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Sam Phillips Live is an Indescribable WowAug 21 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line I don't foresee any future tours but if she does perform again I'll be one of the first in line buying tickets.
Shortly after becoming a fan of Sam Phillips I found out she was going to perform in my town. I had just purchased her 1994 album, "Martinis and Bikinis," but in order to better prepare myself for the show I subsequently purchased "The Indescribable Wow" and "Cruel Inventions." By the time the concert rolled around I was only moderately familiar with her previous albums, having listened to "Martinis" a good two months ahead of the others. However this didn't detract from the overall experience because all the songs were at least recognizable if not familiar to the point of being able to sing along with her (able to do so but polite enough not to). Accompanying her were her husband and producer T-Bone Burnett on guitar and Josh Labelle on percussion. Burnett, as some know, is somewhat of a legend, so his presence at the show sent palpable waves of awe throughout the audience. Fortunately this did not detract from it being a Sam Phillips concert, as some quickly realized or already knew his wife is just as talented. Labelle, was, to put it mildly, an enthusiastic percussionist whose in-performance facial expression reflected either incredible joy or great discomfort. Overall I was impressed with Phillips' performance, though her initial stage manner seemed to make everyone uncomfortable. During her opening number she stood as stiff as a board and cautiously looked around the room. To this day I don't know exactly why she did this, though it was a nice set up for a joke about being traumatized by a Paula Abdul video. After another few songs and comments she visibly loosened up, though she never really moved from her original position. Though unconventional it forced the audience to actively listen to the lyrics and music. Dense and intricate, these qualities were reinforced by her unique vocal quality and delivery. Prior to recording for the Virgin record label, Phillips was a contemporary Christian music artist. The change was not some gradual crossover attempt a la Amy Grant but a full out departure based on her disenchantment with the church's fundamentalism. Knowing her history an audience member at one point requested one of her songs from her Christian music period. In response she asked him, "Are you with the media?" and quickly passed on to the next person. A few years later I met the guy who made the request and he admitted he did it just to see what she would say. An interesting experiment but not exactly polite. One of the more unique program decisions Phillips made was the elimination of the encore performance. Instead of going through the whole routine of leaving the stage, then coming back to play a few songs, she told the audience she would just play the extra songs and when she left the stage that meant the concert was over. I for one found this a refreshing change, because frankly the encore is incredibly contrived. Do performers actually do anything constructive back there while everyone is cheering and clapping? Essentially they just wait to return to the stage, so why not cut the crap and just perform? Of all the concerts I've been to, Phillips is the only person I've seen do this. Seven years have passed since the concert and Phillips has not toured since. This only makes me more thankful for that one opportunity I had to see her. Though I would be overjoyed to see her in concert again, it's also nice to think that I may have had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of my favorite musicians live. Definitely an indescribable wow.  |
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