The following is a review of Lilith Fair that was printed in The Sunday Sept. 15th Vancouver Province. Notice the incorrect spelling of Sarah's name.

Lilith Fair was a garden party for the Quiet Grrrls

By Tom Harrison-Music Critic

This was the day of the Quiet Grrrls.

Lilith Fair got its test run yesterday at Nat Bailey Stadium, and passed with all the colors that the different women who took the stage could fly.

Hatched by Sarah MacLachlan with her manager, Terry McBride, the afternoon show was the first in a rock/pop festival format to present women performers exclusively.

Not just any women, as there are now plenty who lead or are in rock bands of their own - the so-called Riot Grrrls who want to match power chords with the boys and consequently get to play Lollapalooza.

But there are many other women who, by the sophistication of their work and the grace they bring to it, do not. Taking a cue from Lilith, the mythical first wife of Adam, who demanded to be his equal, MacLachlan has plans to take variations of Lilith Fair to 33 cities next year.

If yesterday's model is any indication, it could be a huge success. A crowd of 7,500 took a chance on the unsettled weather and were rewarded with music that began without fanfare with brief sets by Camille and Saffron Henderson and Holly McNarland and finished in the rain with a triumphant performance by Lilith Fair's poised host.

In between were performances by Michelle MacAdorey (late of Crash Vegas), Paula Cole, Lisa Loeb and Emmylou Harris.

Each offered something individual and different in their presentation, yet what they had in common was a strong personal character underpinned by their musicianship.

Working only with a drummer, Cole likely benefited most from her set. While poised behind her piano to sing a mix of her own songs and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, she got the first standing ovation when she got up to dance and become a human beatbox while singing Dolly Parton's Jolene.

Loeb's confident, personable solo performance also revealed her accomplished guitar playing.

Harris, who is nearly twice the average age of the other performers, reprised the stunning show she gave earlier this year at the Commodore Ballroom - and made you wonder how different her career might have been if there had been a Lilith Fair 20 years ago.

Harris is one of the pioneers who made it possible for there to be a Lilith Fair and her presence at Sarah's garden party was less repayment than affirmation of her vitality.

As for MacLachlan, she had every reason to be both happy and relieved and that sense of accomplishment (?), vindication (?) gave extra resonance to an already proven, winning set.