Rocker Liz Phair played a sold-out show at the 9:30 club Sunday night to close her recent tour. Phair and her openers, Wheat and Rachael Yamagata, brought in mostly 20-to-30-somethings, but also several teenage girls itching to hear Phair's single "Why Can't I," which has been a mainstay on top-40 radio since last year.
"Why Can't I" comes off Phair's recent self-titled album," in which she teamed up with several other songwriters, including Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff and hit-makers The Matrix, for a more mainstream sound. Most hardcore Phair fans were turned off by the poppy sound, and the crowd did not know what to expect: ambitious indie-rock pioneer or heavily produced M.I.L.F.? Anticipation was in the air.
Rock outfit Wheat, who dressed like an even wussier version of Maroon 5, played a weak set before Phair. As each mediocre song blended together, it became abundantly clear that the band lacked life and seemed just as bored as the crowd during their set.
Singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata, on the other hand, played an interesting and emotional set to open the night. Yamagata's songs varied from soft piano to hard-rocking electric guitar. Despite the fact that the chords to "Worn Me Down" were the same as Bush's "Glycerene," Yamagata's vocals, which were in the vein of Norah Jones (only with more Janis Joplin angst) made the song the best of her set.
Phair opened with a full-band version of "Flower," from her debut album "Exile in Guyville," in which she declared, "I will be your blowjob queen." Phair has always been notorious for her sexually charged lyrics, and she didn't waste any time getting to the point.
Her set was mostly songs from her latest album, with older songs mixed in. Fans responded positively to older songs like "Polyester Bride," from Phair's third record "whitechocolatespaceegg," while the reactions to her newer songs ranged from silence to obvious impatience.
The first song off her new record played was "Rock Me," which is perhaps the least clever. With lyrics about sex and XBox interrupted by a chorus of "young guys rule!" sung through a headset microphone, it was obvious that Phair's fans were mostly irritated with her shenanigans. Phair switched guitars before the song; however, instead of playing the guitar as she did with the other songs, she merely danced around the guitar as she held it to the stage vertically. Phair's fans must have been confused. Was this an ironic commentary, or was she actually serious?
Despite Phair sticking to mostly new material, playing tracks from "Liz Phair," like "Bionic Eyes" and "Extraordinary," she received a positive reaction from the crowd overall, throwing in older songs like the piano ballad "Chopsticks" and the defiant "Help Me Mary" in the most appropriate places, as soon as the crowd was growing tiresome of the new material.
Phair has never been known for her voice, but more for her songwriting, and it shows. Her voice is not bad live, but it does not have a very commanding presence. She resorts to vibrato on several notes when it's clear she can't hold them, however she seemed more carefree and less self-conscious of her voice than in the past.
Overall it was a good night for catchy indie-rock in the form of female singer-songwriters, despite Phair's tip-toeing the line between clever and dumb.
