Fair Lilith

National Review, Sept 14, 1998 by David Klinghoffer

Miss Merchant, who used to sing in a fun if rather PC band called 10,000 Maniacs, struck out on her own a few years ago. Her current songs have to do with apolitical topics like a miracle cure ("Wonder") or a fifty-year marriage ("Beloved Wife"). She has feminine charisma that you can fully appreciate only by seeing her perform live. At first her hair was tied back in an adorable bun, but then she untied it and let it fall down around her shoulders in such a way that all the (not many) men in the audience were united in a collective sigh of longing. Later, when a big swing descended from above, she climbed onto it and swung for a while like a little girl. There's a charmingly awkward quality about her, especially when she dances; she could lose a few pounds, but you wouldn't want her to.

With her blond hair cut short, Miss McLachlan is a pixie, a sprite. She sings about "relationships," and her music happens to be terrific, mainly ballads of lost love. When the opening chords of "Sweet Surrender" sounded, the effect was thrilling, and when she sang "Witness" this reporter against his own will found himself swaying to the music. The effect is heartbreakingly sweet. Miss McLachlan left the stage with a girlishly energetic little skip.

If you compare Lilith to male-dominated rock events such as Lollapalooza, the most startling thing about it is how civilized Lilith is. One finds no mosh pit, no pushing or shoving at all. Those in attendance speak quietly. They sit at attention or rise to their feet in an orderly wave when a favorite song is played. Everything is neat and in order, so that you feel bad about dropping peanut shells to the concrete floor of the main pavilion. There was something unaccountably refreshing about the whole affair, like opening a window after a summer rainstorm when you have been cooped up in an air-conditioned room.

If only more of contemporary life were like Lilith Fair. If only there were more women who embodied the femininity of Natalie Merchant or Sarah McLachlan.

No, the model of femininity on display is not a classical one; it includes more pierced lips, noses, and tongues than you would choose to see if you had your choice. But these days, when it comes to masculinity or femininity in unexpected places, you shouldn't be stingy with appreciation if it's called for. Somewhere the demon Lilith is lounging around and gnashing her teeth at this blatant abuse of her bad name.