#however it took so little for russia to be condemned so why the fuck have the big western countries not had the same energy for israel?

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

It took almost no time at all after they invaded Ukraine for all Western countries to condemn Russia & ban them from most major associations.. yet those same Western countries are gladly support Israel committing a full of genocide against innocent Palestinians & are even going to the lengths of bombing the countries that ARE condemning Israel.

What a fucking twisted world we live in honestly

[daggerzine]

Liz Phair and Califone at the Ogden in Denver, CO 3/24/2019 (by Dina Hornreich)

Last night, I shelled out some cash to finally see Liz Phair perform live after semi-consciously deciding to stop actively following her career post-Whipsmart. That is, until the Girly Sounds cassettes were finally reissued last summer. (Not a coincidence that my divorce happened around all of this either, just to be upfront about the timing of this experience.) I was hoping for her to be willing to be more nostalgic and upfront about that chaotic period around the making of those tapes. Alas, I was entirely wrong.

So, it was a bit of a culture shock in many ways to see her in her glorious post-Lilith Fair audience element since I always hung out with the indie snob dudes who treated her extremely unfairly (nay, downright shitty) literally forcing her right out of Guyville -- as she was often dismissed as just a hot chick (aka blowjob queen) with a potty mouth. If you haven’t read the 33 ⅓ about it, you should. But carpe diem, as they say.

I arrived early to get a decent place to stand at the Ogden being that I stand less than 5 foot 2. When I walked in, I became reminiscent for the amazing show I had last seen there...Sleater-Kinney reunion tour with Lizzo opening. Sadly, this show was not of that calibre. However, it was upbeat and affirming in a very corny and endearing way that I don’t think I had ever experienced given that I usually steer away from these sorts of reuniony things: is it better to burn out or fade away? (Pardon my High Fidelity reference, oops... did I even need to explain that?)

Califone 

 Opening band was Califone. A very pleasant and gently rockin’ slowcore kind of concept with dual drummers on hand at all times. They seemed like super decent guys as they struggled with a slight logistical issue at the start of their set leading them to eventually condemn the internet which one is oft to do in those kinds of situations. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed their brief and calming set despite never having been a huge Red Red Meat fan. Sorry, Chicagoans.

 Almost immediately, it seemed like Liz hopped on stage and was followed by some sweetly doofy-looking sycophantish backing dudes including 2 other guitarists in addition to Phair herself. She started right off by launching into a jarring version of Flower that made me think I may have wound up at a Dolly Parton show or something. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. Nonetheless, it was weird but I stayed open-minded and positive.

 During the show, her demeanor was very affirming and playful as she strummed her guitar and belted out so many familiar tunes from Exile on Guyville. Sadly, only one overtly from her self-proclaimed “dinosaur days” of Girly Sounds cassettes which was at least a good choice of “Go West.” There were also her latter days tunes that I unsuccessfully may have hid my cringing since they lack the spirit that I found endearing about her early works -- but who cares, everyone else seemed pleased as punch to be merrily singing along with “Why Can’t I Breathe?” The crowd supported her regardless of what she said and did, and I can’t say she didn’t deserve it...I mean, she shined the whole time up there -- even admitting that she likes to smile and be loopy possibly blaming the mile high altitude. Overtly remarking about an upcoming gig with Julianna Hatfield who (like most rockers, Phair insinuates) does not smile, apparently. I actually felt a little out of place in my Bratmobile t-shirt, for some reason. The encore consisted of both classics “Fuck and Run” and then “Divorce Song.” All us gals belting along with her as if it were somehow empowering and feminist to do so – but it wasn’t, though. The only moment of vague rebellion was her facetiously flipping the bird at Trump for the ongoing disappointing outcomes of the Russia stuff. Marginal, at best.

 I kept thinking that what I liked about the lo-fi stuff she did (pre-Guyville) was that she just wasn’t trying to please an audience. That it was simply raw and brutal. She took a lot of shit for it, too. I wondered if it was just too painful for her to look back on that stuff either on her own or in front of an audience. Again, a lot of shit. So, in a way, I was happy for her that her newest song was an innocuous and generic tune about thanking god for baseball in a very non-sports nerdy kind of way because sometimes we just wanna smile, rock out, and be adored. Mission accomplished. Be well, dear Liz. You’re still a legend.