Just so you know, Lollapalooza mini-profiles will be on their way throughout the weekend. Due to both a busy schedule and downtime in the server, I've been unable to get them out beforehand so I'm just going to bump them back a bit and instead do this review. Sorry for the inconvenience (didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about them).
Damien Rice/Fiona Apple Live at Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island (7/13/06)
First off, I have to say that the Charter One Pavilion is an absolutely gorgeous venue, I do sincerely hope that it stays a part of the city's lakefront permanently. The space is relatively intimate, housing a crowd of about 5,000. Unfortunately, tonight's show was not sold out-- a real shame considering both of their performances.
Damien Rice opened the show with The Blower's Daughter Part II and once he started, he never lost his form. Consistently delivering exorbitantly passionate vocals and guitar solos-- especially on "Volcano", "Woman Like a Man" and "Delicate"-- Rice had much of the crowd standing on their feet by the end of his set. Fulfilling a request by the crowd, his encore entailed an absolutely superb performance of "The Professor & La Fille Danse" to which he really worked his magic by looping his vocals and guitar over and over until it finally swirled amongst the crowd.
If that weren't enough, there was still Fiona who had yet to come on stage. With Apple's performance there was a bit of a build-up, as it seemed like either her voice was shot from the night before or she just didn't quite get into it yet, but once she got there, she really made sure that everyone got their money's worth and thensome. Between her on-stage antics that would make Janis Joplin look calm, and the undeniable talent showcased by her band, Fiona Apple had a ever present connection between herself in the crowd. As such, she sung her heart out on every piece, and was especially good on "I Know," "Slow Like Honey," and "Love Ridden." On her higher energy tracks, Apple adjusted herself accordingly-- and really seemed to be energized by the end. Apple herself (as well as the crowd) was going well enough that she could've performed for an additional hour had she been able to. Instead, after her semi-intentionally funny story about bugs (in which she confesses her fear of killing them but justifies it by saying "the little f****** should move"), she performed "Paper Bag" before streaming into her other hit songs. After a five minute encore break, she returned to do a really lovely acoustic version of "Extraordinary Machine" as well as others.
This concert (and tour for that matter) is quite interesting because both Fiona Apple and Damien Rice are incredibly emotionally raw artists to the point that you can not only see or hear their emotions, but also feel them. While Rice's anger, hurt and frustration was placed solely in the form of his music, Fiona really does let it all unfold the way she wants it to, and that's pretty admirable. While some (and these people were in attendance too) were completely thrown by her antics, others embraced it-- it's hard to be in between. That being said, this is one of the finer concerts I've been to, and I look forward to seeing them whenever they may stop by the Windy City again.
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