Diverse Lilith Fair Grows Into An Event For Everyone

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"Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music" Saturday and yesterday at Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Grant County.

GEORGE, Grant County - Sarah McLachlan needn't fear the H.O.R.D.E. tour. Or, for that matter the Warped Tour and Ozz Fest.

As a legion of 20,000 Lilith Fair '98 fans proved Saturday, the Canadian songstress and founder of the fair is at the apex of her reign. She and other female songstress luminaries, including the Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Erykah Badu and Me'Shell NdegeOcello, mesmerized fans with diverse musical styles and showmanship.

Clear, open skies smiling down upon the Gorge Amphitheatre, also drew raves from happy fair participants. Storm clouds passed over the valley, sprinkling a gentle shower on Ndegeocello as she finished her set, inspiring a soulful rain dance to the delight of the audience. A breathtaking sunset played a part in making Merchant shed a tear or two.

Benefiting from positive press, as well as the surprise success of last year's tour and of McLachlan's album "Surfacing," Lilith has grown immensely - evident from the expansion to two dates at the Gorge. More men were in attendance this year. Young people were out in full force, but so were boomer couples as well as parents attending the festival with their children. All were signs Lilith has shed its image of being exclusionary, a notion that plagued the fair its first year.

"Last year I said I was going to Lilith Fair, and everyone was like, `lesbian fest!' " recalled Molly Houlihan, a 23-year-old Kirkland resident. "This year they were like, `right on.' "

Indeed, Lilith seems to have become cool within fickle pop-culture circles, benefiting from a bill full of familiar stars. All of the main-stage artists at the Gorge have platinum records. Some are Grammy winners. Even the secondary stages were stronger this year, touting acts such as K's Choice, Tara MacLean and local songstress Felicia Loud, who lured a tremendous crowd with her rich vocals.

"All the women artists that are playing here, that's the stuff I've bought for the last three years. I like them as artists. I guess I like female voices," said 33-year-old Jim Zongas of Puyallup, a newcomer to Lilith Fair.

"How many of you out there are Lilith virgins?" British rocker Billie Meyers asked between songs during her popular B stage performance. Most of the crowd raised its hands and cheered.

"Me, too!" she responded excitedly. Many more will be getting a first look: Saturday was sold out, while tickets for Sunday's show were still available Saturday evening, though sales had already passed 13,000 by afternoon.

The mainstreaming of Lilith wasn't wholeheartedly welcomed by everyone, however. Bellingham resident Heather Quinn, 22, said that friends at the fair had noticed a decrease in the "woman-centered" attitude that prevailed as part of last year's festival. "They noticed there were a lot more straight people and, you know, guys with beer bellies," she said.

"But," Quinn was quick to add, "that's all right, too."

Lilith II's wider appeal has proven lucrative. Besides tens of craft vendors selling dresses, compact discs and baubles, more tents featured corporate sponsors. You could even buy an official Lilith scent, available in sweet or spicy. Few would argue the heart of Lilith Fair isn't still in the right place. Booths for NOW, Voters for Choice and a Seattle battered-women's shelter New Beginnings were also prominent. Though these were well-attended, audience members such as Zongas mostly ignored them.

"Nah, I'm probably just going to park it in my seat and enjoy the music," he said.

Zongas still ended up aiding women-friendly causes. A dollar from each ticket was donated to local charities, such as New Beginnings. The organization, which aids battered women, received a $19,000 check before the concert. Another shelter, Our Place, in Moses Lake, benefited from yesterday's ticket sales with more than $13,000.

The music was the main attraction, however, and the artists gave fans their money's worth. Ndegeocello and Badu began the evening, amazing the audience with their showmanship and song craftmanship. Ndegeocello's set was painfully short, hampering her ability to improvise; but she made the most of her 35 minutes by mixing both old and new songs. A slinky Badu, swathed in a tall, bright headdress, also kept her sensual set tight, highlighted by "Call Tyrone," which drew plenty of laughs and cheers from fans. Time constraints notwithstanding, each artist left her mark. (Sinead O'Connor took Ndegeocello's place on the bill yesterday.)

The Indigo Girls played the most powerful set of the evening, strumming out such summer pleasures such as "Shame on You" and "Closer to Fine." A charged-up rendition of "Scooter Boys" brought Merchant dancing out on the stage to the audience's delight. McLachlan joined the duo for "The Water is Wide" and K's Choice contributed to a souped up "Rockin' in the Free World."

Merchant, on the other hand, chose passion over power, starting off a little flat with "Wonder." She broke down on "Life is Sweet," bringing the song to a halt as she tried to stop crying. The audience didn't mind, however, and soon the singer hit her stride, skipping around the stage in a white sailor sweater with pigtails twisted behind her head. Earlier, at a press conference, she said how much fun Lilith was, and onstage her enjoyment shone through.

McLachlan finished the day with her dramatic live performance, letting her voice sail from the start with "Adia" and finishing beautifully with "Possession." In an encore, all the artists joined her onstage to sing Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" - a fitting ending to a heartfelt event.