Underneath it All, She's Still a Rocker Grrl
Liz Phair Makes it Happen

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>> Phair showed she's still got it. >>

>> Hollywood, CA, September 17, 2003 >>Entering the newly refurbished Avalon Theater, formerly the venerable Palace Theater, one couldn’t escape the air of uncertainty surrounding the main event, the return of Liz Phair.  In many ways, the question was whether Phair and the Avalon had a lot in common – the same basic structure with a new coat of paint and a little gloss around the edges – or if she truly had revitalized a career that once seemed predestined but had somehow become derailed.

Phair has long been something of an enigma; notorious for her stage fright, a symbol of the rocker grrl movement, yet also able to channel immense sexuality and sensuality.  In some ways, you were never sure what you would get.  It was that unpredictability that made her all the more alluring.

But this is the newly remodeled Liz Phair, replete with hits, a solid showing on the sales charts, and a career reborn.  It’s a change that has lost her a fair portion of the indie-girl crowd she championed ten years ago, but it’s been a long time and many of those girls are now the women she seems appealing to.   Many in the current indie generation still to look to Phair’s debut, Exile In Guyville, as one of the benchmarks for indie cred, but it’s a part of her past, and Phair seems much more focused on the now.

>> Phair was feeling it. >>

Taking the stage in a rather short wooly green dress and high heels with lots of leg on display, Phair appeared extremely comfortable, with her bouts of stage fright a thing of the past as well.  Phair seems to have entered the same realm that Sheryl Crow has entered – they’re still sexy, all grown up and happy with where they are in life.

Most comfortable with a guitar strapped over her, Phair’s playing ability was as strong and impressive as ever, though it felt a bit out of place with the pop star look of her dress.  Playing with the crowd and moving effortlessly through her set, Phair felt comfortable enough to declare, “I’m changing the set list tonight…after all, this is LA.”

>> Liz Phair. >>

Phair’s backing band did an admirable job of letting her hold the spotlight, even disappearing at times so she could move back into some lo-fi work.  It all worked well enough that occasionally you could forget that she was wearing a dress suitable for Kylie Minogue and be forced to simply focus on her voice and guitar work.

Interspersing revitalized older tracks in with her slicker new songs, nothing felt too disjointed or out of sorts.  When the intro to a song was botched, Phair rolled with it rather well, explaining, “I fucked that up, but then, I do like to fuck things up sometime.”

The fans took it all in stride, for the most part supporting Phair without question.  It was a very mixed crowd: a smattering of young angry girls searching for an idol, most of them leaning along the walls, with the majority of the floor dominated by long-time fans, now solidly in their thirties as well and still solidly behind Phair.  In the rear of the venue, near the bar, the typical LA industry types had staked out their territory, more concerned with being seen, exchanging the cursory faux-kisses and monitoring their cell phones. 

>> Phair belts it out at the Avalon. >>

There was even a little star power thrown in, most notable the always stunning Liv Tyler, with entourage, and super-director Kevin Smith, without entourage.

In the end, though, the evening was about Liz Phair and no one else.   Where the Avalon may be the Palace with some modest alterations, Liz Phair is still her own person, ten years into a musical career that has had it’s highs and lows, but she continues to make her own way, unapologetically.  Her music may not have the edge it once did, but she still knows what she wants, and her live show said as much.