Lilith Fair's Final Go-Round Kicks Off In British Columbia
Festival's opener in founder Sarah McLachlan's
Vancouver hometown includes sets by
McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Mya, Beth Orton.
Staff Writer Chris Nelson reports:
The third and final Lilith Fair kicked off Thursday at Vancouver,
British Columbia's Thunderbird Stadium with performances by
the tour's founder, singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan, as well
as rocker Sheryl Crow, R&B singer Mya, folkie Beth Orton,
light-funk group Luscious Jackson and pop band Sixpence
None the Richer.
With both McLachlan and singer/songwriter Bif Naked residing
in Vancouver, and popular Canadian singer Deborah Cox also
on the bill, the gig assumed the warm ambience of a
hometown affair, according to Marty Diamond, one of the
tour's managing partners.
"It was all-around good vibes everywhere," said Diamond, who
confirmed that this will be the popular tour's last outing.
A near sell-out crowd of about 16,000 people watched 11
acts on three stages, under a sky that started off overcast but
grew progressively clearer, Diamond said.
After McLachlan's headlining performance, the rest of the
lineup returned to the stage for a group rendition of
singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon's 1969 top-five hit,
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart."
R&B singer Mya opened her set with "Ghetto Supastar"
(RealAudio excerpt), the hit single by Fugees rapper Pras
Michel on which she provides the chorus. Halfway through her
performance, the 19-year-old launched into a tap-dance
routine that was choreographed with her percussionist.
"Mya was amazing," Terry McBride, McLachlan's manager,
said. "She brought out a tap-dance board that had mics on it
and danced along with a hand drummer."
One week before the launch of the 40-date, female-focused
tour, McLachlan said Lilith has helped tear down some
unwritten tenets of the concert industry, including the notion
that fans won't turn out for a bill with only women artists.
"We've proven [the old rules] wrong time and time again," she
said (RealAudio excerpt of interview). "There's a huge
audience out there that enjoys hearing not two, but many
women back to back. So I think it's definitely opened up some
doors."
Performing with a full band behind her, Orton's set included
the single "Stolen Car" (RealAudio excerpt) from Central
Reservation, as well as tracks from her 1997 debut, Trailer
Park.
McLachlan closed out the eight-hour event with a performance
that touched on work from throughout her songbook, including
"I Will Remember You," the new single from her live disc,
Mirrorball, and such fan favorites as "Sweet Surrender" and
"Ice Cream."
Al Peterson, assistant manager for the nearby affiliated
Thunderbird Arena, said he enjoyed McLachlan's spangled
blue pants, which the singer referred to as her "Elvis pants."
While he said he enjoyed Crow's set most 霠"I like music a
little rockier," he said 霠his favorite performance of the evening
was McLachlan's solo piano rendition of "Angel" (RealAudio
excerpt) from Surfacing (1997).
"Her voice was crystal clear," he said. "She delivered the song
perfectly."
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