June, 2003

In Concert: Antara and Alix Olson

by Ran

I was at Happy Endings, on March 19, 2003. The room was overflowing with fans and then...the lights dimmed, the house music went down, and OUT musician Antara took the stage. Antara, who hails from North Hampton, MA, did her opening acoustic set with a lot of energy and whimsy. She engaged and entertained the audience with a number of songs, including "My Roots," and "Rock In My Hand," from her two CDs. She has a very pleasant voice and is an enthusiastic guitar player. Antara may be a serious musician, but her some of her stories and songs were downright funny. My favorite part of her set was when she purred, "In the handbook of girls with guitars, where there's a lesbian, there is a sing-a-long." And sing-a-long we did with her song "Coffee Fairy." You can visit Antara at <www.littleweirdgirl.com>.

Alix Olson didn't just take the stage; she exploded on to the stage with words flying, consciousness flowing and emotions spewing. She packages herself as an OUT folk poet and spoken word artist, but what I saw was part standup comedian, part radical feminist, part slam poet, part story teller, part prophet, part social commentator, part visual artist and part rapper--the womyn has a hell of a lot of talent! A line from one of her poems said it all: "Her voice is her weapon of choice." Even though I own her first CD, I really wasn't ready for this phenomenon, she confronted us, she entertained us, and she made us cringe! There weren't many topics that she didn't talk about, she had plenty to say about: President Bush, Wal-Mart, Catholics, truck drivers, McDonalds, rapper Eminem, 9/11, Republicans and sex. She also talked about performing at various venues where they didn't quite understand her art. She even shared a wonderful story about the time she took her grandmother to the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. It wasn't hard to understand how she feels about any topic, she chooses her words carefully and all of her politics are buried in the subtext of her art.

Alix shared the stage with Antara and her guitar on two different rhythmic poems, and used some recorded narration on a couple of pieces. It truly amazed me that she didn't use notes during her performance--everything was in her head. This unique artist blew me away; it doesn't surprise me that she has won numerous awards for what she does. Find out what she has to say at her web site out at <www.alixolson.com>.