There were three venues which, if you maneuvered quickly from one to the other, enabled you to view every performance. I really enjoyed the fact that local artists had the opportunity to perform. This allowed for a personalization of each Lilith Fair event. Plus you got to meet the local bands after their performance and chat with them.
Of the four local artists in Denver, my favorite was Wendy Woo and the Woo Band. Wendy's music is an infusion of pop, jazz, world music and rock. This band is funky and their energy infectious.
Getting back to Lilith Fair as a whole, (I attended in 1998 and 1999), I was impressed at how the artists performed with one another throughout the event. It's fun to see the artists sing and play each other's music because it shows that they are people just like us who admire one another for their various talents. For example, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks sang Cheryl Crow's "Are You Strong Enough to Be My Man?" while Cheryl and her band played, Sarah McLachlan came out and sang with the Dixie Chicks during their set, and so on.... The evening's final performance was sung by all the bands. Yes, ALL of them! They sang "We Shall Be Released." It was truly a great moment to have all the artists from local on up all together singing, and to be in the audience as we all sang along as well.
The fact that these artists are all fairly guitar-based is something I continually find to be truly inspiring, truly exciting. Coming away from a full day (3pm to 10:30pm) of music, I found myself surprisingly reflective. All the songs from that night spilled over into a review of all the songs I'd ever heard; and I couldn't help but be acutely aware of the familiarity and simultaneously separate distinction of every one. What a night.
1999 marked the conclusion of the Lilith Fair concert series. This three-year venture brought about by criticism that an all-female lineup wouldn't sell has done so much more than merely disprove that notion. In its brief lifespan Lilith matured into a wonderful expression of collaboration and openness, demonstrating to us how music is a common thread that weaves us all together even in these drastically changing times.
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