October 21, 1998
Fans get a show to remember

Liz Phair bared her breasts in front of a sold-out Opera House last night.

To be accurate, she bared her breasts on film in front of about 800 people last night.

The pose was part of a half-hour long slide show that preceded the edgy rocker's 90-minute show. There was nothing artsy or edgy here. Think of the type of pictures that would result if you and a bunch of your closest friends jumped into a photo booth and began goofing around.

One of 'em would eventually lift her top or drop his pants, there'd be lots of sneering and manic mugging going on.

The novelty of starting a concert this way -- someone next to me remarked at how self-indulgent this move was -- wore thin after the slide show, which was accompanied by music from Iggy Pop, Violent Femmes, Prince and Dionne Farris, went into re-runs. Most people's attention moved away from the screen to their friends, cigarettes and beer.

Just when the 'show' was getting tiresome, the indie queen and her four-piece group kicked into Explain It To Me and began blowing off slices of power pop from her three albums with hardly any banter in between.

A bit of background information on Phair before we discuss a couple of songs that evoked the loudest reaction of the night: Since releasing her debut album, Exile In Guyville, five years back, Phair has been constantly tagged as a sexually explicit songwriter who pens irresistibly catchy tunes that, as she once said, would "start to freak you out 10 days down the road."

Johnny Feelgood, with its lyrics, "I hate him all the time but I still get up when he knocks me down and he orders me around 'cause it loosens me up and I can't get enough," is one of those songs. It was slightly surreal watching members of both sexes smiling while bopping their heads to the song delivered in Phair's conversational tone.

Flower is another one of Phair's hugely popular songs. Delivered a capella, it contains lines like, "I want to be your blow-job queen," and "I want to suck you 'til your d--- turns blue." And it received the response she knew it would.

Of course, there's more to Liz Phair than her blunt observations. She can be deeply confessional -- listen to ballads like Polyester Bride and Perfect World -- and has a knack of saying what's on a woman's mind in a way few of her contemporaries can while making room for the guys to relate fully.

This is why, one assumes, she's so huge.

JAM! Rating: 3 out of 5