Last night, Liz Phair fans showed up at Turner Hall Ballroom to check in with the iconic ‘90s rocker who dominated the indie scene, then the college radio scene, then clamored for pop princess status -- fell on her pretty face -- and disappeared for years while she produced music for television among other projects.
Last July, she self-released an album called "Funstyle," and then apologized on her Web site for doing so.
"You were never supposed to hear these songs. These songs lost me my management, my record deal and a lot of nights of sleep. Yes, I rapped one of them. I'm as surprised as you are. But here is the thing you need to know about these songs and the ones coming next: These are all me. Love them, or hate them, but don't mistake them for anything other than an entirely personal, un-tethered-from-the-machine, free for all view of the world, refracted through my own crazy lens. This is my journey. I'll keep sending you postcards. - Liz"
So the big question last night for some Phair fans was, "Where is she now?"
Not surprisingly, like all of us, Phair doesn’t easily fit into a niche. On the one hand, she looked like a total L.A. girl with long blond hair and a skinny girl body in a tight bodice. She referenced her all-raw diet, but also poked fun at it. "Am I glowing yet?" she asked. "No? And why do I keep running to the bathroom? I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. I have a little bit of Tourette’s."
She also complained about the Milwaukee weather and invited fans to visit her in L.A. We can’t blame her for that, it was negative degrees outside last night.
But on the other hand, she delivered a 90-minute concert of pure rock ‘n’ roll, opening with "Supernova" from her successful 1994 "Whip-Smart" album. She sounded great (despite the questionable acoustics in Turner Hall), looked like she was having a blast ("I used to be terrified, but now I really enjoy being here," she said) and proved to be conscious of her predominantly aging hipster fan base by choosing songs, mostly, from her first album, including "6’1"," "Divorce Song," "Mesmerizing" and a ripping set closer of "F*ck and Run."
Another high point of the show included "Polyester Bride" from 1998’s "Whitechocolatespaceegg," arguably her best album that introduced a confident new mom on top of the indie singer songwriter pile and landed her a spot in the Lilith Fair. She also performed the sweet and sad "Perfect World" from this album.
Phair, now 43, busted onto the scene in the early ‘90s when she released a cassette under the name Girly Sound. She released her debut studio album in 1993, "Exile in Guyville," and by the end of the century, Rolling Stone named it one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Phair's fourth album, "Liz Phair," was released on Capitol Records and as a last ditch effort to stay on Capitol, she worked with The Matrix (best known as songwriters for Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne) to come up with some singles for the self-titled album. However, the record received terrible reviews and some hardcore fans accused her of selling out.
But time soothes all sorrows, and last night, fans either forgave or forgot or really didn’t give a damn that Phair ditched the indie scene for a while. They were willing to welcome her back as the grrrl rocker she once was. And still is.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.