On Sunday evening, March 28, Landsdowne St.'s Avalon Ballroom enthusiastically welcomed indie-rock darling Liz Phair, with special guests singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata and five-person, emo-tinged alt-band Wheat. Although Phair has recently been accused of "selling out" by turning from indie rock to mainstream, danceable pop songs produced by none other than Avril Lavigne's production team, the Matrix, anyone looking for vapid, unintelligent pop that night would be sorely disappointed. The three acts provided intelligent, authentic music with style to spare, with a delightfully down-to-earth vibe. Fancy lighting and special effects were eschewed in order to let the music shine through. The crowd Phair attracted was diverse, ranging from college students to a healthy number of hip older fans.I arrived toward the end of Yamagata's set, but based on the few songs I heard her play, the woman has promise. Her voice was emotive and it filled the room with a sense of intimacy. She introduced one song with the confession that it was written after her boyfriend chose another woman and as she confidently told the audience, "fuck him." The response she got was definitely encouraging.

Wheat was on next, and they seemed to have a large fanbase in the crowd; there were signs and screams aplenty. They said that they were from "near Boston," and proceeded to sing six mildly enjoyable, albeit forgettable, songs. Both acts were solid, particularly Yamagata, but the audience was rabid for Phair.

Phair exploded onto the indie-rock scene back in 1993 with Exile in Guyville, the title a nod to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. The title was meant to evoke the feelings of alienation Phair felt in the male-dominated music world, and Phair's feminist-tinged, sexually frank songs earned her a spot among great female musical acts of the early 90s, alongside PJ Harvey and Bikini Kill. The tracks on this album are heavily confessional, dealing with her sexuality, relationships, worries, and feelings of inadequacy. Exile was followed by 1994's Whip-Smart, which was a critical and commercial failure, 1998's whitechocolatespaceegg, and last year's Liz Phair, an album heavier on the radio-friendly poppy hits.

At about 8:45, nearly two hours after the show began, Phair's band took the stage to the screaming delight of her fans. After a minute or so of her band vamping in anticipation, Phair herself bounded onstage and immediately began her set. She opened with "Flower," the sexually graphic, deceptively light song from Exile. I was surprised that she played this song at all, and it was much more guitar-heavy in concert than the relatively clear a cappella from the album. But, with the anything-goes mood of the evening, the song was a perfect fit. In fact, Exile in Guyville was the most heavily represented album in her set; Phair clearly knows her strong suit.

She played one or two songs from her two middle albums and a handful from Liz Phair, but she gave ample time to the strong songs that made her name like "Stratford-on-Guy" and "Mesmerizing," although she had abandoned her usual gravelly delivery in favor of a lighter touch. She also sang her current radio hit, "Why Can't I"-one song, despite what you may think about it, that you couldn't help but sing along to, especially when sung so energetically and enthusiastically by Phair.

Liz Phair is not some come-lately American Idol popstar; she represents the real thing, and she knows it. As she sings mockingly on "Rock Me"-"Your record collection don't exist / You don't even know who Liz Phair is." Her powerful, provocative songs and strong guitar playing more than made up for her rather low-key voice. What's more, Phair demonstrated a strong, self-assured stage presence, as she flirted with the audience by way of suggestive looks and gestures. On certain songs, she did not play her guitar at all but rather twirled it in front of her like some kinky toy.

While I was a little disappointed with her overall reticence with the audience-she actually addressed the crowd using words very little-I thought she kept up the energy well and I enjoyed the wide range of songs she chose, as many artists choose to ignore their older songs in concert. After her set, Phair took a short, 3-song encore; the last two songs were two very popular ones from Exile that the audience had been waiting for all night. She finished off the show by asking that the house lights be brought up during the last song, because "I want to see you guys," and then remaining onstage after her last songs to shake hands and sign autographs for her fans. This lack of egotism makes Phair immensely cool in my book, and I'd return to see her any day.