0500 From: "Tyler Coates" Subject: Re: [support-system] NYC Hiro Ballroom 6.26.08 On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 3:21 AM, Steve Kisko wrote: "Shatter," which hadn't been played live since 1994, caused me to turn to my longtime internet buddy Meredith (reunited at last!) and exclaim, "This is blowing my mind." I agree - watching the guitarist recreate the sound for the show in Chicago was absolutely amazing. Also, Liz introduced "Strange Loop" as having never been played live before. I turned to my friend and said, "I just heard a live bootleg of that this morning!" Still, I appreciate a little audience pandering every now and then. :) Tyler. ------------------------------ End of support-system-digest V10 #61 ************************************