2023: The Year In Live Performances

2023 was a slow year for live performances.  I only managed to get to one concert and one exhibition, both since the start of November.

On April 10, 1994, while watching 120 Minutes in my dorm room late on a Sunday night, I saw the video for Liz Phair’s Never Said, the lead single from her debut album, for the first time.  Nearly 30 years later, she came to the Chicago Theatre for the 30th anniversary of the release of Exile in Guyville.

This was my third time seeing Phair perform live, and the first in nearly twenty years.  She’s become a more confident performer, finally getting over the stage fright that plagued her early career.  She performed every song from the album, many I haven’t heard in years, if not decades.  Overall, a good experience.  Here’s hoping to more live music in 2024.

In the waning days of 2023, the family headed into the city to the Exhibition Hub Art Center for Disney 100: The Exhibition.  To celebrate the 100th anniversary of what would become the Walt Disney Company, the company has opened its archives, showcasing more than 250 artifacts and works of art, costumes and props, and incredible memorabilia.  Unfortunately, Michael was unable to join us, but the rest of us took a trip through Disney’s past, including more recent additions like the Star Wars and Marvel universes.

Book 3 (of 52) – Horror Stories

Liz Phair – Horror Stories

Liz Phair, who entered the public consciousness in 1993 with the release of Exile In Guyville, brings us her first memoir, a collection of essays detailing events in her life from childhood to the present.  I’m sure there’s an audience out there that will appreciate this, I sadly am not part of it.

Phair has been a favorite since I discovered her on an episode of 120 Minutes way back when, so I was excited to read what she had to say.  While I certainly wasn’t expecting a rock-and-roll tell-all of the alternative music scene of the 90s, I was expecting something other than what we got: a lot of naval gazing and apologizing for the alleged indiscretions of her youth, which she’s woke enough to recognize, but never actually atone for.  Rumor has it that she had signed a two book deal with Random House.  If that’s the case, odds are that I’ll be giving the next one a pass.

Concert Flashback: Liz Phair

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10 years after her seminal debut album, Liz Phair returned to her hometown to support her latest release, an attempt to be an out and out pop star.  At her best, Phair was always a timid stage performer and, according to the Chicago Tribune, this wasn’t her at her best.  I can’t claim to have much in the way of particular memories about this show, but the story of her sharing the stage with a fan to perform Flower does ring a bell.

I had been a fan of Liz Phair since the release of Exile In Guyville back in 1993 and the occassional appearance of her video on MTV’s 120 Minutes.  While it may not have been the  best performance, I could at least cross her off the list of acts that I would need to see.  Of course, she would also play a part in the next show I would see.