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September 23rd 1998, UK, London Lilith Fair, Royal Albert Hall
During McLachlan's concert; Sinead duets with Sarah on Angel
* Emperor's New Clothes c/w "There's lonely life for you"
adlib
* You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart
* I Am Stretched On Your Grave
* NC2U
* Thank You For Hearing Me
* In This Heart
* Fire On Babylon c/w "Killer/Rasta Man/Swimming" adlib
* Last Day Of Our Acquaintance
* Redemption Song Finale
by; Mandy Green
Hello
I should really start at the beginning but it's hard because I want to skip forward to the
best parts, but I'll do my best. So, Lisa Loeb started the proceedings with a trio on
strings at about 6.55pm. She was ok but I'm not exactly a fan, so..... anyway the
highlight was when Sarah MacLachlan came out and joined her for one song, I don't know the
title. Next up was N'dea Davenport who is basically a soul diva with a bit of blues thrown
in for good measure and even some Neil Young during which Sarah accompanied her. She was
followed by Beth Orton who quietened things down with a good acoustic set and some funny
banter - she was obviously amused to be playing such a prestigious venue as The Royal
Albert Hall, but she took it in her stride and joked about nicking the nice new RAH towel
afterwards ;-) She released an excellent album in 1997 on Heavenly called
"Trailer Park" and had a new album due out in January.
Next up was Sarah. This was my first live experience of Sarah although she has been a
favourite of mine for years. She wore a red dress and started with Adia on the piano but
then soon stopped with cries of 'Oh God, what was the hell was that?!' after she
messed it up, revealing her nervousness to us explaining that she's used to playing with a
band (where were they?). She was very sweet and fortunately soon overcame her
nerves. Adia was started again and was incredible. Sarah's voice was angelic
perfection. I was entranced and able to appreciate, even more so than on record, the depth
and quality of her voice. Possession was next which has always been a favourite of mine,
particularly the piano version. Full of Grace followed, which she explained she hadn't
played much since she finished Surfacing. Next she decided to lighten things up with Ice
Cream on which she played acoustic guitar. This, she explained was just so that she
wouldn't send us into a deep depression. She gave a remarkable performance and I'd love to
see her headlining here soon - with or without full band. She told us that, for her,
playing these depressing songs is a wonderful experience. Writing them is cathartic and
when she performs them she is happy to be over those experiences. It was back to the piano
for Angel and Sarah was joined by Sinead who helped out during the chorus and sang a
verse. This was so sweet, seeing Sinead clutching the lyrics and looking to Sarah for when
to join in, which notes to hold etc. Sinead wore a grey trouser suit, black, heeled
shoes and a white, silk bodice, and a newly shorn hairstyle ;-) Finally, Sarah
brought out John Reynolds on drums and a mystery bass player and launched into a wonderful
version of Building a Mystery which unfortunately was the last song of her too short set.
Alison Moyet was next and she was excellent, performing songs old and new, even from her
Yazoo days but given a 'band treatment'. The power of her voice blew me away - the
woman makes it look so easy. The audience gave her a rapturous send off and it's a
shame we couldn't hear
more.
Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for!! It was a little after 11pm when the
lights dimmed for Sinead's entrance. Up until this moment the stage backdrops had
consisted of purple and white drapes, however, when the stage was being prepared for
Sinead the drapes were opened to reveal the painted scene of a host of female angels
rising towards Heaven. Out came the little lady herself, dressed as she was earlier.
She said Hello and that Alison Moyet's set was fucking amazing! ;-)) (which
it
was, and all credit to Sinead for remarking on it!) She kicked off with The
Emperor's New Clothes. She had her full band with her. Her voice was very
strong and was definitely helped by a set which showcased some of her more powerful songs,
HOWEVER, and it's a big however...the set-list (for a fan of 11 years standing) was
uninspired. I can understand the reasons - the songs were chosen because they are
crowd-pleasers, the fact that this wasn't solely a Sinead gig etc. but I would have liked
to have heard her best material from Universal Mother, Gospel Oak, and a few surprises.
Don't get me wrong though, the woman is in her prime and her music is best heard
live. Her voice just gets better and better with each performance. She looked
happy and at ease and was obviously chuffed as hell to be headlining.
Ok, now for some fleshing out...NC2U was one of the most powerful renditions I've ever
heard. The applause was testimony to this. She introduced In This Heart as
"A Widdle Wuve Song". The lyrics to the swimming adlib at the end of
Fire On Babylon were changed to : "looking for you, like I always do" (a
highlight, sang with ferocious ease). Sarah joined Sinead for the final song, a fabulous
rendition of The Last Day of Our Acquaintance. Sinead left the stage to thunderous
appreciation, her face bearing the biggest grin ;-) There was one encore with all the
artists on stage together for Redemption Song. Sinead
started singing and was standing centre stage with Beth Orton. Sarah had her own
microphone but was standing with N'dea and Kylie Minogue. Alison Moyet and Lisa Loeb were
on the right. Everyone sang in turn with the final verse almost a duel between Sinead and
Sarah as to who could sing the loudest. Sinead won ;-) at which point Beth Orton
gave up singing and attempting to compete and just jumped up and down...... very funny!
The show ended with a stage full of women hugging and kissing each other..... ;-)
by; Sarah
I really enjoyed the gig as well and thought that (other than Lisa Loeb - of whom I'm not
a big fan) the line-up was very strong. Some wonderful voices and talents in there with
surprisingly little ego! I enjoyed N'Dea Davenport's set (although not really into her
that much) mainly because she looked to be having SO much fun and got the crowd on their
feet and enjoying themselves. I also loved her red sparkly jacket! I also became a bit of
a Beth Orton fan last night never having really heard her music before. I thought she was
great and I think I'll buy a cd of hers. Then Sarah McLachlan... I was IMPRESSED!! I have
to admit to not knowing all that much of her before last night, but my cousin and I were
blown away by her. She certainly has one heck of a voice!! I was SO excited when I caught
the first glimpse of Sinead making her way onto the stage during Sarah's set. She looked
so small in the suit she was wearing and I think she may have lost some weight since the
Forum 97 gig which was the last time I saw her. Anyway, the two voices complimented one
another very well, and I'm convinced enough to be purchasing a Sarah McLachlan cd also!!
Alison Moyet can certainly sing but I didn't enjoy her set. I have to admit to wishing she
had chosen some different songs. I suppose I was also getting impatient regarding Sinead.
Then,..... ah! The lights dimmed and on she came. I'm going to be really honest here and I
hope not to upset anyone, (after all this is only my opinion and who am I?), but I thought
that Sinead's opening number was weak and the next couple of songs also weak. Sinead began
her gig at the Forum with the Emperor's New Clothes also and it was brilliant and a
perfect opening and let you know you were in for a good show, at the RAH last night I felt
she was a little nervous and didn't really belt it out the way we've heard her do it
before. It just lacked a bit of the emotion she usually charges it with. JUST my
opinion!!! Please don't get upset! I felt similarly about Thief and in NC2U I felt she was
just trying a bit too hard. She seemed to be concentrating too much on what notes to hit.
BUT THEN.... ThankYou For Hearing Me!! She was EXCELLENT!! She seemed to get it together
completely for this song and for the rest of the night she was the best I've ever seen
her!! Her voice SOARED and cried out and whimpered and you could tell she was
"feeling" this one. In This Heart was also excellent and I thought it was nice
to see John Reynolds joining in with the singing before tearing back to his drum kit for
Fire On Babylon which was the highlight of the night for me. It was POWERFUL. Sinead was
absolutely awesome, proving herself the truest master of her voice and talent through this
song. I thought it would be impossible for her to ever sing it better. It really was
wonderful. It was great to see Sarah come out to join her on Last Day. And to see them
give each other a big smacker on the lips before she left the stage again! And then for
the Finale Redemption Song was a wonderful choice. I thought it was quite funny to see
Kylie Minogue come out with them all to join in on this one! Sinead seemed pleased to see
her there as well and gave her a HUGE smile and wave and "hi!!!". Sinead was
also EXCELLENT in this song. Especially at the end, a wonderful send off to hear her
singing "Sing out with me children" her voice sounding STRONG and beautiful. She
obviously really enjoyed the gig and I know I did too.
handed by Christian Petrulio
Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Limited
The Times
by: David Sinclair
They said it couldn't be done, and even if it could, it wouldn't be commercially viable,
David Sinclair writes. But two years ago Canadian singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan
went ahead anyway and organised the first Lilith Fair music festival, a multi-artist event
describing itself as "A Celebration Of Women In Music" and featuring only female
acts. Since then, Lilith Fair has become one of the most successful touring attractions on
the North American festival/concert circuit, notching up 900,000 ticket sales over the
course of 57 dates during this year alone.
McLachlan has maintained a hands-on interest in the project, having been the only
performer in a changing line-up to have played at every single event. Indeed, no one can
quite remember when she last found time to put on one of her own shows, and since she has
an imminent new album, Surfacing, to promote in Britain, it was only a matter of time
before Lilith Fair arrived in London for its first show away from North American soil.
If anything, British female acts are even more in need of a collective vehicle for blowing
their own trumpet than their American sisters ever were. Tellingly, only two British acts,
Beth Orton and Alison Moyet, were featured on the bill, alongside McLachlan, Irishwoman
Sinead O'Connor and Americans N'Dea Davenport and Lisa Loeb.
At a press conference beforehand, much emphasis was placed on the nurturing but otherwise
non-ideological nature of the enterprise. McLachlan insisted that there was no animosity
towards men per se, which was just as well since during the course of the evening the
number of male musicians on stage actually outnumbered the women. It was just that the
women were in charge. Nor was the audience exactly a gang of "Riot Grrrl"
radicals. For the most part they seemed to be sensible couples drawn from a slightly older
age-group than would be the norm at most pop concerts.
Proceeding at a leisurely pace, the event ended up being a five-hour marathon. Loeb, who
performed acoustically with a string trio, and Orton, who was accompanied by an acoustic
guitarist, both played austere but affecting sets, while Davenport's rather more frisky
brand of 1970s supper-club funk was hobbled by her pedestrian backing band.
Despite her cheerful banter, McLachlan's set also tended towards introspection and
melancholia, although an apparently unrehearsed harmony duet with O'Connor on Angel was
one of the highlights of the night. Moyet sang powerfully but her set was overloaded with
songs that were either slow or unfamiliar or both, leaving O'Connor to provide easily the
most stirring performance of the night.
So, a spiritually enriching experience, no doubt. But as the women all gathered together
for a grand finale performance of Bob Marley's Redemption Song, one couldn't help feeling
that the event as a whole would have benefited from an injection at some point of youthful
urgency and straightforward fun. Maybe next time.