by: Dave Hoekstra
Natalie Merchant is on her first solo tour after leaving the arena-pop band 10,000 Maniacs. One purpose of her departure was to get back to basics, be less manic. So, on Saturday, Merchant and her five-piece band will play the new Rosemont Theatre, capacity a cozy 4,200.
Merchant, 31, opens her show in darkness to a loop of sultry Billie Holiday music. Silhouetted behind a black curtain, she emerges slow-dancing and twirling as she did to Dinah Washington's I Know How To Do It in the recent Hall of Fame concert in Cleveland. Merchant covers all but one song on her new Tigerlily record, four re-arranged Maniac tunes and some '60s rhythm and blues covers. She dealt with dancing and other issues in an interview after sound check in Loudenville, N.Y.
Q. Describe the transition from 10,000 Maniacs to solo act.
Merchant: This band is much younger and less experienced than 10,000 Maniacs. No one in the band has played consistently for audiences this size. They've never had their own hotel rooms and tour bus. It's kind of Cinderellaish for some people, but it's exciting because I got to a point where I was burned out on touring with the Maniacs. Their excitement is infectious.
Q. Are you as shy as people say?
Merchant: Becoming a woman conquered that a long time ago. I was really shy when I started out, but I started out when I was 17. It's pretty common for 17-year-old girls from small, rural towns (Jamerstown, N.Y.) to be shy when they find themselves on stage at Danceteria (in New York City). I feel pretty liberated in my job, my creative life and my personal life. Leaving the Maniacs was a really positive thing. It gave me the opportunity to grow in the direction I wanted to.
Q. You danced all over the place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert. How important is dancing to your show?
Merchant: If I'm into it, I dance.... It's a good indicator of how well a show's going. It's an auto response. I don't over-intellecutalize it. I did want a piano player on this tour, because we went out on a short college tour last year and I felt chained to the piano. This way I can dance and look at the audience.
Q. On this tour you've covered Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin's Baby I Love You and other R&B hits. Is there an album of that style in the future?
Merchant: In a couple of records, maybe. It would be a novelty. I am interested in different textures.