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Behind the Scenes in Pittsburgh, PA Aug. 13 timeline 11 am We get to the venue this morning to find out that the weather report is calling for thunderstorms with heavy rain and lightning this afternoon and continued rain this evening. Hmm. If the rain staves off until 5:30 or so, we should be ok, since that's when the mainstage acts begin under a covered stage. In the meantime, everyone's setting up as per usual, with the village vendors keeping a keen eye on the skies. 1pm What a strange day...The sun came out and warmed things up considerably for a while, making things very hot and humid. But soon thereafter, the clouds rolled in and with them came the winds. However, we've only had a few drops of rain - nothing substantial yet. I think most of us would just like for the weather to make up it's mind, and either bring on the rain, or else just clear theup... 2:45pm An absolute yawner of a press conference. Only B and village stage artists show up for this one and not even all of them at that. Unfortunately this makes for a stilted, and rather lifeless conference as the press usually doesn't ask many questions of the artists who aren't playing mainstage. Jen asks a question directed at everyone to get things rolling but it doesn't seem to really make a difference. 4:45 Innoncence Mission just played the B-stage. Their set started after a ferocious downpour which has since let up and has been followed by blazing sunshine making things awfully hot. Innocence Mission are a two-piece ensemble who sound like a cross between the Cowboy Junkies (the guitar style) and the Sundays (the singer's vocals). They were very enjoyable, and they must be very happy to have been able to just miss the rain and not have their set postponed or worse, canceled. 5:30 Christina Aguilera just finished her set on the Village stage. She played to a huge crowd of young girls - possibly the largest crowd ever seen for a village stage artist. She has a number one hit at the moment, so that explains it. Even before Christina started, the audience was screaming for her. I suppose she probably gets compared to Britney Spears alot, but it has to be said - that's the closest comparison one can make to her. It was quite unusual for us to have a pop artist with such a young audience at Lilith, but fun to watch her sing and dance to such an adoring crowd. She only played three songs due to a bout with laryngitis she's been battling, so the audience were left wanting more. 5:35pm Liz Phair begins her set, and the rain begins again. The people sitting on the lawn immediately begin to cover themselves with tarps, blankets, plastic bags, whatever will work - they've already been through this today, so they're expecting the worst again. Luckily, this will only be a short, light shower, so they don't have to worry about getting very wet. 6:30 Sinead Lohan and her band are coming to the end of their set. Surprisingly, there are a couple of fans in the front row, singing to all of her songs. I think Sinead herself is amazed as she keeps smiling. It must be nice for the Irish performer (who had a marginal hit with "No Mermaid" in the U.S) to see that she does have fans in Pittsburgh of all places. Sinead seems very different from when she was on Lilith last year. For one, she now has a baby whom she has brought with her on tour and she can be seen pushing her stroller around with her husband most of the day. She has also cut her hair - she now sports a closely cropped cut that 's radically different from the long braids she used to have. Her music this time around is also fuller sounding, as she has a three piece band playing with her. After her set, a group of women approach her to sign autographs and Sinead gladly obliges. 6:45 Now it's time for Queen Latifah on the mainstage. It's her first night back with us this summer. She's trying very hard to get the audience energized and to participate but it appears to be a struggle. The general feeling I'm getting is that this audience isn't a big hip-hop crowd. Decked out in khaki capris and t-shirt with a safari hat, Latifah sticks to mostly older songs, though she slows things down a bit with her jazzy song from the Living Out Loud soundtrack, showing that she can not only rap, but sing up a storm. At one point, she gives up the spotlight to her DJ, who shows us what he can do...specifically pour some Trix cereal and milk into a bowl attached to his knee (which he has propped up between his two turntables). He even manages to eat a couple of spoonfuls in between scratching. Unbelievable. Ending with one of her best known songs, "Unity", Latifah gets the audience to rise to their feet to help her sing the chorus while waving their arms in the air. Latifah has won this audience over. 7:40 The Dixie Chicks are back tonight, and they receive a huge welcome from the Pittsburgh crowd. It's interesting to note that this audience has already experienced the gamut in music tonight, with Liz Phair, then Queen Latifah, and now the Dixie Chicks. It doesn't get much more diverse than that. The Dixie Chicks are in fine form again tonight, each wearing black outfits that all have rhinestone trimming in common. They sing their new song "for the wife beaters" they say has their record label very scared - this gets a huge cheer from the audience. It's a fists-in-the-air kind of song, and the women in the audience are lovin' it. 10pm Sarah even came onstage saying "what a strange day", and was reminded by the audience that it was Friday the 13th. For the finale tonight, Sheryl, Sarah, Dixie Chicks, Sinead Lohan and Queen Latifah share mikes, trading off verses, and coming together again on the chorus "any day now, I shall be released..." Even though we see the finale every night, it's always a goose bumps inducing moment to see all these amazing women on stage together singing, and tonight is no exception. |
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