THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2002
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
Review
Aimee Mann shows lighter side at Liberty Hall
Aimee Mann performs at Liberty Hall. She brought her melancholy variety of pop music to Lawrence last Thursday night.
John Nowak/Kansan
By Janette Yost
jyost@kansan.com
Jayplay writer
Fatalistic lyrics disguised by happy music, magnificent melody writing, multiinstrumental talent and an intense, expressionless face were all elements of Aimee Mann that fans expected to see at her concert last Thursday at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.
It was the unexpected side of Mann — happy, amiable and relational — that concert goers will remember most, though.
She and her band played her original songs as if straight from the albums, with Mann's powerful gaze rarely leaving her face. It was in between those songs when she really opened up, though. She offered listeners a glimpse beyond her straight-faced prom shots and "to be or not to be" lyrics with such light-hearted stage banter that she genuinely earned the descriptor "endearing."
Five songs into the set, the band had barely begun playing a song when one of those amused smiles crossed Mann's face and she stopped the song.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," she said. Turning to the lead guitarist, smile maintained, she told him he was way out of tune.
He strummed a chord and admitted it. With a defensive smile, he handed the blame off to the band's back-stage guy, who had tuned all of the band's guitars before the show.
"What I like is that it's not just out of tune,it's spectacularly wrong,"she said to the audience,"so that no one could continue playing."
The songs were played with a comfortable variety. The electric keyboard often mimicked strings, the drummer used a number of percussive instruments and Mann traded acoustic for electric on a few songs and for bass on one. Each song was tightly woven together, both in composition and musicianship.
"Talking between songs is not really my specialty, as you may have grasped," Mann said early on in the set.
She was being humble. She talked about a folk festival she had performed at, where she every artist gave a five-minute explanation of each song they played. She didn't feel as if she could talk about any of hers because so many were embarrassing ex-boyfriend stories. She did give way on one song, though — "You Could Make a Killing."
"This song I wrote about Noel Gallagher, who I had a huge crush on," she said quickly, as if she had to admit the secret but didn't want to. She had recently run into him in London and he kissed her. "I was like, 'Right on!'" she said.
Aimee Mann's concert didn't consist of jammed-out songs or all-new guitar solos, but her mesmerizing voice didn't need additives. Her full vocal range and sincere personality made her live show great even greater than expected.
Review
Flaming Lips, Beck give audio-visual experience
Eric Braam/Kansan
Beck plays to a sold-out crowd in the Lied Center. He performed with the Flaming Lips Saturday night.
"It was a blast," Scurlock said. "At first it seemed like just a show, but when Wayne (Coyne, lead singer for The Flaming Lips) introduced me, I realized I'm playing home."
By Patrick Cady
pcady@kansan.com
Jayplaywriter
Surrounded by people in furry animal costumes and others bearing gigantic bouquets of light, Kliph Scurlock, Lawrence resident and drummer for The Flaming Lips, found himself in a familiar place.
The atmosphere prior to show was tense with expectation. Large balloons were released and passed around by the crowd. A short film began on a large screen behind the stage showing people wrestling in monster costumes. About five minutes into the
He and the Lips took the stage in front of a packed Lied Center Saturday night, as they played a show with Beck, Scurlock's first Lawrence show since joining the Lips.
film, The Flaming Lips took the stage.
They dropped into the past with the MTV classic, "She Don't Use Jelly," and brought out a surprisingly strong and emotionally stirring version of "Do You Realize?" from their newest album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Their first set was an audio-visual masterpiece. They opened with an energized version of the opening track from The Soft Bulletin, "Race for the Prize," backed by images of Leonard Bernstein conducting atom bombs.
Coyne was energized on the stage keeping the crowd active with his guitar, and masterful use of a portable fog machine.
Beck, or Beck Hansen, began his set with only a few acoustic guitars and a stool.
He also played a strong version of "Guess I'm Doing Fine" from his newest album, Sea Change.
About five songs into Beck's set, a sharp drum beat echoed in the auditorium and
abruptly behind Beck appeared the Flaming Lips.
The combined force of Beck and the Lips created a different flavor from either of their works separately.
This new hybrid, Flaming Beck, as it were, came through best on Beck's own standby tracks. He donned the head of a robot, and the Lip's ripped forth into the spacey, electronically-altered vocals of "Get Real Paid." from Beck's last album, Midnite Vultures.
He returned though minutes later, dressed in a glowing coat, almost how Salvador Dali might picture a version of the phoenix, and began the opening bars to "Devil's Haircut."
Beck finished his initial set to the volcanic rumbling of the crowd.
The last fading notes signaled the end of Scurlock's first return as a hometown rock hero.
"He does it because he loves music," Covne said.
---