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Schedule:
Doors Open at 3:00pm
Women's Shelter ($1 Per Ticket Recipient): Finger Lakes House of Hope
Juliana Nash - 3:30-3:50 - Village Stage
Nelly Fortado - 3:55-4:15 - Village Stage
Kendall Payne - 4:20-4:40 - Second Stage
Dance Hall Crashers - 4:55-5:15 - Second Stage
Nina Gordon - 5:20-5:40 - Village Stage
Beth Orton - 5:45-6:15 - Main Stage
Aimee Mann - 6:20-6:50 - Second Stage
Mya - 6:55-7:35 - Main Stage
Me'shell Ndegeocello - 7:55-8:35 - Main Stage
Pretenders - 8:55-9:40 - Main Stage
Sarah McLachlan - 10:00-10:55 - Main Stage
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My "system" of waiting until the day of the show to buy tickets paid off once again! I arrived at the box office just as the promoter was releasing some tickets, so I ended up in the 11th row, close to the center.

Juliana Nash opened up the show at the Village Stage. I had never heard of her, but a nearby spectator got her setlist from her after her performance, so here it is, for all you Nash fans out there:

Train
Maybe
Witness
Needless
Remind Me

I thought her material was strong, I liked her voice (she reminded me a bit of Beth Orton), and her sidemen (a guitarist and bassist, fleshed out by Ash on percussion) were both accomplished musicians. All in all, it was a good start to the day.

Nelly Fortado was an interesting change of pace, adding a little jazz, a little soul (thanx largely to her accompanist, who sang backup and played guitar), and a little spice. I caught her first two song titles, "The Party's Just Begun" and "Hey Man", but missed the other two. Her last song was sung in Portuguese.

As I had enjoyed seeing Kendall Payne last year, I was glad to see that she had been "promoted" to the Second Stage. Expecting a "girl-next-door" singing ballads, I was surprised to hear fast guitar riffs as I wandered over to the second stage. Her sound and demeanor were so different from last year, I wasn't sure if it was in fact her until she played "Supermodels", which I recalled hearing last year. The next song, "Closer to Myself", also featured her four-piece band, but the next song, "Never Leave", was the "Kendall of old", i.e., her alone, playing an acoustic guitar. Her band returned for her last song. I don't know the name ("Let My People Go"??), but it was great!

Next up were the Dance Hall Crashers, who replace Lamb. They were a lot of fun, playing simple rock/pop tunes that reminded me of the pre-MTV alternative bands (what we used to call "New Wave").

Nina Gordon, who closed out the Village Stage, was pleasant, but didn't really grab me.

The second "promotion" of the day involved Beth Orton, who moved up from the Second Stage to open the Main Stage (due to Tracy Bonham's cancellation). I really wanted to see Tracy again, but I was also happy to see Beth Orton's unique performance again. Her set was similar to her performance at the Gorge last month, with several variations. Unfortunately, she again omitted "Stars All Seem to Weep", my favorite song of hers. She pulled songs from all three of her CD's:

Someone's Daughter
Pass in Time
Best Bits
Sugar Boy
She Cries Your Name
Central Reservation

I enjoyed her set, but not as much as I had before (I missed hearing "Sweetest Decline").

Mya's set firmed up my initial impression of her gathered at the Gorge last month: an attractive and charasmatic performer, who can dance fairly well, but, in my opinion, has a very weak voice. Once I again, I enjoyed her talented, funky band, her dancers, and even her brief tap dance routine, accompanied by a percussionist, but felt that they could have plucked any of a thousand singers to replace her. Besides two Jackson 5 covers ("I'll Be There" and "I Want You Back"), I can't name any songs. Ash played percussion on a couple of her tunes.

Having become a fan of Me'Shell Ndegeocello at last year's Lilith Fair, I was looking forward to seeing her again, and was not disappointed. Her first song, "Faithful", started out with just her (playing bass) and her guitarist. Towards the end of the song, the rest of the band (guitar, keyboards, drums, plus Ash, who played percussion throughout her set) joined in. I don't know the names of any of the next few songs, but they each featured extended (but NOT overblown) jams by her guitarist, her keyboardist, and of course, Me'Shell herself, who once again displayed sustained dexterity on the bass guitar.

She closed with "Grace", which is the single from her new album. Although the album hasn't been released yet, "Grace" is featured on the '99 Lilith New Music Sampler, so I was quite famailiar with this lovely tune prior to hearing it live. Me'Shell invited Sarah to sing along; "Grace" and Sarah made a great match!

While looking ahead to this show in recent weeks, I found it hard to believe that it's been 19 years since I first saw the Pretenders, and more than 10 years since I last saw them. I had sort of lost touch with their material since then, aside from the occasional single, but as they had a new album out, I decided to check it out prior to the show. To my delight, it demonstrated that they were as bouyant as ever! The albums' opener, "Popstar", was the perfect opener for their set. (They certainly don't "make em like they used to", Chrissie!) Enhanced by numerous good guitar riffs and solos by Adam Seymour, and anchored by the wonderful, indescribable drumming of Martin Chambers, they played songs spanning their twenty-year history:

Message of Love
My City Was Gone
Human (a dynamite mid-tempo ballad from their new album)
I'll Stand By You
Don't Get Me Wrong (this featured a very strang ending - Chrissie abruptly cut the band off in mid-chord, then said something about doing their "lounge act". The band finished off the song in a light-jazz sort of style, while Chrissie sang in a slow, sultry manner.)
Back on the Chain Gang
Night in My Veins
Middle of the Road (Sarah sang backup and did some very "un-Sarah-like" dancing on this number.)
Brass in Pocket

A fantastic set!

Although I was disappointed that Sarah did not vary her set at all from the show at the Gorge, I really enjoyed it, more that I had last month, possibly because song was near perfect, at least from where I sat. For one thing, I've often had trouble clearly hearing Camille's pretty voice, but tonight, I could hear her loud and clear. The various instruments were also mixed nicely throughout her set, which, after the usual "Last Dance" intro, consisted of:

Possession
Black & White
Hold On (nice pedal steel guitar by Sean!)
Adia
I Will Remember You
Ice Cream
Building a Mystery
Sweet Surrender
Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
Angel

The finale was something else! Expecting to hear "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", which closed their Gorge show, I immediately realized that they had switched songs, opting for the incomparably superior "I Shall Be Released". In addition to Sarah, Beth Orton, Chrissie Hynde, Kendall Payne, and Juliana Nash all contributed strong verses. (I don't mean to keep picking on her, but Mya sang a verse that was barely audible!)

Next up: Clarkston, Michigan (it will be nice to have less than an hour's drive to the show for a change!)