Lilith Fair in Ridgefield, WA

In case many of you aren't aware of what Lilith Fair is, I'll use the wikipedia definition: a concert tour and traveling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond, which took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999. Its website says that it will return in 2010. It consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands. In its 3 years, Lilith Fair raised over $10M for women's charities throughout North America.
Well, this year, it's back, and bigger and better than ever. As many of you know, I have a real weakness for female singers, to begin with, so a festival like this, is right up my alley.
Yesterday's festival in Ridgefield, WA. (20 MINUTES FROM PORTLAND, OREGON, AND CONSIDERED THE OREGON STOP) was nothing short of spectacular. The first act I saw was Marie Digby. She looks like her name should be Marie, as in Osmond, but it is actually pronounced MAR-E-A. She gained some notoriety doing a white bred cover of the Rihanna song, "Umbrella" and became a YOUTUBE sensation. It was early in the day when she played, and she played on what they called a second stage. The second stage was a tiny stage set up on the grounds, away from the main stage. Marie was less than spectacular, but the big smile she had on her face, made it seem like she enjoyed what she was doing.

Keep in mind, main stage acts didn't come on until nearly 6:00 pm, so I stuck around the second stage, and watched the second act, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. I guess they have been around awhile, but I had never heard of them until the last couple of years, when a friend said I'd really like them. Like them, I did. Grace, to begin with, is an attractive blonde, that can rock with the best of them. she played a piano, or a flying V guitar, for most of her set. I really liked their set, but what cinched liking them for me was this insane rocked out version of Blondie's "Heart of Glass".

The next act I saw, also on the second stage, was "A Fine Frenzy". I've been privileged to have seen them 4 times before. They are considered "alternative" as to what their genre is, but personally, I think they just aren't sure where else to put them. Alison Sudol, their singer, is a wonderful vocalist with a soft voice, an excellent piano player, and has even dabbled with a bit of guitar. Their debut album "One Cell In The Sea" sold over 300,000 copies. Alison is fun to watch. She has bright red hair, and an easy smile. She was only allowed 30 minutes to play, and mostly covered her latest disc, "Bomb in a Birdcage", with the exception of the song, "Almost Lover" from her first disc, a fan favorite. It was a true testament to this group, that there were so many people there watching them, as it was raining sideways in a non-covered area, when they played.
Unfortunately, I missed most of Colbie Caillat, and Erykah Badu, as I was waiting to speak with Alison, so I'm not really able to say much about either of them. As both of their sets were short, there just wasn't any extra time.
In fine fashion, I was able to find a single front row ticket for the mainstage that's face value cost was $293 out of Ticketmaster for $72 and $30 for overnight shipping..
Sheryl Crow was the first act that I saw on the mainstage. I first saw Sheryl 15 or so years ago, and have always enjoyed, what I consider to be a mostly upbeat sound. She was fun, and did a great set, with the possible exception of trying to do the most cliched song in the book, Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll". For me, she was a little out of her element with that one.
Next mainstage group, was the country group, Sugarland. I was NOT a fan. What I knew best by them was them adding to the Bon Jovi song "Who Says You Can't Go Home". Jennifer Nettles voice, in my opinion, is a bit too twangy for my taste, if I was going to sit down, and listen to their recordings.
That being said, their LIVE performance completely BLEW ME AWAY. They were energetic, they made good use of the stage, and had the crowd COMPLETELY eating out of the palms of their collective hands. I will say, after that performance, I've become a fan of theirs.
The last performer was Lilith Fair organizer, Sarah McLachlan. Sarah has just recently put out her newest studio work, other than her Christmas album, for the first time in many years. To me, Sarah has a beautiful voice, but her stage performance seemed stiff, and uninteresting. Part of this may be attributed to the fact that there was someone there filming her performance, and she may have been asked to stay in a certain area of the stage, I don't know. She would not be a performer I would need to see again.
The Finale was ABSOLUTELY spectacular! Every woman that had participated in the show that day, came onto stage, and did a cover of "Because The Night" a song written by Bruce Springsteen, and supposedly The Patti Smith group. (YEAH, RIGHT!) in 1978.
All in all, for me, it was an excellent concert, despite finding the staff at The Sleep Country Amphitheatre, to be a bunch of people that didn't know what they were talking about. That is another story, though.
photos from the show will  be added later.......