Lilith

During the first year of the original Lilith Fair tour, Beebs and I were in college. We didn't hear about the tour until after it had already happened. Once we realized what we had missed, we spent hours drooling over write-ups of the concerts and vowed that we would make it to a show the following year. When the second tour rolled around, we were ready. We picked the date and made our plans. A few weeks before the tour made it to Wisconsin, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and I ended up back in Michigan. Needless to say, we didn't make it that year. We graduated the following summer, shortly before the final tour began. We made plans to attend the show before leaving college town, but a combination of unforeseen circumstances (death, divorce, and distance) kept us from ever following through.

Eleven years later, we finally had another opportunity...

So many things have changed since those days of the original Lilith Fair. We're no longer idealistic college students living in a tiny community... although life has been fairly kind, we've both taken some major blows over the years, which have left us slightly jaded. We've lost family members, friends, and our naivete. We've relocated to Chicago, taught in the public school system (and left!), changed careers, gone back to school, gained tattoos, lovers, children, and friends. We've also had our ups and downs with each other - a few years after we moved here, we spent almost a year with very little contact after some heart-wrenching events involving a man. We've both done things we swore we never would do and changed in ways that our seventeen-year-old selves never could have imagined. For us, Lilith revival wasn't just an opportunity to see an awesome lineup of some of our favorite artists, but also a chance to revisit those carefree days... back when we were unsure of what was yet to come and filled with excitement over the possibilities.

Despite the fact that it was ridiculously hot (something like 98 degrees + 90% humidity), we spent most of the afternoon walking around the venue (a lot of people didn't show up until the evening performances)....

ABC stage: Vedera

Someone managed to lose a bra pad (chicken cutlet!) during the Vedera show... not quite sure how that happened. :P


Emily Giffin (yes, that's me that's cropped out of the third pic)
She is so cute & nice! Surprisingly, she also has a wicked snarky side. :)


Thankfully, by the time the headliners started, the sun had started to set, so the temperature went down slightly (unfortunately, the nasty humidity lingered, but we could at least stand/sit still without sweating, which wasn't the case earlier in the day).


Kate Nash, Court Yard Hounds & Heart

The headliners were all great, but Heart, Sarah McLachlan, and Mary J. Blige were freakin' incredible! As much as I love Sarah, I think Mary was actually my favorite of the night. I've always liked her popular stuff, but hadn't really listened to much else (the only album of hers that I own is What's the 411?). I know her sound has changed and matured over the years, but... wow, I was just blown away by her performance!



Chicago lineup 7.17.10
Far better photos from the tour can be found here!

I know there has been a lot of negative press about this tour, thanks to poor ticket sales, multiple artists who have dropped out (Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones, etc.), and canceled shows (Sarah M. mentioned at our show that Live Nation forced them to cancel a bunch after a few of the main acts dropped out). However, the concert was amazing (although I do wish all the artists who were originally promised were actually there!). I think the issues the tour is facing have a lot to do with the terrible economy, poor advertising, Live Nation (they handled so many things poorly), and just plain bad luck (several artists have been plagued with medical issues). Near the end of the show, Sarah McLachlan did mention that she wants to do it again next year, so I really hope they are able to fix some of the issues from this tour and get it all together for next summer.

It was an amazing event and I'm so glad after all those years of waiting, Beebs and I were still around to finally experience it. We may be older and grumpier than we were back during the original tour, but we can still rock out with the best of them. :)