Rain, Resilience & Reflection — Lisa Loeb at Three Rivers Arts Festival

By Dave Parsons

The sky that met Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 8 was gray, heavy, and threatening. It rained on and off all day, and as soon as the entertainment was to start mid-afternoon, the skies opened up with a steady downpour.  Festival staff, and artists displaying their talents huddled under tents and plastic bags, exchanging sympathetic smiles.

By 5:15 PM, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, but with humidity still thick as honey. The local band continues their set, and by 6 PM, the rain had mostly subsided and the crowd settled into a wet, humid mass, hoping the rain would hold off a few more hours.

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is a staple in the Pittsburgh summer, except with the usual grounds torn up to slap a happy face on for the NFL Draft next year, the festival got pushed to the Strip District, and honestly, to an over-sized parking lot.  The other thing this festival is known for is its entertainment lineup.  Usually spread over 2 weekends, and a huge bill of national artists, this year’s installment was just one weekend, and tonight was the climax.

Lisa Loeb broke through in 1994 with  Stay (I Missed You) an acoustic recording among the grunge, that stunned pop radio. Through the late ’90s and 2000s, Loeb traveled musical lanes—folk-pop, children’s music, collaborations—never losing emotive bedrock.  For this show, she brought only herselfe brought her current band, steeped in her ability to bind freshness to melodic familiarity.

The 30-minute delay didn’t drain the mood, but made the wait part of the ceremony.  There was a whole family to my left, and to my right was a single mom.  Her young 10-year-old mini-me was beside her with her homemade sign for Loeb. Mom raised the young lady on Loeb’s music from their playful banter, and the youngster was proud to tell anyone nearby that this was her first concert ever!

When Lisa Loeb finally appeared at 6:30, her greeting was Thank you for sticking around, Pittsburgh, and the crowd cheered that the show was taking place! Sweat-slicked hair tucked behind her ears, she was already unguarded, human, and rooted in the city’s spirit.  As Lisa opened her set with Wishing Heart, the ballad drifted through steam and that rain smell. Do You Sleep? had a dreamy feel to it, again settling into the spirit.

Between songs, she spoke of her afternoon stroll through Pittsburgh’s landmarks like the Warhol Museum, and her earlier purchase from one of the festival vendors that she now treasures. Those anecdotes grounded the weather, the show, and her voice into a living, breathing city vibe.  From Shine to Falling in Love, the songs were like old friends, and Snow Day, a playful ode to both childhood and damp afternoons, seemed to fit the moment anyhow.

The rain picked up again after I Do, and Loeb seemed amazed that no one was leaving.  Yes, this is Pittsburgh, steeped in toughness and all that, but this wasn’t football.  A few folks put up the umbrellas they brought, except they moved out of the main audience throng first.  The rest of the group just toughed it out.  The man in the family to the left of me held a neon-pink umbrella over the head of his daughter, who had a matching jacket.

When Stay  (I Missed You) began, the atmosphere seemed to change.  This is THAT song, and it was quiet enough to hear the vendors in the next lot.  This is why they came, and stood in the rain, and they soaked it in.  As she finished, Loeb announced she would be in her own merch tent after the show, and would be glad to sign autographs and meet folks.  The family, and the mom and daughter bolted at the mention. I would assume there were 2 little girls in Pittsburgh that night who called someone important to them, and informed them they went to their first concert ever.  And, despite the rain and having to wait, it was the best day EVER!

 1.)       Wishing Heart

 2.)       Do You Sleep?

 3.)       This Is My Life

 4.)       Shine

 5.)       Falling in Love

 6.)       Snow Day

  7.)      No Fairy Tale

  8.)      Truthfully

  9.)      I Do

 10.)     Stay (I Missed You)