Page 4 • The Battalion
Wednesday • November 29,1
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Natalie Merchant defies odds by going solop
W hen The Smiths
broke up and Mor
rissey announced his
plans for a solo career, a great
number of the singer’s fans
shook their heads and adopted
the philosophy that “things
would never be the same.”
Of course things would nev
er be the same. If Morrissey
Amy
Uptmor
Columnist
Q>.
. C u t/e
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did not want things to change, he would not
have left the safe haven of his successful band.
Still, when I saw Morrissey in 1992, a pres
ence was obviously missing. He had put out
several successful albums and was playing to
a near-capacity crowd at The Summit in
Houston, but there seemed to be a void — in
his performance, voice and style — that, at
least in my mind, only The Smiths could fill.
So when I heard shortly after the concert
that my favorite singer in the whole wide
world, Natalie Merchant, had left my favorite
band in the whole wide world, 10,000 Mani
acs, to pursue a solo career, I could not help
but be saddened and extremely skeptical.
Here I had just witnessed the demise of Mor
rissey on stage, and I feared that I would have
to face the same thing with Natalie Merchant
when she would some day tour the world solo.
She proved me wrong.
When I saw Natalie Merchant Monday
night in Austin, I was blown away and so
were my expectations.
Fate (and open phone lines) somehow land
ed me in the center of the front row, an un
heard-of event in my concert-going career.
which made the evening even
more enjoyable. But no outside
element could upstage what I
saw on stage.
The shyness and preten
tiousness that often comes
across in interviews with Mer
chant was nowhere to be found.
Rather, the Merchant I saw
was undoubtedly one of the
happiest performers I have ever seen, and
that attitude showed in every minute of her
two-and-a-half hour set.
fa
pTfi
on
I must admit that sometimes it's
nice to see the critics silenced.
And that's exactly what Mer
chant is doing, night after night.
Merchant brought new life to every song
she performed, including nearly every song
from her debut solo album, Tigerlily, which
has spawned two hit singles and sold over one
million copies, despite receiving dismal re
views from both Spin and Rolling Stone.
Oh yeah, did I mention Merchant sold out
Jones Hall in Houston Tuesday night? This is
her first solo tour, mind you.
Even though I aspire to be a music critic, I
must admit that sometimes it’s nice to see the
critics silenced. And that’s exactly what Mer
chant is doing, night after night.
Merchant, ever-mindful of her extremely
successful stint with the Maniacs, pleased the
crowd with four of her old band’s songs, in
eluding a revamped version of “These Are
Days” that, if you can imagine, made the s
sound even happier. All of the old songs wers
remade and sounded better than ever, show
ing Merchant’s reverence for her past, as we
as her ability to grow as an artist.
Merchant brought down the house when
she and members of The Innocence Mission, (jjjy
the night’s opening band, led the crowd in a ’
cover of “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” duri^ )I3I
which she let members of the audience on
stage to sing along with her.
And Merchant was the first performer I
have ever seen that was willing to try any
song she pleased on stage.
Although she would sometimes burst outit
laughter in the middle of songs because she
did not know the next verse, her charm and
stunning voice would have made covers of
nursery rhymes a pleasure.
There was nothing missing in Merchant’s
show. Rather than feeling that there was a
permanent void she would never be abletoffl,
I got the feeling Merchant was free of the
shackles of a life — and band — she no longer
wanted to be a part of.
If there were any voids to be felt that night
it was the one I sensed as I listened to 10,0
Maniacs on the way home. Something was
missing — probably the life, energy and sin- v L he ^
cerity that I had just witnessed on stage.
I never thought I would say this, butMer
chant is better off — she’s just better period-
without the Maniacs. Morrissey would be wist
to take notes.
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