Photos by PAUL MCALPINE
BOSTON – Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Exile in Guyville, Liz Phair continues across the U.S. this fall, performing the album in its entirety, plus fan favorites.
The Guyville Tour brings Phair’s 1993 debut album, Exile in Guyville, to a new audience and recaptures the momentum the musician’s unique “Girly Sound” delivered to the Gen X music world. It was a time before the “Me Too” era, but clearly the album was a display of what women had always been going through, and was an indicator of what was yet to come.
Blondshell, AKA Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum and company, has been backing Phair on the woman-power tour. Blondshell performed tracks from their latest works including a cover of the Sheryl Crow tune “If It Makes You Happy.”
The shows on this nostalgic tour have proven to bond those referred to as the “disaffected” audience members in the age range of 40s-to-late-50s. The soul could be willing, but the body may not be up for what might be considered a challenge to those in that age group. Still, the themes of the tracks of Exile in Guyville, considered Phair’s most famous album, get the point across.
Phair credits Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner with inspiration for Exile in Guyville, saying she listened to the respected ’90s musician quite a bit while writing the album. Pirner has showed up on stage with Phair along the tour.
In a live setting, Phair brings out the best qualities of her particular brand of lo-fi music. And whether she admits it or not, she has delivered some valuable tools to a new generation who also revel in life’s low expectations. The songs of Liz Phair not only cover the common experience, but convey confidence in a time audiences need it most.
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