Lilith lights up Detroit

It seems like just yesterday all the critics were saying, "It will never work. Two women on the same bill? No one will show up."

But people did show up - and in such large numbers that Lilith Fair was the most successful tour of the summer of '97. Featuring only female-headed bands, the tour sold out venues across the country.

REVIEW Lilith Fair July 6-8 Pine Knob

This year, Sarah McLachlan's brainchild is back, and when the festival passed through Detroit last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the sold-out show gave no signs of slowing down. In fact, organizers had worked to make this year's Fair even a little better than last year's.

The '98 lineup was slightly more diverse than last summer's, which consisted almost entirely of two groups of people - pop stars such as Paula Cole and Shawn Colvin and soft-spoken, acoustic guitar players such as Patty Griffin and Beth Orton.

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.

As superbly as these artists performed, 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.

The best addition to the Pine Knob show was country favorite Bonnie Raitt. Many concert-goers who weren't country fans at the beginning of the day changed their minds once they saw Raitt bring the place to its feet with upbeat rhythms and amazing slide guitar.

All the big names gave commendable 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 commercial 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.

AP PHOTO Sarah McLachlan gives a breathtaking performance.

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, during 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 community between the performers. There wasn't a single set by a main stage performer 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 diversity 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 and run by friendly people ready to strike up a conversation with anyone who walked by.

Some of them did so only because they were trying to sell something - a hemp necklace, a T-shirt or even a Henna tattoo - but others were there to spread the word and promote activism on issues like domestic abuse, environmental destruction and abortion rights.

And they were getting their messages out to a crowd that was even more diverse than last year's. Throughout the venue, teeny-boppers sat next to lesbian couples who sat next to businessmen who sat next to families with small children. About 40 percent of the attendants were male, proving that it's not just women who are willing to listen to women's music.

The combination of great music and a great atmosphere made last week's Lilith Fair a spectacular showcase of what "girl power" is really all about.

07-13-98